When you have annoying restrictions and finally get a routine down, can you flex? Ever hear a kid yell, “He said I can’t have the red truck, now we can’t play ANYTHING!?” As an adult, you know that’s not true. The child may not be able to play with a particular truck, but they can still play. All the child must do is flex.
Sounds easy when it’s a kid and we’re talking toys. But what if it’s one more flex when you thought you had your meals under control in an already difficult week? Seems totally different, right?
I’ve known numerous adults who seem flexible enough when you’re planning something…until push comes to shove. Then they squirrel things around with multiple phone calls and changes in order to get back to the vision they had in the first place. When you haven’t been privy to their original idea, this can feel quite confusing.
Even if you knew what they were thinking, it can be annoying. Most likely these folks believe themselves to be flexible. They may not recognize the rearranging as an attempt to get what they wanted in the first place. But sometimes, we can find ourselves feeling exactly like that small child.
Each of us has different tolerance levels for certain types of stress, and cumulatively different levels overall. But some of us can handle much more than we believe we can. And we can do it without feeling excess stress.
How? Embracing and practicing flexibility.
I know we’d like everything to be just like we want it. I do too! But life doesn’t work that way. Best laid plans as they say. If you find yourself going back to old habits rather than sticking to your healthy eating plan because you feel like it’s too difficult, here are a few things to get your flex muscles moving:
-Stand firm instead of flexing to please someone else. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but standing firm when you can will leave you more flex energy for other situations.
-Differentiate between wanting and needing. You may WANT burgers and fries, but do you NEED them or do you need food?
-Get more support. If you hit your limit and go back to eating things that are bad for you because you’re too tired and hungry to make a better decision, you need more support. Support can come in many forms. Start with your biggest obstacles. What sort of support will mitigate those?
-Practice problem solving. Take some scenario you’ve seen on TV. Imaging what you’d do instead of what a character did. Think of the reasons it would be more effective. Make this a family game.
-Bad and good often come packaged together. Practice leaning into the good side of a bad equation even if you feel scared because it means change.
-Stop tensing and bracing. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe some more. A yoga practice will make this a more natural response.
-Practice curiosity. Hmmm, wonder what would happen if I XYZ?
-Grant yourself grace but not excuses. It’s easy for a single transgression to morph into a regular habit.
Flexibility increases over time as long as you keep flexing. What seems hard today will seem easier tomorrow.
Trust me. I’m typing this in an RV that’s being repaired instead of on the road to my next nonrefundable stop. I’m flexing like crazy! But it allowed me the time to finish this post. For that I am grateful!
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