Helping your future self. ⭐️

Good morning evening, I hope you all have some lovely Easter plans. I have two very excited children!

I wanted to talk a little bit about the concept of ‘helping our future self.’

Let me explain a little better….

Part of the ACT (acceptance commitment framework) is about COMMITTED action. Most of us have been committed to Googling, checking our bodies but when have we been truly committed to positive changes that will really help our well being.

So with ACT, the idea is that we make these changes, do these things even when we don’t want to. That’s the commitment part. It’s not about motivation. You’ll probably never feel truly motivated to journal let’s just say because health anxiety zaps us of all joy and energy but we CAN commit to doing these things anyway.

Do I want to go to the gym? Absolutely not. Can I be bothered meditating? No way. But do I do these things? Absolutely because when I decided that I was going to get better I decided that I’d do these things regardless.

So helping our future self looks like:

• There is a pile of dishes so I’ll do them now because I know future Cherelle will be super grateful.

• I don’t want to go on a run but I know that I’ll feel better afterwards so I’m going to do it.

• I really want to Google my symptoms but I know that future Cherelle will wish that I hadn’t so I’m not going to.

• I really want to check my body excessively but I know that this could lead to disaster and I want to help future Cherelle and not hinder.

It’s these little things during the day where we can choose good choices. It’s us taking CONTROL. It’s just accepting the anxiety but not letting it rule or control us.

So, when you see this post today I’d like you to think, what can I do today that my future self will be thankful for? And I’d love for you to tell me below in the comments! ✅