Kim's Life as a Migrainer: Intention over Goals

Intention: a noun meaning a thing intended; an aim or plan

Goal: a noun meaning the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired results.

I was listening to the podcast On Purpose by Jay Shetty the other day and he spoke on the 7 steps to manifesting results. Now this really spoke to me as I am going through a really rough time right now. I so desperately want to lose weight but know that this is not my ultimate goal. I need to get healthy first.

With this journey I have tried so many medications and recently my neurologist has put me on a new one called Aimovig. It is a Calcitonin gene-related peptide or CGRP blocker, CGRP is a molecule that is naturally present in our brain and is linked to migraine.The medication is an injection you take once a month and I have found that it works quite well for the migraines but I am also experiencing bad digestive issues. The main know side effect of this shot is constipation so we are not sure if this is linked to it or not. So for the next little while I will have to monitor how I am feeling. All the while this is going on I am still trying to lose weight. Why would I even do that to myself when I am not well. My health should come first not the weight loss but that mindset has been so ingrained in me that it is tough to overcome those thoughts.

The podcast could not have come at a better time because it talked about monitoring your goals. It made me realize I make goals based on results and don't have the mindset to actually achieve those goals. I need to change this to an intention based goal, so focus on the intention not on the results. When we want to lose weight we focus on what and how much we eat and the number on the scale. Because we focus on this information we judge ourselves and are very critical of that information. So instead of focusing on that information I need to monitor it. By analyzing the information without judgement I will be able to adjust my methods so I can achieve a healthy body and ultimately lose the weight.

I also think I have an all or nothing attitude. You know that mentality of I have to eat perfect or exercise perfect. Then when it does not happen we beat ourselves up and quit. We have doughnut Friday at work every week and it has been the bane of my existence. I have tried so many things to cope with the temptation. I am the type of person who cannot stop at just one doughnut. But I was not giving myself credit. When I overindulged in the doughnuts I did not think of the fact I had a good breakfast or that I had gone for a walk at lunch or even the fact that I may have only had 2 not the 5 that I have been know to have. I also never looked at the why I wanted so many. What was I feeling? How was my day going? I was just focusing on the fact that I overindulged. This of course would sometimes lead to the thinking of "well I blew it, I may as well go hog wild for the rest of the night (or even weekend)." I never looked at my intention.

I have started keeping a hand written journal as I like this form of data. By actually journaling what I am eating and seeing how it makes me feel, what is going on at the time and I will be able to analyze this information to get down to the root of my feelings, I can analyze the data. See what went well so I can duplicate it. What went wrong so I can adjust. This will also make me see how I am feeling after eating to help with my digestive issues right now. Also the adjustments will be small so I don't get overwhelmed. Small steps is the key.

As I analyze the information and realizing it is all or something, by focusing on my intention and not the goal, I can start implementing changes and ultimately getting to my intended goal a healthy body.