Recently, I met with a client who has been trying to make a couple of positive changes in her life. The week before we met, she experienced a setback. She began our conversation by calling herself stupid and weak. She then proceeded to explain how disgusted she was with herself to the point of saying she might as well give up and quit trying to lose the extra weight and cut back on her drinking. “After all, I’ve tried time and time again, and I always fail.”
I asked my client to think about how she would respond if this were her best friend talking to her about this disappointment? Without hesitation, my client said that she would try to encourage her friend to keep trying and help her recognize this is just a setback.