Everybody’s mindset cracks once in a while, mine included. Its just important to get back to a place where you are productive, progressing and most of all, happy. Because lets be fair, I would rather be happy and poor than rich and miserable, don’t you agree?
Well why can’t we get the body we deserve without all the negative thought, self doubt and excuses get in the way?
Let’s be fair, most of the things above are down to us. The negative thoughts are our own thoughts, the self doubt is about us; not being good enough, looking stupid and wondering what people will think. And don’t get me started on excuses. “I don’t have the time”. “I can’t train on my own”. “I don’t have the right clothes”. “I will start my diet on Monday”.
Frankly it’s all bullshit! Why are you making excuses and letting your own thoughts of yourself limit your happiness?
99 times out of 100 your thoughts of yourself or how others perceive you is wrong and that 1 person who is thinking those things isn’t worth your time so don’t even worry about them; And the other 99 people are wondering what you are thinking of them. So be selfish and only think of yourself and what you need to get done to get the results you want.
Below are the little tips and tricks that I use on myself and are the easiest to start using. Give it time, some people use these tips and in an instant things fall into place. Or if you are like me, and sweat the small stuff and other think EVERYTHING, these might take some practice, but trust me, they work!
Everybody has heard of smart goals right, those things your teachers made you do back in school?
No? Just me then….
Well, they might have been onto something. For those of you who have no idea what i’m on about and for those of you who have forgotten. SMART stands for:
The more specific you make your goals the better the outcome will be. So rather than generally saying “I want to loose weight”, or “I want to get bigger muscles”. You should take things one step further and say; “I want to lose 14 pounds so that I can wear a smaller dress on my birthday in 16 weeks”, or “I want to get 16 inch arms and a 44 inch chest so that I feel more confident on a night out and play better on the rugby pitch at the start of next season”.
Putting a number or specific total or target onto your goals will really focus you towards your goals. We will go through this in more detail abit later on.
Adding a measurable element to your goals will make it that much easier to track your progression and see where you are doing well and where you need to make some changes.
So using the example above of ‘loosing weight’ If you set a start and end date, and a total weight loss, you can track your progress over that time and see if you need to change your diet and, or your training.
Lets be realistic, we all want the body that we don’t have. But, we can all get to where we want to be over time. That being said, our goals want to be set so that we can reach them within a couple of months. This keeps us progressing from one goal to another and keeps us motivated through the process.
Making goals relative to you is possibly the most crucial part to this process. The question you need to ask yourself is……
Does this matter to me.
If the answer is a no or a mediocre yes, then the goal isn’t strong enough.
If you want the 100% result, you need to put in the effort. And if you aren’t committed enough to yourself, then you will never achieve what you want.
Put a time scale on the goal. Everybody knows that if you have a deadline then you will work harder.
As well as applying the pressure, deadlines allow you to track and quantify your results. For example, if you wanted to lose 14 pounds in 14 weeks, you would need to lose 1 pound per week. To lose 1 pound a week you need to create a calorie deficit of 500 calories a day. So you need to either eat 500calories less each day, or, burn 500 calories through additional exercise.
I would always suggest to exercise more this way you don’t need to alter your diet too much.
It is important to get these SMART goals set before you start aimlessly trying and failing to reach your goals. Just the same as you would plan a route if you were driving somewhere new.
Start setting out your own SMART goals by using this template Unbreakable Mindset – SMART Goals
As humans we are wired up so that we will run from things that will hurt us mentally and physically. Kind of logical right? Well…..
Because we don’t have to run away from things that want to eat us anymore, we have become lazy and don’t really need to run from anything anymore. This is when we become complacent and aren’t driven to get what we want because we don’t have to run from anything to get there.
So, our desire for pleasure (the thing we want) isn’t as strong as our desire to avoid pain (stay as we are). It is only when you associate enough pain with your current situation (e.g. some negative comments from loved ones or your partner leaving you) that we will make a change. But its not enough to run from something, you need to be running towards something. And only when you associate more pleasure with the results you could have, in comparison to your current situation, will you take the first step.
Start to write down your own Pain Pleasure Points with this template and really take some time to figure out what you really want and why you really want it. Unbreakable Mindset – PPP
This is THE BIGGEST excuse I hear from people! And every time I say that it is bullshit! There is always more time in the day than you think, and let’s be fair, you know it. For the most of you, you wake up, get ready for work, come home, eat and then go to sleep, right?
Well, that’s where your wrong, there is always more time. There is that 20 minutes in the morning after you have eaten your breakfast and before you get in the shower, Perfect for a morning HIIT session.
There is the crap TV show that is on after you finish watching something that you watch just because its on. That’s perfect time to get yourself into the gym and lifting some weight.
Easy when you look at it like that, right? Below is a little video of how I plan out my days to get the most out of them.
So the excuses start coming out, “My parents are big so I’m bound to be fat.” “If I get sweaty, people will talk about me.” “I cant eat certain foods because they will make me fat.” Excuses are just choices you make based on your beliefs, and these choices are whats holding you back from getting the results you want.
Now your beliefs may come from previous failures, peoples comments or opinions, common thoughts or views, but let me tell you…….
They are BULLSHIT! If you want something bad enough you will overcome these beliefs by making them seem so ridiculous that they aren’t your beliefs any more. With this comes your new beliefs, and because they are new and not set in stone yet, you need to develop some depth to them so that you are so driven and set that nothing can stand in your way.
So, for example, you might think that because your parents are a certain size and shape that you are destined to be that shape. Even though you don’t exercise, you diet is crap and you have never tried to change in the past.
So, if you haven’t made any changes, how do you know you wont get the results?
Could it be that because your parents don’t exercise, eat a poor diet and don’t actively try and change, that you are just doing what you have learnt from them?
People go from having never driven to getting a driving licence in a matter of months. Kind of a big change that most people do. So what’s so different about the thought process of….
If I take driving lessons I will pass my test even though it’s something I haven’t done before. And, if I make small changes to my diet and increase my exercise I can get the body I want even though its something I haven’t done before.
All of these tips are things that I implement every day both personally and professionally and also get my clients to implement in their life with great success.
List your current negative beliefs using this template (Unbreakable Mindset – Belief Systems) and then add in your new beliefs and figure out why they are so important to you.
So now you have downloaded the content, you need to apply it!
Set some SMART goals,
Find something strong enough to run towards and something bad enough to run away from.
FIND THE TIME to make the changes you need, make it a priority.
And finally, scrap whatever bullshit belief system you have any give yourself some new beliefs that are going to fulfill your life!
