Focus

Have you planned to NOT want to do the expected?

May 13, 2022 by VickyCountessCoaching

I was speaking to someone recently who was planning to sign up for Disney’s Goofy’s Race and a Half challenge for next January.

This means that on Saturday you run a ½ marathon (13.1 miles) and the following day, Sunday, you run a full marathon (26.2 miles).

Of course, don’t confuse this with the Dopey run where runners do 5K, 10K, ½ marathon and the full marathon in 4 consecutive days – a total of 48.6 miles.

People that do this really are Goofy and Dopey, right?

Having done a few Disney ½ marathons (not in the Goofy or Dopey challenge), we talked about what she would need to plan for in training for the event.

One of the tips I shared is EXPECT that there will be times that she will NOT want to do the planned training.

And this is something YOU need to know whenever you choose and work towards a goal – whether it is stopping overeating, having (more) exercise in your life or any other healthy habit goal.

Your brain will throw up obstacles and sentences like:

“It’s too hard”
*I don’t feel like it”
*What was I thinking, forget this”
“I don’t follow through”

Knowing exactly what to say to yourself in that moment when these thoughts creep in (and they will) is critical.

Your new “go-to thought” that gets you over the hurdle needs to be believable and compelling.

Here are some possibilities:

“This is how I get stronger”
“My body loves this, and I love my body”
“This is really good for me”
“I can do this!”

I know that different and more believable motivational thoughts will definitely change what you do and results!

If you are ready to make changes in your life and want the support, powerful tools, strategies and accountability that life coaching with me can offer, please click here to schedule a complimentary call.

Here we will dive into YOUR goals and how I can help you get there.

How can you get 2 wins in 1?

May 6, 2022 by VickyCountessCoaching

Many of my clients come to me for one reason: to lose weight.

And what generally happens through the coaching process is that they ALSO get a lot of Non-Scale Victories (or NSV’s).

These are things that happen along the way that aren’t measured by the number on the scale.

Sure, seeing the numbers on the scale going down is ah-mazing AND what you learn along the way is just as valuable.

In fact, it can be even more valuable!

It is learning skills, tools and habits that are beyond the obvious food related things.

These are skills, tools and habits that are outside the typical “diet” culture of restriction, deprivation, focusing on ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods and how you label yourself “good” or “bad” according to what you ate that day or the number on the scale.

Somehow, we think that beating ourselves up is productive and will “make you” stop all the future overeating.

If this is you, ask yourself, how has that been working for you lately?

Let me share just one of the skills that can help you move away from emotional overeating:

Learn to not beat yourself up

Try these steps the next time you want to run to food as your coping mechanism and then beat yourself up afterwards:

Step 1

Pause, get present and take a deep breath.

Step 2

Replace judgement with curiosity.
Shift the urge to beat yourself up and instead notice, with curiosity, what happened and why you made that choice.

Step 3

Think about WHY you want to reach your goal.
What are all the reasons and how will you feel when you get there?

Step 4

Come up with a plan – even if it’s one small thing – that you will do from now on to start taking you back on track.

Developing the skill to be present and intentional in your life is a powerful NSV (non-scale victory).

Try an experiment and see how these 4 steps can work for you.

If you want some help instituting these 4 steps – and other powerful tools in your life – click here to set up a complimentary call with me.

During the call, we will discuss YOUR goal(s) and how I can help you get there!

Questions to find your way out of a thought hurricane

April 29, 2022 by VickyCountessCoaching

The last week I have been in a thought hurricane.

It is a term I coined for those times that I get fixated on a particular issue in my life.

Of course, living in Florida it is a hurricane.

Anyway, it’s where my thoughts are swirling around and around, seemingly uncontrollably, in my brain.

And it is always dramatic and goes to the worst-case scenario.

And when this happens, my thoughts are:

Overpowering
All consuming
Very distracting

Nothing is forward moving, helpful or productive. It just keeps me stuck.

Do you ever notice a thought hurricane happening in your life?

And this is what I have learned and work on with my clients:

You can choose to remember that you are in control of your thoughts and they are optional.

You can interrupt the storm or at least turn down its intensity.

Pro tip: Here are 5 powerful questions to ask yourself when you find yourself swirling in a thought hurricane:

What are the facts of the situation?
What is the math of the situation vs. the drama?
What am I grateful and appreciative for here?
How can I be compassionate with myself?
How can I move forward?

If you take the time to pause and answer these questions, you will be able to move out of the mind storm and see a clearer path to move onward.

If you are interested in moving forward in your life, click here to schedule a complimentary session to explore working together so we can get you where you want to be.

The one question to change everything

April 15, 2022 by VickyCountessCoaching

There are so many things in life that are hard.

I hear this from my clients all the time.

I experience it in my life, too.

It can be anything from:

Doing all the things to lose weight
Doing all the things to find a better job
Doing all the things in your current job
Getting yourself into an exercise habit
Dealing with a “difficult” person in your life
Making that decision that you have been procrastinating about for way too long (and then actually following through with that decision)

And the list goes on.

Here is the one question that I use to help redirect the brain:

What if it was easy?

For bonus points – What if was easy AND fun?

Ah, now you start thinking about the other side of the situation.

Brainstorm new thoughts and shine a light on what would move you forward rather than being stuck in the cyclone of gloom.

If you are interested in working with me to get different results in your life and move past all the hard things, I invite you to a free 45 minute conversation.

Here we will talk about your goals and how life coaching can make it happen.

Do you have “Red Car” syndrome, Friend?

April 8, 2022 by VickyCountessCoaching

I bought a red SUV recently and I had so much drama over the color.

Just ask my husband or friends and they will attest to the drama of me choosing a red vehicle.

And then once I drove that shiny red car off the lot, I noticed ALL the red vehicles on the road and in the parking lots.

SO many of them and so many red shades!

I later learned that there really IS a “red car syndrome”.

It’s also known as Baader-Meinhof phenomenon (or complex).

Basically, it is where your awareness of something increases.

Your brain focuses in, selectively, on that one thing.

Who knew? 🙂

And I see this (focusing in on one thing) happening with some of my clients.

Perhaps it happens to you, too.

Selectively focusing in on the negative and telling yourself repeatedly:

“But I don’t have any time”
“It’s so hard”
“I’m a mess with my money”

And the list goes on.

Are these thoughts useful and/or helpful?

Of course not.

Are there ways to turn these thoughts (and they are NOT facts) around?

Absolutely!

What are your “red car” thoughts?

Are they serving you and moving you forward to your desired goals?

Or are they driving you into the gutter?

If you want help identifying your negative thoughts and support to give you a different perspective that will give you different results in your life, I invite you to schedule a complimentary call with me.