Lessons from frozen – let it go.

I’m not a big fan of Frozen, probably because I don’t have children and it was everywhere for ages, in fact it still is!

My little cousin is obsessed with Frozen and princesses and she is very cute with it.

She sings the “let it go” song and loves it but I wonder if she will grow up to realise the powerful message that it has?

We spend our lives accumulating.

Always seeking to gain knowledge and wisdom as toddlers
Seeking friends and acceptance as children
Seeking education and qualification as teenagers
Seeking careers and longer term relationships as 20 somethings
Seeking money, security and family as 30 somethings

Always accumulating things.

And while it might seem counter intuitive for me to tell you what I’m about to, it’s actually really important.

Sometimes it is ok to let it go.

In Frozen, Princess Elsa is singing about letting go all and breaking free from the confines of her life that she’s had placed upon her. Becoming the person she is inside because pretending has become too stressful.

While most is us don’t sing a song in the middle of an ice palace to demonstrate that feeling, we can surely look at our lives and see aspects of where we feel trapped.

A job we don’t like
A boss we don’t like
Relationships with people that stress us out
Not doing what we really want to do for *insert reason here*

The problem with stress is that our bodies are highly attuned to it. Evolutionarily speaking these sensors for stress kept us alive.

If we’re being chased down by something that wants to kill us,
our adrenaline increases
heart rate increases
digestion slows down
sex hormone production drops

The body switches from para-sympathetic mode (rest and digest) to sympathetic mode (fight or flight).

We are in a state of alertness.

Except now, our stressors are most likely not going to kill us.

Going into that job that you hate
Trying to mend a friendship that is one sided or stressful
Feeling trapped and unable to fulfill your ambitions because of *insert reason here*

These are all stressors.

They all produce the same reactions within the body.

Why is this bad?

Put simply, how can you expect your body to achieve weight loss or improve your health when you are telling it that you’re constantly being chased by tigers?

I will say this often, but it’s super important

YOUR BODY IS TRYING ITS BEST

^^^^ Read that again.

It’s trying its best with the tools that it has to keep you alive.

Now that we don’t dice with death everyday (hopefully)! we assume that our bodies are rebelling against us, that we’re weak willed and need to try harder

“Why can’t I lose fat from my stomach?
Why don’t I have energy for the workout like everyone else does?
Why am I tired all the time?
Why does the scale never move in the right direction?
Why is my skin bad?”

If you ask yourself these questions and you can identify stressors in your life, it’s time to make some decisions.

If quitting your job and moving to a deserted island somewhere is not be possible we need to look for the little victories day to day.

Ask yourself;

What is stressing me out?

This can be real stress
perceived stress
other people’s stress

whatever causes you that anxious feeling in your chest.

Can I change the situation?

Can you eliminate the stress?
Can you reduce it?

Is this stress caused by lack of planning?

Would setting up a system or a routine make it easier and less streessful?

Can you share the stressor with someone else?

If it’s a job related stress can you share the workload?
If it’s child related can you obtain child care or help from family?
If it’s a negative person if your life can you limit exposure to them?

Always look for ways in which you can reduce this stress.

A little bit of stress here and there is unavoidable for most people and that’s just life.

But if we want to be fit and healthy and happy we need balance. As much time as you spend stressing you should be spending relaxing.

Try a colouring book
Try some meditation
Try some yoga
Go for a walk by yourself to relax

At the very least go outside and take some big deep breaths (check for hidden smokers first).

Remind yourself that this is not a life or death situation.
The world does not rest on your shoulders.

If you created an ice palace and disappeared for a few days to chill out, the world will continue to turn so it’s ok to take a breath.

Find your stress and let it go.

Health will follow.

Princess Ainzlie xx

P.s – take the stress out of trying to get fit and get in touch today for an easy to follow programme that makes getting fit and healthy simple.