So it’s officially July and the start of the second half of the year. Where do you stand in regards to your intentions you set for yourself back in January? The great thing about starting the latter half of the year, is that you can think of it as your second chance to “up your game” if the first half of the year hasn’t gone exactly as planned. Not only does July bring this second chance, but it also brings the reminder about the freedom we have. We all have the freedom to make our own choices. Those choices can work towards or against your intentions of how you want to live you life. I’ve talked to several clients lately that are having a hard time staying motivated during the summer. I personally go through these same times, so I totally get it. Vacations, weekend trips to the lake, etc. You feel that freedom to relax your mind and soul, and you end up relaxing your nutrition and exercise, as well, stalling the results you want. Don’t let it get you down or completely off course. This second chance of summer is the perfect time to up your ante – Not on nutrition or exercise, but on the #1 thing we all need to tackle to allow yourself to have success. Your real freedom is born in a POSITIVE MINDSET. I was just sharing these thoughts with a client and was thinking that I knew there were a lot of you out there feeling the same way, so I figured I share it with you, too. It feels really weird to start practicing a good mindset. When you are starting from feeling stuck, you literally have to practice at it daily. I know-- because this was me just over a year ago. I felt like my world was out of control. I was trying to get my year-old business off the ground. Even though I had clients, I was overwhelmed with making all the parts work, and I wasn’t where I wanted to be. I knew I was being extremely hard on myself, but I felt like I was failing. It was way easier for me to complain and talk to my friends and family about how hard it was. I was fearful of a lot of things. I feared what people thought about my programs, my marketing, my blogs. I feared that not enough clients would get results. I feared that I would never grow enough to make the money I needed to make. I feared that I WOULD fail. Whether it is work, money, a relationship, or your body and health, the extra stress and feelings of fear, being overwhelmed and “stuck”, can truly strip you from your freedom. When I was introduced to implementing a daily mindset practice last June, I finally felt those feelings change. I knew that was my ticket to freedom, and I made a choice to refuse to stay stuck. The first choice I made was taking five minutes in the morning to repeat positive beliefs I had written down in a journal about how I wanted things to be. One of them being, "I love my body and I have never been kinder to it because I take great care of my myself." As crazy as it sounds, even though I coach this stuff, my own stress was getting in the way of putting myself first – I was last behind my business, my clients, my kids, cleaning my house, laundry, etc. I was giving everything to everyone else, but barely anything to myself. I got to a point where I didn't feel like I had time to even read my positive beliefs each day, so instead of giving up, I got out my phone and recorded myself saying them. I was determined I was going to figure this out. Each morning while driving to my first client's home, I'd listen to myself saying my beliefs, sometimes several times. I actually felt my attitude changing and positive things started happening in my business and I felt back on track with my fitness goals. I was inspired to start taking additional actions like daily walks for stress relief. I really started to feel and believe that I WAS taking better care of my body. Those daily beliefs have now morphed into listening to motivational YouTubes in the car. Just searching motivational mindset or positive thoughts, etc. will turn up all sorts of great videos to listen to. I make it a habit that on a drive I will listen to something motivational before I turn on the radio or news. It gets my day started on the right foot and has totally changed my way of thinking. Obviously I am not free of all complaining, but I definitely notice now when negative thoughts pop in my head or when someone else says something negative around me. I make a quick attempt to change those thoughts to something positive and move on. Making the choice to choose positive thinking, as simple as that can be, has really changed my world and it can change yours too. Just give it a try and get your freedom back to be the BEST version of you. Let's get FIRED UPP, Nat P.S. If you or someone you know would benefit from changing their mindset and improving their health and fitness, Fit, Fueled & Fired Upp is the perfect place to start. If started now, this 14-week program can give you a head start to get back into those skinny jeans just in time for fall.

#choices #mindset #positivethinking