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The last few weeks, I went through some blood work assessments to try and better understand some food sensitivities I have been experiencing. While I was pretty confident that I knew what my sensitivities were, my results also showed some issues that I had not identified. Having the knowledge heightened my awareness and shifted my actions around decisions and options related to food. It was like the test results gave me permission to validate my thoughts and feelings and, ultimately, my actions.
Has that ever happened to you before? You think you know something and yet, without "proof" or evidence, you doubt your experience and question your actions? But once you get that proof, you feel validated and then find confidence in your decisions and actions?
That was totally me this week. Armed with facts, I now felt empowered to make different choices with food and, if I am honest, a little vindicated by the results. But then I asked myself the question - why wasn't how I felt enough? Why did I need a test result to give me the confidence to make different choices with how I eat? And the answer I got was that I did not trust myself.
Now, that statement could be an entire post on its own, but this is what I noticed as I explored that thought. I asked myself - what if the results came back and did not validate how you feel? And, what thoughts did I have about the sensitivities that I had not noticed? Here's the thing - I wanted evidence because I believed that it would make it easier for me to make decisions that felt hard if I had "real" evidence (i.e. a medical report). Paying attention to ingredients in food, having to be "that person" when I am traveling for work, or refraining from foods that I enjoy feels easier with this evidence than when it was just my feelings.
I am acutely aware that I am fortunate that I do not have any severe allergies or serious medical issues, but this whole process has been an interesting view into how thoughts create results and how self-confidence can be valuable in all aspects of my life. I am working on shifting my thoughts from "this is so hard" and "I am annoyed that I have to eliminate these foods from my diet" to "I have a choice about how I feel with what I eat" and "I have a ton of options to choose from". I am not ready to hold the thought that "this is so easy" but I know that ditching the thoughts that don't serve me will help me create the results that I want. not the results that I have.
Where are you holding back on making decisions because you don't have enough "evidence"? What thought can you choose this week that moves you closer to the result you want to create?