The ability to be resilient when it comes to your health is a necessary skill, or state of mind, for not only creating change, but sustaining it throughout the ups and downs of life.

You know, and I know, that life isn't on some trajectory with a starting line that is linear in nature with a finish, with perfect incremental steps moving you one step closer to the goal. Rather, it's filled with temptations, triggers, barriers, challenges, stressors and everything in between that greatly impacts our ability to stay the path.

It's called real life. 

What's so important when it comes to putting effort into improving your health is the ability to come back from those times of challenge in your life- could be an hour, a day, or major life event - that bring all of your efforts to a stand still or feels like a complete set back. Because if you have not built a skill set for resilience, any land mine you encounter can lead you down a road that can really mess with your mindset and completely derail your efforts.

In Pillar 1 of my M|body Method I show you the importance of resiliency in setting out to make change to your health that will help you navigate the ups and downs of real life. It's part of building your foundation that will be there to support you as you grow, learn, try new things, are faced with new challenges, and allow you to see and experience the magnitude of who you are. Because when you're able to move through difficult times, you build even more strength that empowers you to keep moving forward with the confidence that you can do anything you set your mind to.

So just how do you build a strong mindset with some teeth that will be unwavering in the face of the challenges of life?

It requires a level of commitment to yourself, losing self judgment and a dash of discipline. I call it fostering a resilient mindset, and it starts with investing in your personal growth.

Having a resilient mindset means to develop the skill to remain focused on your efforts and get back on track in the face of distraction without going down the road of negativity, and staying there.

Instead of getting caught up in the negativity black hole having to claw your way out on repeat, you have a foundation of thoughts, beliefs, values and habits that support loving yourself - warts and all - and the lifestyle you desire and deserve to have.

You have the ability to create this for yourself. You just need to nurture the unique aspects of who you are to develop this resiliency. Done consistently, this will become your identity which allows for healthier beliefs about yourself, which leads to a commitment of making better choices for yourself that do you good in the long run.

Know deep in your bones that you deserve good health and are capable of achieving it. You just need to live it, breathe it, and give it to yourself.

Six Steps to A Resilient Mindset:

1. Be Curious and Courageous

Stay curious about yourself. Be ok with evaluating what’s not working, overcome obstacles, and in the face of adversity be able to observe and move through it without it consuming you. Be a curious active participant in your own life. Cultivate it.  Show up for yourself.

2. Be Steadfast In Self Discipline

Be willing to stretch yourself and be a different version of yourself than you were yesterday, and have courage. Stay consistent and remember that even the smallest of actions daily can have MASSIVE results.

3. Align With Good Energy

Make feeling good a priority. It’s not self centered. It’s your birthright to feel good, to live in abundance. The best way is to practice gratitude for what is going right - now. Listen to music, laugh, dance in your kitchen. Make this a priority because in order to make those choices aligned with your goals, you need to be feeling that energy.

4. Make Your Health A Priority

Ask yourself why it may not be. If you are serious about improving your health you will make it a priority. When you do, you are less likely to allow anything to get in the way of your commitment to it. You will have the mindset that regardless of set backs, you remain steadfast in your goal to achieve what you desire. And the healthier you become, the better choices you make.

5. Stop Judging Yourself.

Lose the idea that you have to do it in some perfect way or the way others do it. It's never going to be perfect. You'll have days you don't give a shit and choose to have a cookie (or two) or don't feel like exercising. This is perfectly ok and being what's called-human. Have your moment, let it go, don't shame yourself, and start fresh the next day. The more you beat yourself up with negative thoughts about yourself, the more likely you will remain stuck and continue down the road of choices that don't serve your goals.

6. Don’t Focus On Outcomes

Focusing on outcomes will always come from a place of need, want, desperation, and low energy. And when you focus on the outcome, rather than staying in the now, and being proud of the smallest of efforts, you will become more critical of yourself for not being where you think you should be. Instead, be patient, know that it takes time, and focus on getting really good at being laser focused on daily tasks and habits that move you forward.

Here is an exercise you can do today to get you started:

• Create a list of the top 5 blocks that hold you back on a daily basis. This could be health related, relationships, your spiritual practice, the old story you tell yourself that doesn’t serve you and is not your real truth.

• Next to each write 1-2 steps you can do today, this week, to improve each area and commit to doing them consistently.

  Incorporate Into Your Daily Routine:

  Practice these steps to foster and develop the skills to have a resilient mindset:

  1. Start your day doing something that focuses on your health and feeling good. This could be mediation with a mantra, exercise, eating a healthy breakfast, spending time with family before you break for the day. (no phones or laptops included)

  2. Begin tasks for the day with a curious mindset. Ask questions, seek answers from a place of curiosity rather than negativity.

  3. Focus, and stay away from shiny objects. Don’t allow yourself to become distracted by this and that. Stay the course on what is important to you.

  4. Take action each day. Become disciplined about your consistency.

  5. Set unwavering boundaries for yourself. Never forsake your health for wanting to please someone else or give in to being shamed for wanting to make healthy choices for yourself.

  6. Have fun! When we exude joy, we attract more of what we want.

  Always remember that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Those who are successful make fostering a healthy mindset, being disciplined, and practicing specific daily habits a priority.

  If you think you deserve to be healthy and to live the life you desire then you have a choice to make. Put yourself first, make yourself and your health, and the body that you want have to be there for you as you age, a priority. You can do it, I believe and know that you can.

  If you believe it too and want steps you can start today, then download the handbook to my method that has a few of the most important things you can do to get you started.