Every year people attempt to make improvements but with little to no success. How can this be in the information age we currently live in? There are thousands of articles, magazines and websites at our fingertips that provide us the information we need regarding the most effective exercise programs and healthiest ways to eat. And yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70 percent of American adults remain overweight or obese, with no immediate signs of significant decline.
There is little doubt that most people have the desire to make positive changes, but often the most important area that is overlooked is the mindset. Desire simply isn’t enough. You have to believe in order for the change to take place, and believing will ultimately make or break your success.
We see this all the time in professional sports and business. Fitness is no different. Visionary automaker Henry Ford said it best: “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
Simple and true. The battle is won or lost long before you even set foot in the gym. Perhaps we have to strengthen our minds before we strengthen our bodies. After all, we can go only as far in life as our minds will allow. So we will begin by “breaking a mental sweat” with a combination of mental housekeeping and positive programming.
THE POWER OF THE BRAIN
It’s easy to lose sight of what a powerful tool we have to work with. In the classic self-help book “Psycho-Cybernetics,” Dr. Maxwell Maltz talks in depth about how the human brain is an automated goal-seeking machine in which the individuals are at the controls. He uses a baseball centerfielder as an example.
“In order to compute where the ball will fall, or where the ‘point of interception’ will be, he must take into account the speed of the ball, its curvature of fall, its direction, wind, initial velocity and the rate of progressive decrease in velocity. He must make these computations so fast that he will be able to ‘take off’ at the crack of the bat.
“Next, he must compute how fast he must run, and in what direction in order to arrive at the point of interception at the same time the ball does. He doesn’t even think about this. His built-in goal-striving mechanism computes it for him from data, which he feeds through his eyes and ears while comparing it to memories of other successes and failures in catching fly balls. All necessary computations are made in a flash, and orders are issued to his leg muscles … and he ‘just runs.’ ”
The point of the example, and the book for that matter, is that we naturally set out to achieve goals in life, and our thoughts, whether positive or negative, will determine our actions and our outcome. The trick is to utilize everything we have learned to achieve the desired goal.
USE FAILURE AS A LEARNING TOOL
Too often we let past failures prevent us from going after our goals, whether we failed at losing weight or went through the process successfully only to gain it back years later. We become conditioned to view failure as a bad thing and get too caught up in what others will think. The reality is this: The only person you need the approval of is yourself. So get up, brush yourself off, and check your ego at the door. Rather than viewing failure as a death sentence, let it serve as a learning tool in your next attempt. Analyze and make a list of which things you did right and wrong previously. From there, utilize what worked well and eliminate the factors that kept you from your goal the last time.
Eliminate negative self-talk: Making self-defeating statements such as, “I’ll never be in shape” or “I can’t lose weight,” ultimately sets you up for failure. Negative self-talk sabotages any chance of self-improvement right out of the gate.
The first step to getting control of our thoughts is developing awareness of them. Here’s a challenge to you: Wear a rubber band around your wrist for one day. Every time you make a negative comment or have negative thoughts about yourself, snap the band against your wrist.
This won’t necessarily inflict great physical harm, but it serves to remind yourself that essentially you are hurting yourself. The goal is to create awareness of our thoughts, so we can minimize the bad only to bring in more of the positive.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU ARE GAINING
A lot of times when we are making changes regarding our health and wellness, we focus on what we are losing in the process. Whether it’s the guilty-pleasure foods we are eliminating or spending less time watching our favorite shows, we have to keep focus on what we are gaining in the process. Better health, more energy, more self-esteem, becoming stronger physically and mentally, increased vitality, etc. When we do this, we naturally stay on course toward our goals and make what we gave up seem even smaller in the process.
Begin with the end in mind: More specifically, create a vision of how you want everything to look once you accomplish your goals. Use pictures of yourself when you were looking and feeling your best, or find images of the recreational activities that you want to pursue and look at them daily. This is a powerful tool, and having the image puts your subconscious to work toward your goals. Try it – you’ll be amazed at how effective it is.
EXPECT GREATNESS
Strong desire matched with the belief and expectation of greatness in yourself will make your goals become a reality. Live “as if” you already have the qualities and characteristics necessary to achieve your goals, and all the details will fall into place along the way. This is the same approach that Arnold Schwarzenegger used to become Mr. Universe and one of the top actors in Hollywood in the 1980s and ’90s. Ultimately, you’re in the driver’s seat. Free your mind, take control and expect success – and everything else will follow.