“Not today brain”
I have a great story about my 3-year-old. He loves treats and he loves to ask for them.
I think we have done an overall decent job with food balance, offering a variety of whole foods, etc… Could we be better? Of course…but he’ll eat salad and tofu like a champ, and we try to remind him (and ourselves) about eating when you are hungry and what feels good to your body… and healthy choices. But he’s three and we all probably have a bit of a sweet tooth… I digress.
He got in the habit of asking for treats ALL THE TIME. (Like at 6:15 in the morning all the time.) One morning while I was making coffee, he asked for a treat. I knelt down, put my hand on his and said: “buddy, we aren’t eating treats for breakfast. Your brain may tell you it wants a treat, but sometimes you have to tell your brain that it’s not treat time.”
One morning shortly after that conversation: I was making coffee and he turned to me with his head tilted and his sweet innocent smile: “can I have a treat?” I turned to him with a pause and a smirk… He looked up, as if looking at his eyebrows, and said: “Brain, it’s breakfast time, not treat time…” It made us both giggle. Then he shook his head and said, “not today brain” and walked away…
My Lesson that day: sometimes, you just have to tame your inner 3-year-old.
One of the biggest benefits of coaching is unveiling some of the deeper or often subconscious thoughts that are driving so many of the feelings and actions in our lives. This unveiling often gives us something to examine and then the power to choose. Like intentionally choosing a treat for breakfast or saying, “not today brain” and walking away.
