Deciding in the Mind

Have you asked yourself why you set a goal to become healthy and never achieve that goal as planned? What is the answer you come up with? It is important to remember it is okay to ask yourself this question; however, it is imperative that when you ask yourself why you never achieve your target fitness goal, you also need to consider your answer. Some of the answers I am familiar with include:
“It is because I am weak”
“It is because I have bad genes”
“It is because exercise and diet is hard”
“It is because I don’t have time”
“Living healthy is not for me, I am just not fit.”
I have frequently asked myself WHY is it that over 90 percent of the people I have worked with are not patient enough to see results; WHY is it that most people cannot shake off their habits of food and inactivity; WHY is it that a 60 year old achieved her goal of losing 70 pounds, when some people struggle to lose 10 pounds? Why is it that another individual achieved her weight loss goal in 60 days, but struggled with her weight for three years prior to that loss? Here is what I discovered:
The number one reason I found many people struggle with their weight goals is most do not decide in their MIND what they want to accomplish before starting a workout program. That is the one key factor: Lack of a clear decision for what is wanted. Oftentimes people never make it IMPERATIVE; we make it important, but not IMPERATIVE. Attainment of your goal requires persistence and patience.
The debate of needing to be fit begins in the mind. Yes, overcoming the obstacles of attaining fitness is also in the mind, (there is muscle pain and fatigue to contend with during the initial phase of any program) but in the long run the fatigue fades and you are left with overcoming a mental debate: “Should I do this again or forget it?!”
Have you had the privilege of watching kids perform a task? You should have been there with me one evening as I watched my niece (Naomi) who saw her toy roll under our couch; Naomi, barely 13 months old, did all she could to retrieve her toy, with no positive result ‐ so she resulted to crying. My sister unaware of what happened picked her up and consoled and fed her, and then she fell asleep. But early in the morning, while I was watching ESPN, she came running as fast as she could to the couch. She fell three times on her way to the couch, to her that was nothing. She got to couch and started looking. She lay on the floor and stretched her arms but couldn’t reach what she was searching for. I know she couldn’t see the toy, but she knew it was there and that is all that mattered to her. About 15minutes later she stopped and just lay there with one arm under the couch. My sister walked in and with a surprised look asked, “What are you doing?” Naomi began to cry, looking at where she knew her toy was; when my sister reached and pulled the toy out, You should have see the priceless smile on Naomi’s face.
I did not see the lesson in the event until later on. Most people spend years getting out of shape and want to lose it all in a matter of 4 weeks or 8 weeks; there is a price for physical fitness, it is not magic and it takes time. There is a huge difference between looking fit and being fit. Some people look like they are fit because they are “cut”, “ripped”, “built”, or “thin” but they cannot perform daily functional activities. That event with Naomi reminded me that persistence on a task until it is accomplished is essential. It also made me realize that patience is a vital key in attaining any goal.
There are several means of achieving a weight loss goal and also achieving fitness. Shortcuts have their price, so also does persistent and patient actions. As you decide and make up your mind on what you want, have these two characteristics at the back of your minds: PERSISTENCE AND PATIENCE.

Action plan

Sit down with paper and pen and decide what you want to look like. Picture yourself that way, if you have a past picture pull it up; if there is someone you want to look like, print a picture of that person. If you want to weigh a certain amount – write that weight down. DESCRIBE YOUR DECISION.
While doing the above you might find yourself coming up with all the excuses and reason why things have not worked out in the past. You can write those down too. If you know all your excuses, you will learn to identify them when you try to fall back on those bad habits.

Next time we will discuss “What would you do with the health”?

Choice of Rewards

A pat on the back has never been enough when we achieve some sort of goal or worthwhile accomplishment. Is the constant rush to go eat out at a restaurant as a reward good either? "You made an A sweetie? Let's go eat! You made the team? Let's go eat! It's your birthday? Let's go eat! You're happy? Let's go eat! Are you depressed? Let's go eat! He scored a home run! Let's go eat! The team won! Yeah! Let's go eat pizza! You're broken hearted? Here's some ice cream! Movie time? Here's the popcorn, candy and coke! Are you sad? Here's some chocolate!" Are all of these answers wrong responses to certain emotions, accomplishments or events? NO! But there are other ways we can reward ourselves and others. Take time to identify what what rewards you would associate with each individual situation. After that, try the following:


Know yourself and try saying, "Can we go somewhere else?"


There are countless things that we can engage in that will reshape our lives, but first we have to develop new meanings for what we currently do. Eating out has become our culture's family and friendship bonding time. But who really engraved this meaning? Years back, we used to sit in our homes and enjoy time with our families indoors. This sitting inside mentality has become the go-to solution for everything. Start asking family members, colleagues, coaches, friends and lovers to take you elsewhere as a reward for a job well done instead of an indoor food rendezvous. Be creative! Use your mind-- heck, it's yours! I hear this statement a lot, "I don't know how I got this big!" I can tell you how, but does that really matter? It's easier to tell you how to start making changes to stop it and prevent it from happening again. That is what I am here to do. Get creative! Start by saying, "Can we go somewhere else?"


Make small changes


Try this-- When you get emotional, go blow off steam by working out, walking, biking, swimming or doing some type of physical activity. Listen, our bodies are designed to move and not sit and mope! When you're depressed, lift your head and walk tall...it will make you feel better anyway! Skip the ice cream, chocolate, candy and other sweets that have come to be your go-to temporary solutions. Do just the opposite. Replace sweets with fruits and instead of sitting and crying, get up and run. Get the picture? Ask your boyfriend to go for a walk with you. Ask your girlfriend to do something active with you. Parents, walk with your children. You would have time for them if they needed you, right? Why not choose to give them attention and time before they need you?


Ask for the healthy choices


Recently, I finally understood the meaning of one of life's biggest laws, "Ask and you shall receive." Instead of getting gifts that you will become bored with after a few weeks, ask for a gymnasium membership, workout clothes, workout shoes and motivational information. You can even ask for sessions with a personal trainer as a gift. Plan to use other methods of being fulfilled. These ways have transformed the lives of some of my clients.


To sum it all up, "Start doing something different, make small changes, and ask for healthy options for gifts or rewards. use your brain!"
Edited by Ashley Austin