Throw away the things that are holding you back.
We’re going to use visualization in a few ways:
- to help you work towards a new identity
- to help you solve problems and confront challenges along the way
- to replace negative images with positive ones
- to create new outcomes for old, worn-out scripts
You can think of this week like a mental “kitchen makeover”.
First, we’re going to start by clearing the mental clutter.
(By the way, this might also be a good time to double-check your actual pantry and fridge. Any junk foods creeping in? If so, clean the slate and schedule a kitchen “refresh and reboot” today. Replace the junk with some healthy stuff, and high-five yourself.)
Clear the clutter:
If we could peek inside our minds, it would probably look like one of those houses on the TV show Hoarders.
If you’re like most folks, there’s brain clutter everywhere.
It’s just sitting around, creating a mental fire hazard, and hiding a family of squirrels.
Today we’re going to take one piece of mental junk out of our hoarder house.
Let’s grab a broom and get started.
Shut your eyes and visualize your mental hoarder attic.
Oy, the cobwebs! The ancient yearbooks! The stacks of moldy board games and creepy one-eyed dolls!
Start by creating a vivid, rich picture of your mental attic.
What’s in there? What does it smell like? Can you feel the gritty dust under your feet?
Spend a bit of time building this image until you can experience it clearly.
Now, look around.
You’re looking for something. It’s a box labeled Things That Are Holding Me Back.
Maybe there are several boxes. (Luckily you labeled them when you stored them up here.)
These boxes are full of things that are preventing you from moving forward with your body transformation journey.
- Perhaps in that box is a memory — an old photo, perhaps — of someone in fifth grade calling you “fat”.
- Perhaps there is a memory of falling down in gym class, or being picked last for a game.
- Perhaps there’s a photo of you in great shape, something you never thought you could achieve again.
- Perhaps that box holds one of your negative “inner team” members you thought you cut from the roster.
- Perhaps it’s an outfit you wore when you were younger, and you’re convinced you’ll never fit into it again.
- Perhaps it’s an old diary or notebook in which you wrote all your excuses for not doing things.
Whatever it is, dig in the box.
Now, pull out one thing that you know is holding you back.
Grab that thing and take it downstairs, out into the bright sunlight. Look at it as you stand outside in the sun.
Notice how the sunlight robs this thing of its power.
This thing seemed so powerful in the attic, but so trivial now.
Walk to a trash can, and throw that thing out.
It’s gone. You don’t need to save or hold on to it anymore. Sayonara!
Pause to enjoy the relief and freedom.
Open your eyes. Now you’re free of one little piece of mental junk that held you back.
Feels good, doesn’t it?
If you want to make darn sure that piece of garbage is gone, write down what it is on a piece of paper. Then, either throw away the paper or — if you want to get really symbolic — burn it.
(By the way, some clients tell us they’re afraid of writing things down in case someone finds their journal. If that’s you, try going to a library or coffee shop, writing down whatever you want to write down, then tossing it away before you go home. You’re like a secret agent!)
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