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The mind is powerful. It impacts our actions and words.

It can convince us to stay in bed for just five more minutes of sleep.

It can cause us to scream at the lady driving in front of us at the speed of molasses. (Oh wait, the molasses just passed her)

It can rationalize why we don’t have time or energy to do that workout we said we would do.

It can convince us to go ahead and have all the tacos and margaritas because we deserve it. We worked hard this week.

The mind can keep us binging on just one more episode of the latest Netflix release or scrolling our IG feed even though our body is shouting “Hello! I want to sleep!”

The mind can brilliantly persuade us that browsing through Target is the BEST and the ONLY way we can unwind after the day we’ve had.

And when we freak out as the cashier says “Your total is $105.98”, your mind (in the voice of a yoga instructor) says “It’ll be alright. You needed that splurge. You deserved it.”

Hmmm, the mind sounds like a pretty awful friend, right? Always convincing you to do what you DON’T want to do.

So how do we change it? It’s easy to feel like a prisoner to our thoughts and to feel helpless. Heck, our mind can even sway us to believe that this is just how we are. That we’ll never overcome those areas of our lives that we desperately want to change.

Well, I’m here to tell that YOU CAN CHANGE. It all starts in your mind.

Sounds like hokey bull-honky, doesn’t it?

I won’t re-write the many books that have been written on the power of your mind and how you can change it. But there are PLENTY out there and many of them are fantastic. I have linked to a few of my personal favorites at the end of this post.

The other day I saw a meme on Facebook about being helpless to control our Target spending. Instead of laughing, it pissed me off.

Can’t we expect more of ourselves? If you have the money and you DECIDE to spend it there, then wonderful! BUT most shopping isn’t a decision or a plan. (Your mind convinced you that you had a plan but you didn’t really.)

I’m exhausted from this conversation in our culture that we can let ourselves off the hook and not expect anything better. That we can’t do the hard thing or we can’t “adult” because it’s just too hard.

Okay yes. It. Is. Hard. If you want to go with that flow, then you have to let go of something else. It’s an exchange.

Are you ready for the trade?

Okay here it is.

In exchange for NOT doing the hard stuff now, you can have a lifetime of wishing and regrets.

For the easy now, you get to work hard in your elderly years OR be a burden on your family if you can’t work (because you didn’t save when you were younger).

For the easy now, you get to watch others live full lives. (Spending all your dough at Target on a Friday night or Netflix binging is not a fulfilling life.)

Ya’ll I’m 37. It’s not young. It’s not old. But I’m finally understanding this powerful concept: I AM IN CONTROL OF MY MIND. And you are too.

YOU {the real you who is certain of what she wants for her life} GET TO DETERMINE TODAY.

You Get To Decide

You get to decide that you’ll get out of bed to start your morning right.

You get to decide to not let others’ actions enrage you.

You get to decide that you’ll do that workout, no matter what.

You get to decide just how many tacos you’ll eat.

You get to decide to enjoy an episode of your favorite show and then let your body rest so it can do what you need from it tomorrow.

You get to not walk into Target and use your money for that vacation instead.

Look at us! You and me. We can change our minds and our mindset towards everything in life.

It’s a daily fight. Wanna fight it with me?

Step 1

Pick one of these books at the end. Listen or read it. Do it. Yes, you actually have to do what it says so that you can change your mind.

Oh your mind doesn’t feel like doing it. Tell it to shut up, stop acting like a 3 year old, and get to work for you.

Step 2

Pick an area of your life to use your new mindset on. WARNING: it’ll be hard work. Yep, so you’re going to have to decide WHY the hard work now is worth it. Look down the road of your life and decide what you want the path to look like.

Step 3

Change the conversation around you. It’s okay to expect more of each other. It’s okay to lift up others around us. It’s a kind action to stop a friend and say “Hey I know you want more from your life. I know you can do the hard stuff.”

Favorite MIND Resources

Dr. Erin Oksol’s Mind Your Business

Podcast

Dr. Carolyn Allen’s Journey Into Wellness

Mel Robbin’s Take Control of Your Life