Welcome to the Boot Camp Blog!

POST 1

Hello and welcome to Day 1 of the Health and Wellbeing Boot Camp Blog

Thank you for being here at this Blog – the fact that you are here means that you are wanting to make some positive changes in your life – maybe kick-start a healthy eating regime, discover new ways to take care of yourself, or simply find out more about what you want from life.

Whatever it is that you are hoping to achieve, I’m confident that this Blog will help you – because I’ve been on a similar journey that was pertinent to me. I wanted to lose weight – I needed to find a direction for myself, and I yearned to feel great, physically and emotionally.

A lot of my success has been down to what I have learned about myself, to the negative habits I have ditched, and those positive ones I’ve replaced them with. Just following a planned diet or fitness regime was never going to be enough for me – I needed to look hard at what I really wanted, what I really believed and how I could really make a difference in my life.

Learning and discovery is the foundation of this Blog, and it’s the foundation of any lasting and successful change in your life. That’s why this Blog is going to be different – it might not be what you expected, as the approach I’ve taken is ‘tell me something that I don’t already know’ – and that is what I am aiming to do. So, enjoy the journey, as the work you do here could well be some of the most valuable of your life.

To begin then!

Your key objective today is to begin to understand how you approach change, what resistance you have to it and why, and how to overcome that resistance so that change is easy and permanent for you.

Making the Change

As you embark on any personal change in your life – weight, fitness, mindset, wellbeing, goals – it’s important to hear and understand the significance of words like these:

“Your biggest need right now is to develop new beliefs: about yourself, about this change and about life in general. Nothing will have a bigger impact on the way you move through change.” Ariane de Bonvoisin

Let me ask you a question – What comes up for you when you think of ‘change’?

This is a key question, and it touches on your beliefs; the things that you think are true.

This would be a great time to print out a few Journal sheets, which are available free from the resources page or grab a notebook, and jot down what comes to mind when you think about change. The task at the end of the post will give you some ideas and prompts if you’re not sure where to start, as well as getting you looking at your core beliefs.

It’s important to keep notes as you go through the Boot Camp, as it’s a great way to keep a record of how you’re doing, what’s really changed for you and how you’ve progressed!

I recognise resistance myself – I’ve felt it, experienced it, and seen it in others as I’ve coached them to make a difference in their life. I don’t doubt for a moment that at some point you’ll feel resistance to what I’m saying – so please, all I ask of you is that you be open-minded about the process.

Being open-minded is sexy!

…and the best thing about it is you don’t actually need to be ‘right’, or know the answer. Being open-minded means that you are open to learning, and that is a very attractive and positive quality.

“You cannot solve a problem with the mind that created it.” Albert Einstein

It is our beliefs that tend to prevent us from making changes, not a lack of discipline or courage.

Are you tripping yourself up with outmoded beliefs?

Here is an old belief of mine: when I first switched on to spirituality, I thought for some bizarre reason, that in order to be truly spiritual one had be humble and not ask for anything, therefore I created a ‘poor’ mindset. And that was exactly what I got – a complete lack! I was struggling financially, had poor health, an unsuccessful relationship – poor in all senses!

Then, what a paradigm shift I had when I understood that spirituality was abundance, enough of everything for everyone. Our birthright is to be ‘happy, healthy, wealthy, healed and whole’, and why would we want anything less?

And believe me, what a turnaround that was when I implemented that way of thinking – I have never looked back! Changes I made to my beliefs lead to a better job, and later to entrepreneurial success. I also found a great, fulfilling relationship and I healed some rifts and expanded my family. I moved to a better home and I found lots of new opportunities, new friends and business associates.

Importantly, I learned a whole lot more about myself.

Your path will be different – maybe entirely different – from mine, but that’s good. We all have our own journeys to undertake, and yours will be as powerful and as positive for you as mine was for me.

Can you make the change? Absolutely YES!

There are universal laws – gravity for example, no matter how much you might argue about it or disagree with it, it exists! What goes up, does indeed come down.

Well, here is another instance – where there is a negative emotion (fear or resistance for instance), there must be a positive one (courage or acceptance); you cannot have dark without light, you just have to find it.

I find this verse a great comfort when I get a bit scared – and believe me I still do sometimes.

If there is fear, there is faith.
Where there is doubt, you can surrender.
Impatience can become endurance.
Instead of blame, be honest.
Let go of guilt and forgive.
And instead of shame, let there be honour.

Incredible stuff, and doesn’t it feel better? That’s called ‘empowerment’, being response-able (which feels so better than ‘responsible’) in its highest form.

You are what you think!

Try this on for size… what if you got to decide how you would like to feel: happy or sad, angry or calm, approving or jealous – and then events were arranged so that all the people and circumstances of your life could make it so?

You’d probably choose to be happy, right? So consider this, your feelings, whatever they are, are your choice. If you choose the wrong ones, then what manifests thereafter may not be! You can also call it ‘cause and effect’.

You cause the effect – wow, that’s how powerful you are!

Knowing consciously how to make the right choices and create the right effects takes some learning about yourself – and that’s what the Boot Camp Blog is about!

I love this analogy:

“When your car tank is empty, you don’t sit there and get depressed and think it’s permanent – you go fill it up. It’s the same with life – when you’re running on empty, go fill up your tank with a better thought or action and get on with your life.” Abraham/Hicks

I really hope that when you need a better thought, or a better action, and they seem a long way off, that some of these great voices and inspirational words that have helped me will do the same for you.

Changing our weight, a job, a relationship – whatever, means that you will probably experience an ‘in-between’ phase, a transitional period. Remember to be kind to yourself during this phase, give yourself time to adapt and to consolidate.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.” Lao Tzu

Congratulations on taking this first step! Take a few more and join me for the next post in a couple of days, when I’ll be introducing you to some great ideas about how to get your mind working for you full time, and before the end of the week I’ll be introducing you to a simple set of actions to improve your energy levels.

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TASK:

Take this time to explore your beliefs. Get your Boot Camp Journal and write these questions and your answers down.

(I know from my own past experience that not wanting to participate in writing things down is part of the resistance to change. So if that’s what you’re feeling, decide to overcome that resistance right now! Go on, fetch a pen and paper and do this, it’ll just take a few moments… there are no ‘right’ answers and no-one is going to check them or criticise you, so be honest.)

What comes up for me when I think of ‘change’?
•   It’s hard
•   I don’t like it
•   It’s exciting
•   It’s scary
•   I can’t be bothered with it

How do I handle change?
•   Well
•   Badly
•   I don’t

My life is…?
•   Difficult
•   Unfair
•   Full of surprises
•   Amazing

My aim in life is to…?
•   Be happy
•   Love
•   Make money
•   Learn

I handle a crisis by…
•   Seeing what I can learn from the situation
•   Feeling like a victim
•  Changing something

My relationships are…
•   A source of love and joy
•   Something I am not good at
•   Just hard work
•   An intimate reflection

Work is….
•   Boring
•   Challenging
•   Fulfilling
•   Difficult
•   Unpredictable

This kind of content and exercise is…
•   Not for me
•   Helpful
•   Stupid
•   Informative
•   Intimidating
•   Confusing

The answers you have written form the foundation of how you view life and change, and they will probably be reflected in how your life is unfolding now. Keep your answers safe, it will be interesting to compare them with how you feel at the end of the Boot Camp!

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds, cannot change anything.” George Bernard Shaw

If there is one thing I’m certain about, it’s this – if you’re reading this blog, you’ve alredy proved that you are quite capable of changing your mind! Thank you for joining me on the Boot Camp Blog – see you again in a couple of days!

Wishing you health and happiness,

Dawn

Tags:   Ariane de Bonvoisin · dealing with change · healthy eating · weight loss · wellbeing



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