"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." — James Baldwin
Some people say change is hard. But it really comes down to this simple realization:
You will change when the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of trying something different.
Have you found yourself at that crossroads yet?
Or do want to do something new, like exercising or cooking healthy meals, but you’re just too accustomed to the way things are right now?
Where the thought of change has your nagging inner voice saying things like, “Nah, we don’t need to do that new thing, this old one is good enough...plus it's pretty comfy.”
Last week this came up as a topic of discussion during the group coaching call for my 8-week Start with Self-Love course.
The fact that we are so skilled at telling ourselves that things are "good enough" and then using that as an argument against change.
But, if you are like the women who are in the course right now, then you might be feeling deep down that things AREN'T good enough and that you want them to better.
And yet, for some reason, you still might find yourself in the "good enough" place TALKING about what you want to change, but not actually doing anything about it.
There's a popular story about a dog sitting on a nail that is often used as an analogy for this very situation.
Once upon a time, there was a guy walking down the street. He came across a house that had an old man and a dog on the front porch.
The dog was moaning and groaning. The guy who was walking by was curious about what was wrong with the dog and why the old man was just sitting there not doing anything about it.
So he asked him, "Hey Mister, what's wrong with your dog?"
The old man on the porch said, "He's sitting on a nail."
The guy was shocked. And asked, "But why doesn't he just get up?!"
The old man said, "Because it isn't hurting him badly enough yet."
What’s it going to take for you to finally make the changes you want to make in your life?
How long will you tolerate sitting on a metaphorical nail?
How long will you settle for what you tell yourself is "good enough"?
How bad will things have to get?
Will you have to hit "rock bottom" before taking any action?
👉 Or, will you start being honest with yourself about how painful sitting on that nail REALLY is?
Now listen, I'm not saying that there won't ALSO be some pain involved with "removing the nail", because there definitely will be some.
But, it will be far less than continuing to sit on it, moaning and groaning until things get SO BAD that you are left with no other choice.
Like it or not, pain is a powerful motivator.
Unfortunately we usually fixate on the potential pain of change as a way to deter us from taking action.
Add to that the fact that we can be really good at telling ourselves stories and pretending that things are "totally fine", leaving us very often like the dog in the story...just tolerating the nail.
But if you can tap into the real pain that you are experiencing right now,
And if you can face the reality of what might happen if you continue to just tolerate the pain,
Then you can use that to motivate you towards action BEFORE you've hit "rock bottom".
So...are you going to keep sitting on the nail?
Or are you ready to yank that sucker out already?
P.S. You don’t have to remove that nail alone!…Use this link, to schedule in a time to chat so that you can get the help that you need.
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