With heart health month in full swing, I want to talk about your heart – the one that drives your passions, energy, and drive. I’m talking about the emotional side of your heart.
If we want to experience wholeness in our lives, we must address the whole person. That includes your mind, body, and spirit.
If you’re reading this right now, it is not an accident. There’s a reason. If for nothing else, I want you to understand that there is hope for your situation. Whether you are experiencing pain, anxiety, depression, or if you’ve simply stopped dreaming about how good your life could possibly be due to a sense of hopelessness, allow me to give you some hope today.
For years, I’ve been studying the human body and mind…
To help me understand it in a way that allows me to work with other people.
To help them uncover the underlying issues that are causing disease and chronic illness.
In that time, I’ve tried a whole plethora of healing modalities (so many I actually wrote a book on them). While some of the strategies worked well for many years, others were only quick fixes.
Are you relying on drugs (that may only be masking your symptoms)? Are you not ready to give up when your doctors have told you that you just have to live with it?
If so, you’re in the right place. So stay with me!
You see, I was that frustrated and discouraged person who became afraid of nothing when it pertained to my health. I was willing to try anything to get well. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
Because of that emotional exhaustion (or emotional illness), I became physically ill. So how does your heart impact your physical wellness?
Emotional Illness Drives Physical Illness
Poor health is not inevitable as you age. While we all have the potential of getting sick, it doesn’t have to be the norm.
Free yourself from the belief that you have to get sick before you die. Illness and stress is simply the result of a crazy, fast-paced world.
The people I work with on a regular basis are experiencing not only physical symptoms, but they are suffering from emotional illness.
Emotional Illness
Emotional illness includes low self-esteem, lack of confidence, anxiety, depression. And many times, it drives physical illness. Did you know that before this global pandemic 2 out of 3 Americans were seeking help for some sort of emotional stress?
In fact, 3 out of 4 hospitalizations are stress-related. Stress can cause symptoms like fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, decreased sex drive, nervousness… And can even drive physical disease in the body!
If you’re only looking at your physical body for the answers, then you’re missing part of the picture. You are not your body. You are a result of your thoughts and your habits.
Our life is a reflection of the things we think about most.
Whatever you believe, you will take action on.
Emotional Resistance
One of the biggest dilemmas we face is our resistance to our negative emotions.
We are taught that some emotions are good and some emotions are bad. The truth is, we are the ones that give emotions meaning.
When we get an uncomfortable physical reaction that comes from an emotion, we have a natural tendency to try to get rid of it. This creates a negative pattern or habit. When we stuff our emotions and ignore them, we create an imbalance in our body.
This isn’t always your fault.
You grew up with certain beliefs, attitudes, and reactions based on the way you were raised. Just because you’ve been responding in a certain way your entire life doesn’t mean it’s serving you well.
How to Overcome Emotional Resistance
I want to help you uncover some of the things that may be causing you pain from an emotional standpoint that could be leading to physical pain in your body. So let’s get to the heart of things and address a few different types of emotional resistance that lead to physical resistance and prevent you from progressing in your health.
The most common emotional patterns my clients get stuck with include:
- Researching habitually and nervously
- Procrastinating
- Stopping when there is a crisis
- Setting unrealistic expectations
- Panicking
If you sense that you fall into one or all of these categories, use the strategies below to help you overcome emotional resistance. These are especially important if you’re experiencing physical symptoms in your body. Many times, these emotional tendencies will lead to physical reactions.
Trust Your Intuition Over The Research
One thing that keeps us stuck is our “need” to research everything. We feel that we must have it all figured out before we take action. As a result, we grow more nervous and anxious. The Internet has told us the worst case scenario and we’ve already made it up in our minds that we’re dying.
The problem with this research approach is that you’ll overwhelm your brain with information, leaving you no space to actually think.
Sometimes, we have to trust our intuition.
When we are constantly researching, we’re expecting that we will find the answer suddenly.
When suddenly doesn’t come, we feel frustrated. You don’t have to know everything before you start your health journey.
Simply ask yourself if you know enough to take the first step. If you do, then do it now. Take action before you start thinking about it.
Avoid Procrastination
Procrastination is another form of emotional resistance that keeps us stuck.
We typically procrastinate because the task seems like it will be daunting or something that’s not fun.
We are motivated by love, potential, fun, and meaning. And many times, we procrastinate out of fear. We end up saying we can figure it out on our own instead of hiring a mentor. Or we end up doing a lot of busy work that never moves us toward our goals.
The emotion that stands in the way when it comes to procrastination is usually fear and uncertainty.
The key to moving past this is understanding that you don’t have to do everything on your to-do list to move the needle forward.
Just take one step forward.
Once you commit to that first 15 minutes, it’s a lot easier to take action and continue the task through to completion. Again, you want to get clear on the actions that are going to move the needle for you.
Stop Making Excuses & Ignore The Drama
This next one will catch you by surprise!
Do you have something that you feel like you can’t move past?
That’s drama, and almost every single one of my clients get distracted with it.
When you start moving forward and progressing with your goals, something is going to happen. Something will stand in your way. It could be your child misbehaving, pulling you away to handle their issues. It could also be a major crisis at work that demands your immediate attention. Your car may break down, and you can’t get to the gym as easily.
These excuses are one of the biggest forms of resistance.
It is simply your brain trying to keep you safe. This is one of the biggest reasons people stay stuck in their health. Don’t miss this! When this happens to you, ignore the drama!
See it for what it is, resolve the issue, and keep moving forward.
Have Realistic Expectations
I know you think you’re special, and you may be inclined to magical thinking since you are special.
But this magical thinking will get you nowhere when it comes to results.
Some people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to their change and transformation (i.e. losing 20 pounds without changing diet or exercise regimens).
You are going to have to do something different if you want different results.
There is no such thing as calorie free donuts, as you may like to believe. These unrealistic stories you’re telling yourself are keeping you in a state of emotional resistance.
You cannot skip the rules. You cannot keep starting over on Monday. And you cannot meditate or imagine that the results will just show up and expect it to happen.
Let me friendly slap you back into reality and tell you that you’re going to have to do the work. Show up every single day no matter what. Set the goal, and stick to it. That is what will get you the results.
Push Through The Panic Stage
Panic happens when you feel like nothing is working.
Have you started to change a few things? You’re expecting massive transformation almost immediately, but results are slow to come. Maybe you started losing a little bit of weight, but you hit a plateau.
Let me caution you by saying… Do not interpret this and tell yourself something is wrong.
When you experience this type of panic, you will start looking for other answers.
“I must be doing it wrong. I should have known this wouldn’t work.”
Stand confident and continue taking action. Consistency is the key when it comes to pushing through this stage of panic. When you make healthy decisions, your results will come. When you push through this stage of panic, you will get your breakthrough.
Ready to Overcome Your Emotional Resistance?
Emotional resistance is the #1 reason people stay in a painful pattern. In my program, I share 13 different ways to help you push through these painful patterns and overcome emotional resistance.
While you’ll never get rid of resistance, the key is to learn how to push through the resistance. Acknowledge its presence and continue moving forward, taking action every step of the way.
Interested in learning if my program is right for you? Click here to schedule a discovery call with me.