“I haven’t got the time”, “I have to have something sweet after my dinner”, “I can’t do anything without a coffee first thing in the morning”, “I can’t get up that early”, “Eating hot food during the day makes me tired” - do any of these sound familiar?

These are all comments I have heard many times over during my years as a coach.

And each client truly believes them when we first start working together. And I don’t ever take that away from them because they are right, at that moment in time they DO believe them.

The science behind it is that every single one of them is a story which has been told repeatedly, in some cases for many years.

These stories then become firm beliefs in your mind which you then play out every single day, so they become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

If you are currently running any of the above and they are no longer helpful or taking you further away from your health and fitness goals, the good news is they can be re-written at any point.

Neuroplasticity is the ‘muscle building’ part of the brain which means those things you do or say more often become stronger and what you don’t, fade away.

Making a thought or action over and over again increases its power.

So if we take the above comments as an example the more often you say them to yourself the more powerful they become.

Now it’s time to re-write those stories and turn them into more positive behaviours.

Just like learning any new skill it can take time, so patience and the willingness to change will be key.