When I learned to recognize how my brain was trying to stop me from moving forward, I could work WITH it, and ask for coaching to help me see what I don’t.
Brain sabotages to look for:
Thinking too grand – making your desires seem impossible.
“I have to reach so many people because I need so many more clients.”
What if you just focused on getting 1 client? How many people do you need to reach for 1?
Or “I have to workout so much because I need to lose 30 lbs.”
What if you just focused on 1 lb, 1 healthy meal/exercise at a time?
Our brains like to tell us things will take a long time and we’ll never get there.
When we believe we’ll never get there, we don’t follow through, what’s the point?
But the reality is, our work actually compounds on itself as we go, to create results we hadn’t dreamt of when we started.
Here’s another sabotage, it’s my brain’s favorite trick: Confusion and Indecision.
I’ll write out a plan of what I want to do. Then a week later, think I don’t know what I’m doing or even want to do, finally decide I need to get clear and write it out, only to find the place in my notebook where I’ve already done that! And I laugh – good one, brain.
When a plan isn’t getting implemented, this is a clear sign that it’s your hidden thoughts and feelings about yourself in this role, and what following through might bring up (being seen, failing, succeeding, loss, etc.) that’s holding things up, not the plan itself.
The plan may need to be simplified though – our brains also like to complicate plans – it’s how they keep us from doing them.
Our brains are not out to get us, they just want to keep us safe and they think staying the same is safe because we’re still alive. They’re prehistoric chic! Simple yet sophisticated survival mechanisms.
Have you noticed any of these sabotages with yourself?
Try to spot them and say, “good one brain, I see you!” next time you notice.
Awareness is the first step to getting things flowing.
