The "I'm not doing enough" complex.

The "I'm not doing enough" complex.

There’s something I have been hearing an awful lot of recently and it’s this, “I know I could do more”, or “I know I could do better.”  These sentiments often come from people who I am actually slightly in awe of because of their huge capacity to cope with whatever life throws at them.   I guess we are all inclined to compare ourselves to others or wish we could hit on that one magic formula that would mend all our woes.  We take stock of our lives in terms of all the things we need to do/change and forget to note the positives.  Now when someone tells me that they know they could do more, I respond by saying “lets talk about the things you’ve already changed.”

It’s a simple proposition – lets focus on the positive changes you’ve already made.  A person might tell me that they’ve:

Stopped having a fry and Lucozade for breakfast and started having porridge and a juice instead.
Started taking a good walk two or three times a week.
Opened up a bit more about their anxieties.
And tried something new like Pilates or Yoga.

As someone lists all the things they’ve changed in order to improve their well-being a little light comes on in the back of their eyes and it glows that bit brighter when I ask them to recognise that they are already self-healing.  Because the simple fact is that while they are worried about not doing enough their body/mind/soul are welcoming all the new nourishment and care they are receiving.

So what I want to say is even small changes are good enough.  Pat yourself on the back and move forward with the intention of keeping yourself on the right path. Baby steps lead to bigger steps and bigger steps become great strides along your very own well-being path.

 

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