Trusting Yourself
Last week my nearest and dearest and I decided to participate in Dr. Oz's three-day cleanse. Admittedly over the holidays, we had indulged more than our fair share in the spoils of food and wine. So after much research, we decided the Dr. Oz cleanse would be our best bet. "It will be easy"; "We can TOTALLY do this"; "We will feel SO much better by doing this," we said.
On day one, I felt great. I made and drank all my smoothies and felt more energized than before. I thought to myself, this is great! Upon arriving home, I realized my nearest and dearest wasn't feeling as amazing. In fact, he was debating quitting! Given that he lives with epilepsy, we knew going in we would be extra careful with his health. So we agreed he would continue to drink the smoothies AND eat real food.
Day 2 I woke up feeling awful, no energy, achy all over, and exhausted. After a 3 hour nap in the morning and barely moving off the couch, I realized I needed to eat before I was going to be able to see clients. So Wednesday afternoon, I gave in and made myself some peanut butter toast, and within a few hours, I was feeling better.
I learned SO much by being on this cleanse--even more so by not finishing it. I confess I am pretty competitive, so as I lay on the couch feeling completely miserable, I kept saying to myself, you can't give up you HAVE to keep going. And then there was the small voice that I like to call my biggest fan saying, "Really, you can't quit...says who? Why not? What are you trying to prove?"
In the past, I would have beaten myself up for not completing the cleanse; I would have told myself I was weak and unhealthy. I wouldn't have trusted myself. It was refreshing to hear my inner dialogue. As soon as those old voices came up, they silenced by my biggest fan saying, "Wisdom is admitting when to stop. You learned what you wanted to learn now implement that and move on". And I did learn A LOT. I made some commitments to myself on the areas of my diet I wanted to change, less sugar and caffeine, more fruits and vegetables.
Our culture is obsessed with winning, completion, and getting it done, that sometimes the lesson is knowing when to stop. For me, this cleanse was a reminder that I can say "No, that's not for me," even if everyone else is saying, "Yes, you will LOVE it."
Where have you said no when everyone else is saying yes? When have you not completed a plan because you knew it was the right thing for you? How does your biggest fan talk to you?