Blogpost: Sometimes we get in own way

I watched two of my favorite basketball teams play this past weekend. Both lost their games not because they did not have the physical skills but because of their mindset. The first team was leading the whole game and lost in the closing minutes the same way they have lost to several other teams that were billed as being big rivals. You could see the pressure building as they pressed to get past the dreaded time where they fell apart previously. The other team lost early in the game when the other team “got in their heads” so to speak. They became angry at calls and chatter from the other team. Even though they played better in the second half, they were mentally beat from the mindset they let sneak in from the second half. I also listened to a podcast interviewing Catherine Hoke that believes in second chances for all humans including the inmates that she helps to see their worth and become suceessfully employed entrepreneur. Many of these people had been cast as worthless from a young age. She was able to help them change their mindset. I watched a youtube video about 2 men who ran a 100 mile trail race in just minutes less than the 36 hour cutoff. Neither had grown up running and the one man had suffered from dyslexia and was told from a young age that he could not go to college because of his learning disability. He tried out for the wrestling team and lost most of his matches his first year only to go on and do quite well. He did go to college, finished and attained a good job. He developed a mindset early on that nothing was beyond his reach if he put his mind to it.

I then thought about the people that I have worked with that struggle with their weight. They often feel that their body and mind have betrayed them and they will never be able to get their weight under control. They see a massive goal ahead of them and cannot get past the enormity of the challenge. Then I thought of how this all relates to running. I am training for two long races. I do my longest runs on the weekend. I did a 15 mile run on Saturday and a 10 mile run on Sunday. I did several hours of yard work lifting and carrying mulch Sunday afternoon. On Monday, I was not sure how my scheduled 6 mile run would go. I gave myself permission to see how it felt without the pressure of having to complete the run. I decided to take one mile at a time and turn back if I felt bad. I gave myself permission to slow the pace if needed. The run went fine and I felt good and enjoyed being out with running with my dogs. I thought about how I look at my runs each morning. Playing little mind games to see how long certain segments take or count down the distance by streets and turns instead of miles. This makes a run go much faster and seem much easier. You may be wondering why all the rambling and scattered thoughts? It all comes down to mindset. What is your focus? Do you beat yourself up or challenge yourself with attainable goals? Or do you only focus on the end result and not the journey? Perhaps if we broke down the transition to a plant based way of life as daily attainable steps instead of a perfect vision of what a perfect diet would be. I would ask that you find joy in attaining health and wellness through focusing on small attainable fun goals. Some people tell me they do good for breakfast and lunch and then things go bad. What is different about those eight hours versus the next 8? Perhaps you are like my team that fears the last few minutes of the game and failing. Perhaps you fail before you even get to lunch and loose hope for the rest of the day. How could you make your most difficult time your most desired time? If the answers were easy my teams would have won, there would be no inmates, and we would all be great healthy runners. I am up for the challenge and I invite you as well.

We would love to work with you as you set your ultimate goals for health and wellness.

On March 24,2018 we will have Dr. Doug Lyle, author of the pleasure trap as a featured speaker for our 3rd Annual Charlotte County Nutrition Conference to give his insight to many of the above challenges as well as Timaree Hagenburger, RD and Addie Majnaric, RD and myself. Besides the lectures we each will give, there will be a cooking demonstration and a fabulous plant based breakfast and lunch. Join us to meet new people and share ideas and strategies for health and wellness. Check out the website, doctordulaney.com for more information and to purchase tickets. We would also like to invite you to be a part of our practice and let us help you reach your optimal goals for health and wellness.