Defend Yourself

I’ve heard it said we are all the judge, jury, and defense in our own lives.

Sadly, most of us spend our time judging and convicting ourselves without making a fair defense.

You can start making notable change when you come to terms with this idea. When people give up, it’s often because they’re spending time as the judge and jury and forget to defend themselves

Here’s an example: Elmer wants to lose 5 pounds this month. His brain starts telling him he’s never going to do it, he isn’t serious about it, he doesn’t have what it takes (judge). This is going to be too hard (jury). Elmer’s jury ruled everything is going wrong, and he’s convicted of being a failure before he even truly begins.

What if Elmer could stop in that moment, capture those thoughts, and defend himself instead?

Defense might look like saying, “In my defense, I have been exercising regularly. In my defense, I didn’t overeat at my birthday dinner. In my defense, I’ve already lost 2 pounds.”

Elmer’s’ struggle isn’t in losing weight. His struggle is the temptation to look for evidence to convict himself. Why? Because it gives him the opportunity to self sabotage. He stops the uncomfortable, difficult journey before he has a chance to complete it.

No one wants the difficult journey, but everyone wants the outcome they dream about accomplishing.

So what is it going to be?

• Are you going to convict yourself of being incapable of reaching this goal?

• Are you going to use your energy to defend yourself, to have your back, and to help yourself achieve this goal?

We owe it to ourselves to identify and present the evidence that we’re capable of doing hard things.

If you do not look for evidence to support your progress, you will prove yourself right. You will convict yourself of being incapable of making this change.

Coaching Questions:

Which dream feels impossible in your life today?

How could you defend yourself…to yourself…to keep making progress one day at a time?

I’m cheering for you!

Your coach,

Dana