This is going to sound CRAZY coming from a certified sleep consultant who has worked with hundreds of families all over the world, but there are most definitely times when sleep training doesn’t work.

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Sleep training doesn’t work when you:

don’t think your little one can sleep better,

go rogue on the plan and don’t follow through,

are stuck in the belief that “this is just the way it has to be”,

you aren’t ready to make changes, and when you

think that you can’t do it.

There is a famous quote by Henry Ford that fits this blog 100%…

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

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But what if sleep training doesn’t work?

How ‘bout them apples. If you think you can sleep train, you can. If you think your little one can learn the skill, they can. If you think you can follow a plan, you can. If you think you and your partner can be on the same page, you can.

But if you are convinced that it wont work, it won’t. If you are consumed by thoughts of it staying this way forever, it won’t work now. If you don’t think you can do it, you can’t. And if you don’t think your babe can, they can’t.

WOAH. That’s a truth bomb that was hard for me to type out and probably even harder for you to read.

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Run baby, run

I’ve been experiencing this phenomenon very personally the past few weeks. It hasn’t been around sleep training but around running. At the start of the year, a friend of mine started a one-mile challenge to see how quickly she could run a mile. Like all good millennial mamas (haha), she posted it on her IG stories. I’m a sucker for a little healthy competition, so the next time I went to the gym, I hopped on the treadmill and started to jog. I knew I could run a mile, but I had no idea how long it would take me.

I ran that first mile on January 14th faster than I ever recall, coming in at 8 minutes, 28 seconds. That was fast for this gal who had the belief that her fastest run was a 10-minute mile. I snapped a photo, shared it on IG stories, tagged my girlfriend and went on with my day.

The next week came, and I hopped on again. I ran a mile in 8:16.

The following week, I clocked in at 8:00.

Two weeks ago, 7:47 was my time.

And yesterday afternoon, I ran my fastest mile EVER at 7 minutes, 42 seconds.

Here’s the crazy thing. I don’t have a goal. I haven’t been “training” in my off days. I don’t have a stopping point. I don’t know how long this is going to go on. But I do know that IT IS POSSIBLE that I can keep running faster.

I truly believe (and have 5 weeks worth of evidence), that I can continue to run faster. It is possible that I will be able to run a 7 minute 30 second mile. It’s possible that I can run a mile even faster than that.

Yesterday, I ran the fastest mile OF MY LIFE with my kiddo sitting next to the treadmill rummaging through my purse. I didn’t have headphones. I was talking to him most of the time. I RAN THE FASTEST I EVER HAVE even with a few “roadblocks”. Why? Because I stepped into the possibility that I could be faster than last week. And I was.

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Henry Ford strikes again

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

Sit with that. For just a second. Stop scrolling and say that quote in your mind or out loud.

If you think you can do the hard thing, you can.

But if you think you can’t, you can’t, mama.

Maybe the hard thing for you this week is sticking to a new nutrition plan. Maybe it is making it through the day without reaching for the wine. Maybe it’s showing up for yourself by walking into the gym. Maybe you want to make time for yourself every evening or spend less time scrolling on the gram.

Or maybe it is sleep training. None of these things will work if you don’t have belief in yourself. Sleep training doesn’t work if you don’t believe in the possibility. Diets don’t either. And your exercise routine is sure to fail if you think it will fail.

I know you can do the hard thing. But you need to know you can, too!

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2020 is the year of possibility

As we closed out 2019, I picked a word for the year as I have for the past few. This year, I decided to focus on possibility as my word. I didn’t know how it would show up. I didn’t know this running challenge would fall into my lap. I didn’t know I’d be blogging about my word 42 days into the new year. But, here we are.

I’ll sit here and soak up the possibility, and I hope you do, too!

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Cheers to possibilities,

Brittney & The Sleeper Teachers