Are Limiting Beliefs Sabotaging your Long-Term Wellness?
If you often find yourself saying phrases like, “I can’t do that” — ask yourself, is it truly something you can’t do, or is it a new challenge you’re facing?
Life comes with natural and unavoidable changes, and how you experience these shifts is largely influenced by your mindset and beliefs. Perimenopause is a journey filled with the unexpected as hormone levels fluctuate, often bringing with them an array of symptoms that can appear unexpectedly and take you by surprise. So as you prepare for or cope with these less-than-predictable shifts, we encourage you to keep an open mind — since your hormones are unique to you, your symptoms will be too.
What are self-limiting beliefs?
Self-limiting beliefs, or false beliefs, are negative perceptions about yourself or the world around you that hold you back from reaching your full potential or goals in life. They tend to reinforce the idea that your strengths or abilities have preset limits, but here at MBODY, we’re big fans of lifting each other up and promoting positive self-growth — remember the sky is the limit girl!
There is a wide spectrum of experiences women can have during perimenopause, and knowing how to support your hormonal health as you age will not only help you cope with symptoms as soon as they appear, limiting the impact they have on your life, but also help you live longer and happier.
So today, we’re sharing 3 common beliefs that are limiting your potential and sabotaging your health and wellness goals, but first, let’s take a look at two ways we can frame our mindset to build strong, healthy habits that promote long-term wellness…
Benefits of a growth mindset vs fixed mindset in midlife
People often describe themselves as a glass-half-empty or glass-half-full type of person, meaning their outlook on life either leans more optimistic (half-full) or pessimistic (half-empty). This type of mindset influences how you cope with the physical and mental symptoms of hormone fluctuations, and researchers found that women who viewed menopause from a negative perspective reported more frequent and severe physical symptoms than women who viewed menopause from a more positive perspective.
Your mindset often changes throughout life and depends on many factors — including which skill or ability you’re trying to improve at the moment. Most people fall somewhere between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, but which mindset do you tend to lean towards when faced with something new?
“I can learn to do anything I want”
Someone with a growth mindset views themselves as capable of improving their skills and abilities through effort. You may open embrace challenges even when they’re difficult or failure is a possibility. This type of mindset will help you adapt and evolve to future obstacles or unexpected stressors.
“I’m either good at something or I’m not”
Someone with a fixed mindset views themselves as unchangeable with fixed strengths and weaknesses. You may give up difficult things more easily when failure is a possibility or tend to avoid challenges. This type of mindset can lead to negative thought patterns that can make you feel sort of ‘stuck’ mentally.
If you’re currently more in a fixed mindset, that’s ok — but we challenge you to start reframing your mindset and see the change it has on your relationship with your health and wellness. Find easy ways you can encourage a positive mindset and mental wellbeing every day in Simple ways to reset your mind & boost happiness.
3 self-sabotaging beliefs & the benefits of long-term healthy habits
There are 34 recognized symptoms of perimenopause (although there’s likely more out there), but science isn’t clear why some women experience symptoms of hormonal fluctuations so differently than others. There’s no way to know what your perimenopause experience will look like, but being as prepared as possible, even if only for the unexpected, can give you the opportunity to shape a positive mindset and cope with symptoms as they arise.
One thing from research is clear though – there are so many ways you can naturally support your hormonal health to boost long-term wellness and reduce symptoms of hormone fluctuations. Here are some common beliefs that can prevent you from building healthy habits and thriving in perimenopause:
1. You believe it’s too late to start building healthy habits
We can confidently say it is never too late to start improving your health and wellness. If you’re thinking I should’ve started years ago or I’m already in perimenopause, there’s no time like the present! Even practicing daily moments of gratitude only takes a few minutes and the benefits are pretty incredible — including improved brain functioning, lowered blood pressure and heart rate, reduced anxiety, and greater feelings of calm and connectedness.
Establishing habits that support your mental health is especially important for women, as they are twice as likely to have depression than men, and while in perimenopause, over 50% of women experience symptoms of depression. When it comes to healthy habits managing mental health symptoms, a new large meta-analysis of studies found that a regular exercise routine can help treat anxiety and depression as effectively as most anti-depression medications — and even has more benefits!
2. You believe your health and wellness are out of your control
Although predetermined factors such as genetics do play some role in your overall health, it’s not the only factor influencing your wellbeing. Exercise increases feel-good hormones, endorphins, that help to boost our mood, shift our mindset, and also play a part in helping us retain information and maintain focus. Some mental symptoms such as brain fog are experienced by up to 60% of women during perimenopause, and healthy habits like exercise can help you manage these effects.
Studies have found those who have more active lifestyles tend to have less severe hormonal symptoms than those living more sedentary lifestyles. In fact, some research shows women who report regular exercise have fewer vasomotor symptoms, like hot flashes or night sweats, than women who live more sedentary lifestyles.
It’s recommended the average women have 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, or five 30-minute sessions. If that feels intimidating, start with a small goal and adjust as you feel comfortable. Commit to a 5-minute brisk walk a few times a week, try a yoga stretch after work, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. Try a different few ways of getting your body moving to see what you enjoy best and let the health benefits work their magic. Pretty powerful right?
3. You believe it’s too hard to make any real impact on your health
Every single step you make toward improving your health and wellness is a major win and should be celebrated! It all makes a difference in building habits and routines that stick, and you can encourage yourself by maintaining positive thought patterns. We’re always keen to boast about the impressive health benefits of positive self-talk because your inner voice is a powerful tool that’s accessible all the time! Positive thinking has been shown to have astonishing health benefits such as increased life span, reduced risk of death, improved overall physical and psychological wellbeing, and better coping with stress.
Another one of our favorite tools for managing mood changes in perimenopause and promoting healthy control over thoughts and emotions (and helping us stick to our healthy habits) is to practice daily mindfulness. Make time for the present moment, and appreciate life as the here and now — (even if that does include the occasional marathon-level sweat while sitting still on the couch).
Similar to mindfulness practices, a 2010 review found that visualizing your desires actually increased the likelihood of them becoming a reality. Take a moment to picture what it will feel like to reach one of your health and wellness goals. Really lean into that emotional experience — what thoughts will you have? How will you feel once you’ve completed this?
You have the power to positively influence your mindset to help you build and maintain healthy habits for long-term wellness — embrace your goal and inner strength because you can do anything.
Encourage positive-self talk, go for an afternoon walk, indulge in your favorite food, or take a moment for gratitude in the morning — all are great ways you can start building healthy habits, but start with one that feels right to you. You’ll find the easiest healthy habits to keep are ones that give you that little boost of confidence and resilience to keep going and stay strong when times are stressful.
We want to help you feel as comfortable talking about your mental health as you are about your physical health, so they can work together in harmony and help you thrive at every age. We’re committed to promoting positive mental health alongside physical health here at MBODY to help you thrive at every age.
What negative belief(s) are you leaving behind in 2022? Follow us on Instagram @mbody.official and let us know what activities help you refresh your mindset.
