How many times have you seen an email subject line promise to help you “overcome” your biggest hurdle in life?
You can fill in the blank with any problem you like. Overcome your: lack of confidence, fear of flying, poor eating habits, chronic anxiety, etc.
As someone who loves self-improvement, I want to take action and improve my life. (I bet you do too).
But I have an issue with the promise of overcoming specifically.
Is it really possible to overcome a history of trauma? Or a bad case of imposter syndrome?
You can absolutely learn to live with your struggles and improve your situation.
But that’s not the promise. The promise is to overcome. To defeat.
That implies that there is a solution and you just need to find it. So you go on the search, listening to advice and trying new techniques.
Logically, we know there’s no magic pill. But sometimes our brains get ahead of us.
Maybe intermittent fasting is what I needed all along!
But then when it doesn’t solve everything, you feel like you’ve skipped bacon and eggs for nothing.
Should I try keto instead?
No.
Instead of trying to “overcome,” we need to find a more accepting and realistic approach. A number of small choices can make your life better, and we should replace the focus on finding the one right solution with exploring the combinations that work for you.
This takes a load of stress off your back. You get to have space to be open and curious.
When there’s no pressure to overcome once and for all, you can find the right tools to get where you want to do.
To being better without ever eating a chicken crust pizza,
Elizabeth