The State of You

Episode 8 – Listening to You

https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/episode-8-listening-to-you.mp3 [https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/episode-8-listening-to-you.mp3] Welcome to Episode 8 of The State of You Podcast – I am Bindi – thank you for joining me. In this episode we explore the concept of Listening to You and how being in tune with ourselves, our bodies and the universe can align us to our purpose and our values. Busy lives mean busy minds, we don’t often stop and take the time – the time to listen to ourselves. When was the last time you listened to you – your inner voice or actually what your body is telling you? Was it positive and reassuring or was it negative, judgemental or alarming? We often find ourselves living the life we thought we wanted, only to find it wasn’t based on our own values – it was based on someone else’s. This might be formed through our relationships or conditioning over time. When you take the time to listen to yourself you will find it a lot easier to discover your purpose and live your values. You might find over time that the job or the relationship you are in no longer aligns with your core values – this is where you really need to dig deep and ask the big questions and many pathways may open up for you. It may mean you need to realign yourself in one or many ways. It’s more than just listening to yourself, it’s also about asking yourself the right kind of questions and taking action with the answers and becoming aware that the universe has everything under control and looking out for those ques. Know what you are asking for – be aware of what you are asking and then you’ll know when it appears. Let me give you an example – I was working on a project and I was struggling to bring all the loose ends together and kept asking myself – how can I make this work? what would a genius do? How can I bring this together? Soon after that I got a message from a friend who specialised in just what I needed, and we collaborated on a solution. Another – in my very first podcast I was trying to find what my message was – when I had fallen so many times who was I to be preaching? I realised there was a lesson from my experience that everyone could benefit from – the clear message I got when I asked myself the question – and listened – was its ok to fall because without the fall, you won’t understand the growth in getting back up. See what I mean? Ask, Listen, Receive, Act! By listening to yourself you just may get the wisest advice you will ever receive, and the universe will show you the way. Listening to yourself also means you take notice of your instincts – when you get that gut feeling or a hunch – it all happens for a reason – listen to it – take notice – often our instincts are usually right and any time we divert from them we most likely come undone. It may take time for you to get used to listening to yourself but once you cut through the meaningless chatter that happens in your head and the answers you need materialise, it becomes a lot easier with practice. There are different ways that you might receive answers or messages – for example it might be that feeling you get that feels like something is right and common sense – it could be an ahuh moment, you could get goosebumps or feel a warm glow kind of feeling, you may even hear the words in your head or a voice (no this doesn’t mean you’re crazy), you might see an image in your mind and quite commonly you might have a dream and it’s message sticks with you. -Break- Listening to our body should be the easiest thing to do right? Ha well it should. We need to stop ignoring the signals it is giving us because those signals are there for a reason. Don’t underestimate how fragile the human body can be – particularly if it is not being taken care of. For over 20 years I have worked in a corporate environment, usually with a long to-do list and multiple deadlines and often you feel like you are being pulled at from multiple directions based on priority. After so many years in this environment, I have had many alarm bells, my back has been a primary one from sitting for so many years, along with my weight due to the sedentary stressful lifestyle. My immunity was also compromised from stress, I used to be able to almost predict when I was going to get sick with a throat infection. You’ll be glad to know I have put things in place to deal with all these issues and the results are really speaking for themself. If you’re experiencing pain, discomfort or health issues – don’t sweep it under the rug or push it aside thinking everything will be ok. Your body doesn’t respond in the way it does without good reason. When it starts to fall apart or transform into something you didn’t quite have in mind, take responsibility, respect yourself enough to exercise self care and get the attention you need to rectify what your body needs. If you don’t, those alarm bells will get louder and will be harder to reverse or repair – listen, receive, act! See a pattern here? By now, you should know right from wrong and know what to be on the lookout for – generally your inner voice will steer you in the right direction or to do the right thing. We also have to think about our past when our instincts give us a nudge – we should never let a past experience override a gut feeling – particularly if it is telling us to go down a path we have before unsuccessfully. Obviously, it goes without saying – use your common sense and best judgement here. Sometimes we need to make decisions that will change our entire life and often we get a message repeatedly and ignore it – it can take some time for us to actually get it, receive it, listen and take action. Once you get it – it’s like a lightbulb moment and you’ll quite plainly see it’s the universe trying to tell you what you should do – so just go with it and trust it. Through your decisions you create what you need for your journey and many times we try to convince ourselves that other options may have been better – even when our gut is still telling us we are on the right track – even though it might not seem so. The key to listening to yourself and trusting in your intuition is simply that – trust. If you’ve had a history of making bad decisions, it may be hard to trust yourself and you might not feel equipped to make decisions to get you to where you need to be. If this is the case, take a step back and make a commitment to yourself – a promise to love yourself regardless of whatever state you are in. Be kind to yourself and patient and know you’ll figure out all you need to know. To help increase trust in yourself and honestly think about your decisions before making them – try asking yourself these questions: ·     What am I trying to achieve? ·     Am I clear on the decision I am making? ·     Are there other options I need to consider? ·     Do I need to get advice from elsewhere? ·     Who besides me will be impacted by my decision? ·     How will others be impacted? ·     Once I have made this decision, what will my life be like once I have made it? ·     Is this decision ethical and in line with my values? You might also find it helpful to practice meditation regularly to give you the benefits of greater self-awareness and reduced stress and therefore position yourself in a better place to listen to yourself, your inner voice and your body. I find guided meditations useful in keeping focused, overcoming obstacles and achieving outcomes. I hope episode 8 has been useful in helping you to tune in to listening to you and given you some food for thought on how you can ask, listen, receive and act. Thank you for taking the time to listen – if you would like to share your story, please visit my website at www.thestateofyoupodcast.com [http://www.thestateofyoupodcast.com/] and send me an email. If you would like further information, visit the links page on my site. If you enjoyed this episode– please share your feedback – I would love to hear from you – you can find me on Instagram @thestateofyou, Facebook @thestateofyoupodcast or subscribe to the podcast through my website.

Episode 7 – Hot & Healthy with Nicole van Hattem

https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/episode-7-hot-healthy-with-nicole-van-hattem.mp3 [https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/episode-7-hot-healthy-with-nicole-van-hattem.mp3] Nicole van Hattem [https://nicolevanhattem.com] CHHC is the Producer and Host of the Hot and Healthy Show, Success Strategist and Resilience Coach, TEDx speaker, and three times bestselling author. More success with less stress! When 20 years as a corporate high-flyer resulted in burnout in 2010, Nicole retrained as a Holistic Health Coach, lost 17kg / 3 dress sizes and began her mission to end “Death by Desk” – an epidemic of Women in business struggling to do it all, be it all and burning out. I chatted with Nicole about her story and how she is helping women live their best life and how she is manifesting magnificence… The highlights of our chat included: * Nicole’s experience of living and working in the Middle East in a high-flying international corporate job. * The consequences of not taking care of yourself while striving for more in your career. * The breakthrough and resiliance you can have once you listen and get in touch with your body and take care of it. * Detoxing and the transformative benefits of getting the ‘junk out of the trunk’! * Tips on thriving in the 9 to 5 and avoiding a death by desk and Nicole’s Tedx talk. * How Nicole retrained as a Holistic Health Coach and her vision to integrate a corporate head and holistic heart. * Understanding that you can’t do it all on your own as that is a fast track to burnout. * Question your definition of success – is it your definition or someone else’s? * Nicole’s books – particularly Balls of Energy and how it came about. * Understanding the value of what you do and how others will be more involved once invested. * Feminine energy and the approach to business * Corporate engagement surveys – are they really of any value? * It can take multiple alarms before you get the message and break your patterns of behaviour. * Paying it forward, the ripple effect of helping others to achieve their goals and thrive in their passion. * We are way too smart to be this dumb!! * Dissatisfaction with where you are at in life is not necessarily a bad thing – see it as an opportunity to grow and be/do whatever it is that makes you thrive. I hope you enjoyed episode 7 and the chat that I had with Nicole – I know I had a ball! Hopefully now you have the motivation to also end death by desk and thrive in the 9 to 5. Make sure you check out Nicole’s Tedx talk and her books – you’ll find info on the Links [http://thestateofyoupodcast.com/links/] page on my site. Thank you for taking the time to listen to The State of You – if you’d like to share your story, please get in touch by visiting www.thestateofyoupodcast.com [http://www.thestateofyoupodcast.com] and send me an email. If you enjoyed this episode or have a topic you would like me to cover in a future episode, I would love your feedback. You can find me on Instagram @thestateofyou [https://www.instagram.com/thestateofyou/], Facebook @thestateofyoupodcast [https://www.facebook.com/thestateofyoupodcast/] or subscribe to the podcast through my website.

Episode 6 – EveryMite – The Super Spread

https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/episode-6-everymite-the-super-spread.mp3 [https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/episode-6-everymite-the-super-spread.mp3] In episode 6 of The State of You, we welcome special guest Cinnamon Morrisey – the founder of EveryMite [http://www.everymite.com.au]. Her son William loved Vegemite, but due to allergies and intolerances he could no longer eat it, so Cinnamon’s mission was to find a substitute that would be inclusive for her son. She explains the ingredients, the process and how the popular spread has taken off and expanded in range. EveryMite has not only changed William’s life, but Cinnamon’s whole family and community. Cinnamon is a determined woman who never gave up until she found a solution, this solution has now been a godsend to so many people around the country and now overseas. Check out the EveryMite range at www.everymite.com.au [http://www.everymite.com.au], find your nearest stockist or follow Cinnamon on her journey. Thank you for taking the time to listen to episode 6 – if you would like to share your story, please visit my website at www.thestateofyoupodcast.com [http://www.thestateofyoupodcast.com/] and send me an email. If you would like further information, visit the links page on my site. If you enjoyed this episode – please share your feedback – you can find me on Instagram @thestateofyou, Facebook @thestateofyoupodcast or subscribe to the podcast through my website.

Episode 5 – Self-care isn’t selfish

https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/episode-5-self-care-isnt-selfish.mp3 [https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/episode-5-self-care-isnt-selfish.mp3] Welcome to Episode 5 of The State of You Podcast – I am Bindi – thank you for joining me. In Episode 5 we take a look at the importance of self-care and how it can reduce stress, improve mental fitness and enhance energy. Self-care has become a wellness buzzword in recent years that tends to be misinterpreted and for many is seen as self-indulgent tripe – well in this episode I am going to share with you all you need to know about self-care and provide you with some simple tips on how you can include a little self-care into your routine each and every day. -Break- When we were growing up – most of us had parents who took care of us, making sure we were fed, clothed, clean, educated, safe and healthy. The funny thing is we are never taught how to be our own parent – which is essentially what we are when we grow up. We see so often, many people in the height of their career who are highly stressed, work is their number one priority, always switched on, highly driven, overworked, striving for more while their own needs come last – they often don’t sleep well, they don’t make time for family or friends, they don’t eat well or regularly and when they do it is usually something quick like takeaway or junk food to get them through. As a result – what happens? They get burnt out and every task they undertake begins to not be performed so well anymore! This is usually when we find self care becomes the most important to us – when we have neglected it for so long. We seek what it takes to make us feel better and restore ourselves to what we thought normal was. So what is self-care? Self-care is all about recognising our physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social needs and putting activities in place to meet them. If we think of ourselves like a car – we still need to put petrol in the tank to run it and we need to keep it maintained to run well. Self-care is not about being selfish – it’s about looking after yourself in ways that only you can so that you can be your best self. It’s also not about adding another thing to your to-do list – it’s about prioritising your needs and addressing them. There’s also debate that self-care is also about the way we see ourselves on a daily basis – and that you’re just as beautiful in your bathrobe as you are in formal wear or that you take the time to love yourself – not just when you’re having a winning day, but every day. -Break- When we take a deeper look at self-care and our core needs – these can be broken down into 5 key areas – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social needs. Physical self-care encompasses nutrition, exercise, sleep, rest, health, sexual needs and physical touch. Emotional self-care takes into account managing your stress levels, increasing empathy, navigating your emotions and having compassion for yourself and others. Mental self-care is about mindfulness, learning new things and creating new neural pathways and practicing creativity. Spiritual self-care is focused on our values and beliefs and looks at focusing on noble goals and developing spiritual awareness – for example volunteering or finding others who have similar philosophies to you. Social self-care is pretty obvious – it’s about connecting with others – friends, family – developing relationships and having trusting caring people surrounding you to give you a sense of belonging. Here are my 10 tips for self-care to improve your daily health and wellbeing: 1. Take a relaxing bath – I usually add candles, some relaxing music, bubbles or some epsom salts to help relax your muscles. Do something you find relaxing every day – we take in so much information in our day – we need to give our mind a break – microbreaks of 40 seconds where you look out into nature can be very beneficial to productivity. It can also be as simple as listening to your favourite music, cooking, gardening or meditating. 2. Eat nutritious meals – cooking is a very tactile and rewarding activity – be mindful of alcohol and caffeine intake and keep to a minimum. We often have alcohol to help us relax – but did you know too much alcohol can impact our serotonin levels and therefore increase our likelihood of anxiety and depression? 3. Go for a walk on the beach or around the neighbourhood – better still take your dog with you if you have one – or two. Get regular exercise – find something you enjoy – try for at least 20 minutes a day – even a 10 minute walk can do wonders to reduce stress. 4. Make sure you get enough sleep – I use a bedtime app that reminds me when I have to go to bed to get enough sleep – it also wakes me up in the morning. 5. Create a gratitude journal or a jar where you write notes and come back to them at a later date. 6. Saying no – particularly if your weakness is saying yes too often – it’s ok to say no. 7. Be kind to yourself – having a compassionate attitude can help you through difficult times. Make sure you reward yourself for getting through something tough. This is also about being best friends with yourself – cut the negative talk in your head and go that extra step to impress yourself. 8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it – whether it be from your friends, workmates, your family or even your doctor – also accept the help when it is offered and understand you can’t do it all on your own. 9. Take some time out – grab a cup of tea, a book and just getaway from all the hustle and bustle of daily life – even just 15 minutes to take a deep breath, release some stress and ground yourself ready to continue on with your day. 10. Plan something to look forward to – this is my favourite one of all as I really enjoy planning holidays – I used to be a travel agent after all – you could plan a night out, a party, a dinner or a home project. Having a goal we can look forward to keeps us focused on where we are heading. -Break- You will probably find you may already do a number of these activities – but only once in a while when you feel like you need them. The key to optimising your health and wellbeing is to fit activities like these into every day to avoid that burn out or empty fuel tank – which is when we then can’t ignore it any longer. The key is to making them a part of your routine, look forward to them each time and remember how good they make you feel. So maybe now is the time to reflect on how you currently take care of yourself. What methods do you currently have in place – or do you have any at all? What about when you are at work? It can be easy to forget about ourselves when we are at work with deadlines and demands robbing our attention. Make some non-negotiables for yourself like – I must step away and take a break for lunch to reboot – or I must finish at this particular time so it allows me to spend time on exercise or with my family. Set those non-negotiables in place and communicate how important they are to you. It’s what Richard Branson and Beyonce do – so if they can do it – why can’t you? -Break- You now have my 10 tips for better health and wellbeing through self-care – use them wisely! Remember self-care is not a one-time shot – it will change each day but you need to continually look after yourself – you are worth it and deserve it and by now you should expect it from yourself. It’s time to make these habits so they become an effortless part of your daily routine. You will reap the benefits and that fog will lift and you will actually feel alive. If you have some tips on self-care that you would love to share – head to my website at www.thestateofyoupodcast.com [http://www.thestateofyoupodcast.com] and send me an email or comment. I hope episode 5 has been enlightening for you and now equips you for your journey with self-care. Thank you for taking the time to listen to episode 5 – if you would like to share your story, please visit my website at www.thestateofyoupodcast.com [http://www.thestateofyoupodcast.com/] and send me an email. If you would like further information, visit the links page on my site. If you enjoyed episode 5 – please share your feedback – you can find me on Instagram @thestateofyou, Facebook @thestateofyoupodcast or subscribe to the podcast through my website.

Episode 4 – Breaking bad habits

https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/episode-4-breaking-bad-habits1.mp3 [https://thestateofyoupodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/episode-4-breaking-bad-habits1.mp3] Welcome to Episode 4 of The State of You podcast! I am Bindi – thank you for joining me. In Episode 4 we look at breaking bad habits and creating the change you want to see in your life. In this episode I will share with you some steps that you can try yourself to break any habit, or create the change you want to see in your daily life. You will find these steps powerful if you surrender and believe in the process and know that you can control any behaviour – you’re already equipped with what you need to succeed. So if you’re ready, join me in taking these powerful steps to transform old behaviours into new. -Break- If you’ve listened to my previous episodes you would have heard me mention Tony Robbins’ book – Awaken the Giant Within and a term also known as neuro-linguistic programming. I just pulled this very book out of my bookshelf – the very same one that changed my life about 25 years ago. The edges of the pages are worn and discoloured from age. I opened the book and the pages fall to where they willed and it fell on a page I had already folded the corner down on so long ago. Page 112 to be exact – why was that page so important to me then and why so now? It’s where we start to learn about the Science of Neuro-Associative Conditioning or NAC. It’s a step-by-step process that can condition your nervous system to associate pleasure to those things you want to continue to move toward and pain to those things you need to avoid to succeed consistently in your life without constant effort or willpower. So – to put it simply – it’s our nervous system that is responsible for our feelings and we condition ourselves to have certain neuro-associations that dictate our emotions and behaviour. When we find ourselves in situations where we are bored, frustrated, angry, overwhelmed, depressed – we tend to find a way to put an end to these feelings through habits like drinking, smoking, shopping, gambling, sex or even abusive behaviour. Until we can link pain to old limiting habits and behaviours and pleasure to new alternative ones, we will remain with any existing conditioning we have. But it’s more than just these neuro-associations we need to create lasting change – we also need to have a shift in beliefs. You need to have the belief that if you’re going to create change quickly is that you can change now. Have you noticed when some people change, it’s almost instant – just like the issue they created was also in an instant. You also have to believe that you are responsible for your own change – not anybody else – it’s all you – 100%. You must believe that something has to change, and that you must change it and that you can change it – you are the key driver for your change. -Break- As humans, we have a pretty amazing brain that we don’t always fully utilise. I know you’re thinking – Yeah right Bindi – there are some total numbskulls around! No – what I mean is that so much powerful processing happens behind the scenes in your brain that you aren’t even aware of most of the time. Any time we go through something really painful or something really amazing, our brains try to find a cause for it and record it in our nervous system to equip us to do better next time and make decisions about what to do in the future. Your brain looks for something unique, for something that seems to be happening simultaneously and also consistently. Over time when we feel enough pain or pleasure, we tend to generalise the consistency and become a bit predictable in the way we behave or react. Like any science experiment, the wires can get crossed in mixed neuro-associations which end up a lot like self-sabotage. If your brain can’t find the clear path to what it thinks is pain or pleasure, it will go into overload and your decision making goes out the window. If you have very strong negative associations toward something you want more of in your life, it can outweigh your ability to take the actions you need to succeed. If you reach a point where you feel like you will experience pain no matter which path you choose you become stuck in a pain-pain barrier. This is when we often think the path of least resistance might be the best option, but it also ultimately leads to pain. It’s important to not let this overwhelm you or to become helpless at this point – try the six steps of NAC to break the circuit and create a new pattern. -Break- NAC Step 1 – Decide what you really want and what’s preventing you from having it now. Let me just repeat this for clarity – focus on what you do want – not what you don’t want – because the more you focus on what you don’t want – guess what? – you’ll get more of it! Be as specific as you can with this goal – it will give you the clarity you need to create that positive association to move toward. Be honest with yourself in what is holding you back or preventing you from having what you really want right now. Will you experience pain  in making a change or will it be more painful to stay where you are? NAC Step 2 – Get Leverage – Associate Massive Pain to Not Changing Now and Massive Pleasure to the Experience of Changing Now! You know you really want to change, but you can seem to get yourself to do it. Everyone is capable of change, but not all are motivated to do so. The way we create that motivation is by creating a sense of urgency that is so extreme, you have to follow through no matter what. Smoking is a classic example of this – although I think there has been a massive paradigm shift in this in recent years – you often used to hear people say I really need to quit smoking – I don’t want to die of cancer – but I really enjoy it – the way it makes me relax. This is mixed emotions here – hello death versus chilling out – which one do you think is more urgent? One day you reach a breaking point where your decision is immediate, it’s urgent – because the pain of what you are experiencing cannot go on and its greater than your fear of the unknown ahead. You find yourself saying things like – I can’t live like this anymore or I’ve had enough – something has to change. Ever found yourself saying that in a relationship? The same principles apply. This is where leverage comes in – we need to lift this burden that we have found so unmanageable. If you have tried time and again to make change but keep slipping back and failing – it means the level of pain for failing to change is not strong enough. There’s a story about a woman in America who kept promising to go on a diet with her friend and lose weight together but for some reason or another they both kept failing to do so. They didn’t keep their promise, because there wasn’t a strong enough case for them to stick to it. This went on for so long they reached a point where they made a commitment that if they skipped out on that promise again that each of them would have to eat a can of dog food. Sure enough, the pain of having to eat Fido food was just the catalyst they needed to stick to their commitment – both achieving their goal. The greatest leverage you can make for yourself is the pain you feel within – not on the outside. Understanding that you haven’t lived up to your own standards can be the greatest pain in your life. It’s in our best interests as humans to protect our own identity and who wants to be a walking contradiction? The pressure we place on ourselves is far greater than that of any outside force – pushing the change from within. To get the leverage you need, you need to ask yourself pain-inducing questions. What are the consequences if I don’t make this change now? What will it cost me mentally, physically, emotionally, financially or spiritually? Make that pain so intense, there is no other option in your mind but to change. Visualise it, feel it, push it as far away from you as you can – because this is something you are saying goodbye to right now. On the other hand, you also have to ask yourself pleasure-inducing questions. If I change how will I feel about myself? What other things would I be able to do if I make this change? What will this change mean to my health and my future? Feel those endorphins? I hope you do. Picture where you will be in the future having made this change and what opportunities it will open you up to. Know that you’ll be filled with so much happiness, health, and joy in making this decision. Focus on it, bring it closer to you because this is now what you are pulling yourself toward. -Break- NAC Step 3 – Interrupt the Limiting Pattern Creatures of habit tend to have patterns of behaviour that limit them from breaking that habit. And just like the grooves in a record never change, giving you the same sound each time, if you scratch those grooves and scramble their pattern, they’ll never sound the same again. The same is with your memories or associations with a behaviour or event. If you have a situation that makes you feel mad, upset, frustrated or angry, follow the first two steps of NAC. Change your association with it, give yourself leverage – if you don’t change, how will you feel? Now you need to scramble the pattern – see the situation as a movie in your head – just watch but don’t get upset or react. Take that same situation and turn it into a cartoon – use whatever characters work for you, do it over a few times. Think about that situation now – how do you feel? Why does this work? Basically, because all our feelings are based on images we focus on in our minds and the sounds and sensations we link to those images. NAC Step 4 – Create a New, Empowering Alternative The failure by most people to find an alternative way of getting out of pain and into the feelings of pleasure is the main reason most people’s attempts at change are temporary. Once you have clarity on what you want and what was holding you back from having it, you’ve got your leverage, you’ve scrambled the pattern, but now you need to fill the gap with an alternative that will give you the same pleasurable feelings without any negative impacts. There are several ways you can find this alternative and that can be through the help of a professional, it could be doing the things you should have been doing in replacement of the old limiting behaviour – such as exercising and eating well or helping others or working on a business plan. If you are truly stumped, you can simply find the answers by modelling people who have turned things around for themselves. Do what they did – there’s a great chance they had alternatives to replace old behaviours. There’s research around drug addiction that shows external pressure rarely has lasting impact and that taking on a replacement behaviour will play the major role in your life. For me, my addiction wasn’t drugs – I often self-medicated with food or alcohol and as soon as I replaced those old harmful behaviours with alternatives that were healthy, organic, gluten-free, grass-fed, free-range, sugar-free – not only did I feel a million times better, they became what I craved and wanted to learn more about. It’s playing a big role in my life and my weekend habits are now more around finding great organic goodies whilst growing my own organic produce, rather than heading to the bottle-o. People often say to me how to do you do it – how do you quit sugar – I love it so much – I am like well sugar didn’t love me so we had to say goodbye and I don’t miss it – you become accustomed to not liking the taste of it anymore and savouring much more flavour in other things. -Break- NAC Step 5 – Condition the New Pattern Until it’s Consistent The simplest way to condition something is to do it over and over again until a neurological way is created. Imagine that new alternative and doing that until you get out of pain into feeling pleasure quickly. Your brain will associate this as a new way of getting a result on a consistent basis. Your brain can’t tell the difference between something you imagine and something you actually experience. By conditioning, you clear the way to automatically travel along the new path. You also need to reinforce this new behaviour by rewarding yourself for succeeding. Set a series of milestones for yourself and make sure you reward yourself for doing well. This doesn’t mean a binge is a reward – your reward must be a positive support for you on your path. It can be as simple as saying to yourself – I am so proud of you – well done and recognising that. I hate to connect the dots but have you noticed that when training a dog it’s positive reinforcement training – usually with a treat or reward? This is no different – any pattern of emotion or behaviour that is continually reinforced will become an automatic and conditioned response. Reinforcement is responding to a behaviour immediately after it occurs, while punishment and reward may occur long afterward. Just like training a dog right?! Timing is everything here. It’s important to ensure you schedule reinforcement but not to a point of fostering complacency. The most important thing to remember is to reinforce the desired behaviour immediately. Reinforcement and conditioning is the key to long term change – without a reinforced pattern – it will disappear. NAC Step 6 – Test it! The last step is to test it will work in the future. Are you clear about what you want and why you want it? Make the commitment you need to get the leverage on yourself. Interrupt your pattern Make sure pain is fully associated with the old pattern Make sure pleasure is fully associated with the new pattern Align with your values, beliefs and rules Make sure the benefits of the old pattern have been maintained Imagine yourself behaving in the new way in the future Even if you just do the first 3 steps of NAC – you will definitely get the change you want – once you have that the leverage and interrupted pattern will be enough to look at things in a new way. -Break- NAC techniques have been incredibly helpful for me throughout my life. Once you have mastered associating pain with old patterns, it becomes a lot easier. I often find it helps to think of how awful you used to feel under the old behaviours and imagined watching myself on camera in everything I did. It quick snapped me out of some habits I am now glad to be free of. I hope episode 4 has helped you to think about grabbing life by the reigns and breaking some bad habits today – or creating the change you want to see in your life. Thank you for taking the time to listen to episode 4 – if you would like to share your story, please visit my website at www.thestateofyoupodcast.com [http://www.thestateofyoupodcast.com/] and send me an email. If you would like further information, visit the links page on my site. If you enjoyed episode four – please share your feedback – you can find me on Instagram @thestateofyou or subscribe to the podcast through my website. And you can now find me on Facebook @thestateofyoupodcast.