What is your Standard Operating Mode, you ask? It is your internal auto-pilot, which compiles all of your life experiences, that form your limiting beliefs, interpretations, assumptions, and the all too loud inner-critic. Pay attention the next time something doesn’t go your way. What is your immediate reaction? Well, that go-to reaction is your Standard Operating Mode. It may assist you with quickly making a decision but that decision has already taken into account a story or an assumption of what will occur when you respond with a simple Yes or No. Your brain is amazing! Yes, all of that thought plays into a decision without our awareness. In your SOM (standard operating mode) the same influencers will keep repeating themselves without awareness. Have you tried dieting with no success? You may have had a complete diet plan, but what was your mental plan for success?
We need to start working on altering our Standard Operating Mode as it pertains to our bodies if we want to experience success here. The shortness of breath, feeling uncomfortable in clothes, experiencing physical pain, it’s not fun. And then having to exercise and eat healthier? It can be frustrating, finding an exercise that suits you, learning the do’s and don’ts of food choices, not to mention making time to do all of this. If you’ve never done any of these things, and it doesn’t appeal to you, success isn’t going to happen overnight and you will need more than just a good plan. It is going to take a mental thought plan as well. Your thought plan needs to recognize, we are not just trying to lose/gain weight, become fitter or decrease cholesterol levels. We want to adjust the way we view ourselves and those around us. We want to create a thoughtful plan that puts us on the path to success. For some that may look like shutting down our inner-critic and telling ourselves a happier story. For others that may be repeating the full list of “whys” as we head to the gym or walk away from another bite.
In order to be successful, you need to create your success formula. Ask yourself, What makes you want to lose weight? Who are you losing weight for? What limits your success? How can you avoid those? It is the answer to these questions that will help you form your success formula. Stop, take a moment to reflect on previous dieting experiences. If you found a personal success story you can connect to, utilize those specifics in your dieting plan moving forward. If you did not find success look further into the why. What kept you from reaching your goals, be specific here. What motivates you to lose weight? Don’t go spending hundreds on gym memberships, fancy outfits and a fridge full of food, which let’s face it, you probably won’t eat. No, let’s just see what happens when….
– You pay attention to the things you tell yourself. If negative self-talk is coming at you, force yourself to stop and literally reframe the thought. For example, if you find yourself thinking something like, “I look fat, and there is nothing I can do about it, I have tried, better to just eat this donut and feel a moment of gratification.” STOP! Create a new mantra, start singing a song until that voice loses strength, repeat a mantra as many times as necessary. Whatever you choose to distract yourself from the toxic thoughts are up to you, the goal is to eliminate or minimize them.
– Create a plan of action, start with clarifying the small steps necessary to move you towards your true goal. I’m not talking about setting massive goals that wear you out just thinking about them. Starting with the small successes that will empower you to bring that big goal within reach.
Journal your experience. Journaling is a small action to create awareness of your Standard Operating Mode and your mental thought process. In order to alter your SOM, you need to understand what is interfering or contributing to your success. Take 5 minutes of your day to note the following: Scale of 1 – 10, how successful were you in following your diet plan today? What specific emotion would you associate with your day? How did that emotion affect your eating habits? What, if anything, will you do differently tomorrow? Please take note patience is key here in establishing long-term change.
Creating this awareness may be just what you need to drop those final pounds or start on the path of success for healthier living. If you are unable to create awareness or identify patterns of self-sabotage you may need to dig a little deeper and figure out the whys. Life coaching can offer you the opportunity to find your success formula and alter your Standard Operating Mode. Why not make the conscious choice to start taking action? Life Coaching with The Move It Coach can put you on the path of living life, instead of life living you.