Steering Your Own Healthy Course

Written by Lifecoach Brodie

When I believe in myself, I open into a world of infinite possibilities. The truth is a representation of what I believe to be true. By believing in something - anything - it becomes true.

"Even if you have the skills and resources to do something, once you tell yourself you can't, you shut down the neurological pathways that can make it possible. If you tell yourself you can do something, you open up the pathways that can provide you with the resources for achievement."

~ Anthony Robbins

When I believe I am limited in some specific way, physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually then that instantly becomes my reality.

"Whether You Believe You Can, Or You Can't, You Are Right"

~ Henry Ford

I remember a few years back, I was struggling with a lot of physical pain. I was woodworking full-time, sanding for hours on end, and using my body in a very aggressive manner. I was not taking the time to rejuvenate my body with any kind of stretching or exercise and I had developed many habits that were literally sucking the life force out of me.

This lifestyle had amounted to arthritis in many of my joints, a herniated disc in the base of my spine, and escalating respiratory problems. On top of these and other health-related issues, I knew without a doubt that I was compromising my spiritual needs, as well. I felt like I was shutting myself out from the world in my workshop. I gradually began to feel that in this process of making noise and dust (and I also joked, firewood), I could feel myself spiraling downward into even greater pain.

I remember one day expressing my frustration to my father. His response was one I will always remember. He said to me, "The pain is a part of life. Deal with it."

Sometimes, we need to hit rock bottom before we can get up. It can be the best thing to happen.

 

At the time, my father was also struggling with physical pain from his career as a carpenter. Seeing the state of his body from years of the same kind of neglect he was recommending to me, I knew in that moment that it was time for change.

 

We all have our comfort zones, which we work hard to maintain. Not only do we try to control our own actions to fit within these comfort zones; we also want the people and things around us to act in accordance with our comfort zones.

This means that people want you to act in accordance with what they are comfortable with. When you step outside of their rules for who you are and how you can behave, they can tend to feel extremely uncomfortable. In turn, you will face criticism and ridicule. While in this way your truth will be challenged, it will also be brought to light. It's up to you to choose ... your truth or their truth.

If I had chosen to follow my father's recommendation to resign to "dealing with the pain", I would have met my father in his comfort zone, and thus, allowed him to feel comfortable with his past choices and with his present pain. Resigning to a life of pain was not, however, where I wanted to go.

Alternately, I chose to make a drastic shift toward a new course in life; toward a new comfort zone ... one where I am meeting my needs for comfort in the rejuvenation of my body, heart, mind, and spirit, rather than in simply doing what I had always done because it was the 'easiest' choice. Momentum is powerful, yet one simple choice can shift a downward momentum to an upward progression.

I am in the midst now of a certification course in Strategic Intervention. It's been a fascinating journey to learn about our 6 Basic Human Needs for Certainty/Comfort, Variety, Significance, Love/Connection, Growth, and Contribution. (I feel inspired to create a video lesson on this topic sometime in the near future ... stay tuned)

I've learned that in meeting our 6 Basic Human Needs (in this case Certainty/Comfort) we have a choice to meet them in a destructive, neutral, or positive way. It is always this way.

Since this pinnacle moment with my father, we have both made huge strides toward more ease and health in our lives. By one of us choosing to step out of a downward spiral, we now both inspire each other to stay the new course into a more and more elevated existence, embracing our physical, mental, and emotional health.

Over the past two years I have seen my life go:

• from struggling daily with sluggishness & heaviness à a new sense of vitality and lightness
• from escalating thoughts of disease à thoughts of health and healing
• from depression & stagnancy à more consistent happiness & growth than ever.

Hiring a personal coach to help define & keep me focused on my priorities (in a time when I did not feel strong enough to maintain the focus on my own) was absolutely critical in helping me to produce amazing results in a short amount of time and to follow through on what was most important. My life coach has helped me to become the strong, self-motivated person that I am today and to move rapidly into fulfilling my needs in positive/life-giving ways rather than through negative/self-destructive ways.

Throughout the process of becoming a life coach, myself, I have witnessed incredible shifts in those I have coached. I have seen outstanding leaders revealed, new passions ignited, hearts open, bodies tranform, fears dissolve in the face of courage, and stone-wall obstacles melt away effortlessly.

Who do you have in your life that truly believes in you?

When you go out on a limb and express your own unique nature, how do people close to you respond?

Who's life are you living ... yours or someone else's?

Are your choices fulfilling your needs in destructive, neutral, or positive ways?

"Conflict is the beginning of consciousness."
~ M. Esther Harding

"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."
~ Albert Einstein