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Hi, “There's no sentence that makes me sadder than when someone says to me: ‘But that's just how I am!’” My boyfriend said that to me recently, and I couldn't agree more. We got talking about how we've changed over the years, how things that used to be hard are easy now, and how much more joy we've got out of life because of it. Your self-image, your identity, isn't set in stone. Research shows that people with a more varied sense of self cope more flexibly with stress and bounce back faster. But if a belief about yourself has been woven into how you talk to yourself, or about yourself to others (“that's just how I am”), for years, change is a lot harder. Not impossible, though! Better still, there's a catalyst that can help you find that flexibility, and it works faster than you can say “Bob's your uncle”: scent!
What you think steers what you do What you think steers what you do, and what you do decides what you achieve. The first two are yours to choose. In GOOD. that's the dot: a turning point, the moment you decide who you want to be. It's more than a nice idea. People who see themselves as someone who's active actually move more (Rhodes and colleagues, 2016). And it works both ways: every time you live up to your new belief about yourself, it becomes a little more true. Whether it's moving more, eating well, relaxing more or keeping your home tidy: it's something you can train. Why scent is your catalyst  Scent reaches your brain without a compulsory stopover, right in the areas that handle emotion and memory. Pair one particular scent with your new belief again and again, and after a while the scent alone is enough to bring that feeling back. Your nose then works like a memory stick: save with a scent, retrieve with the same scent. How to do it (five minutes a day)
Start today, not on Monday Catch yourself saying “that's just how I am” this week? Change it to “that's how I used to be”. That puts the old habit in the past, which is where it belongs. Don't wait for the perfect scent or the perfect moment either. Do it now, before you close this email: put a drop of oil in your palm, rub your hands together and cup them. Breathe in, say your sentence out loud and do something to go with it straight away:
Do it again tonight before you brush your teeth, and again tomorrow. The more often you repeat it, the stronger the connections in your brain that support your new self-image become. I'd love to hear your sentence. Just hit reply and send it to me.
Curious what research says about mental rehearsal, a growth mindset and scent at work? It's all in my new blog, with the sources. Read the blog: Your nose is a memory stick → Look what Hetty made!
Loving your book? Let people know! Anyone still unsure about GOOD.21 reads what other readers say first, and your experience helps them far more than all my own cheering about this book. If you've made anything from GOOD.21, even if it's just the bread, I'd be over the moon if you told people about it on Amazon. It's quicker than boiling the kettle: click the button, choose your stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and write one sentence about the recipes, or about what you've noticed since you started allowing yourself to live a glucose-conscious life!
I'm so grateful for your help!
Love,
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You are receiving this email because you signed up for the 5 GOOD. minutes or downloaded something from GOOD. earlier. your-good-life.com · Privacy policy · Archive GOOD. · Tanja Thielen · Hollywoodlaan 35, 1325 HN Almere, Nederland KvK 42051602 · btw NL005457502B57 |
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