Managing Mindset: A Wellness Recipe

― Jon Kabat-Zinn

Lifestyle change calls on us to first imagine ourselves in a state of enhanced wellness and then step out of our comfort zones and into the unknown. We embark with high hopes and positive intention, but more often than not, find ourselves stuck in inertia. Why does this keep happening and what can we do to navigate the slippery slope with greater ease?

“Perhaps I just need more willpower,” I used to say to myself. With more willpower, surely I could overcome these urges to block negative emotions with food. Or, if I were a more confident, disciplined person, I could prevent these thoughts from undermining my good intentions. Why did I feel so powerless to change my life?


After more than a decade of exploring, learning, and practice, a wellness recipe is emerging in my life. While not all of these ingredients may work in your recipe, a few of them may resonate or inspire your own discovery.


1. Observing Myself with Kindness and Curiosity




2. Practicing Tiny Habits




3. Normalizing Ups and Downs


✔Creating a Purposeful Pause: Stop, Breathe, Reflect
✔Doing a short body scan*, meditation, or some yoga to shift the energy in my mind and body
✔Cultivating positive thoughts by being in gratitude**

*Mindfully connecting to how your physical body feels, gently from head to toe
**Based on Brother David Steindl-Rast’s question of whether happiness spawns gratitude or gratitude spawns happiness


4. Embracing the Vulnerability of Identity Change

Let’s face it – stepping outside our comfort zones doesn’t feel so good at first. Most of us prefer the routine and familiarity of the regular habits we already have in place. So, how do creatures of habit like us get better at adapting to change? First off, by accepting that temporary discomfort and identity shift are normal, vulnerable parts of human development. From a biological standpoint, our primitive brains interpret stress as a “perceived threat” (like running from a bear), which means we’re actually hard-wired to avoid stress. However, if we can learn to transform negative, situational stress into positive stress, or “eustress,” it can give us an extra burst of adrenaline to boost mental alertness and help us accomplish our goals.


Managing my mindset with practical strategies and wholeheartedness enables me to recognize my primal instinct to run from the discomfort of change and then decide to stay anyway. What’s in your recipe? Are you curious to find out?



Dweck C.S. Change Your Mindset: First Steps. Mindset. Published 2006. Accessed August 2016.

TED. Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability [Video]. TED. Published June 2010. Accessed August 2016.

TED. David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful [Video]. TED. Published June 2013. Accessed August 2016.

TED. Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend [Video]. TED. Published June 2013. Accessed August 2016.

TEDx. Forget big change, start with a tiny habit: BJ Fogg at TEDxFremont [Video]. TED. Published August 21, 2013. Accessed August 2016.


Sheryl is an Omada Health Coach living and working in Massachusetts. A mother of 5, her passion for helping people is shaped by 2 decades of parenting transformation and 15 years of professional experience in childbirth, tobacco cessation, and lifestyle coaching. In her free time, she enjoys kayaking, yoga, zoodling, exploring wild edibles, and walking along the beach. Sheryl delights in partnering with extraordinary people on their path to realignment and self-discovery.