Week 3: Take Pause
You made it to Week 3! Congrats! This week we need to unpack what happened when you implemented your action step during Week 2. We are going to continue with our action step throughout this week, but we are going to pause to reflect on what you discovered last week: what is coming up for you around your health challenge? Let’s break it down the old fashion way: What? When? Where? Who? And How? Today we will look at the what. What is your health challenge? What emotions do you experience that make this a challenge? It is really important to identify the emotions as all behaviors are motivated by feelings.
One way to get clear on what feelings make up your health challenge, is to categorize the experience with a pro and con list: What feels good about the experience or what is the reward for you to do the experience? What is the disadvantage of performing the habit around your health challenge? What doesn’t feel good about the situation?
Continuing with my example of overeating with I am with family:
Positive Feelings Negative Feelings
Comfort of familiarity bloated
Love from family surrounding me frustration of my physical performance
feeling disassociated due to brain fog
discomfort from stomach being distended
anger from clothes not fitting properly
shame of harming my body
This simple method gives you a visual and a clear understanding of the “what” of your health challenge. I can clearly see that the negatives outweigh the positives, so it is safe to say that this is a goal worth addressing. I also see that positive feelings are associated with nostalgia. Knowing this can help me identify a healthier activity that can incorporate feelings of nostalgia. Now I can start asking myself, what else brings me comfort and love of my family? One thought that comes to mind is that we had a family tradition of playing football during the holidays. I could explore ways to ensure a football scrimmage ensues when the family gathers. This is just one example of how getting clear of your emotions will get you more in control of your health challenge.
Make your pro and con list for your feelings and continue to take your action step towards your health challenge and I will see you tomorrow!
Wing Woman 