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It all boils down to MINDSET
I often roll my eyes when I see quotes like this:
But today it got me to thinking about how much your success is completely and utterly dependent on your MINDSET.
Because if you want something enough, you will find a way…which is what, today, I interpreted the above fitspo to mean.
We make time for things that matter. We make time for things we want.
We prioritize things even when we are busy.
When you say you don’t have time to exercise, time to eat well, you are basically just saying those things aren’t a priority to you.
And honestly, that is your choice. They don’t have to be.
But if you want to make changes, if you want a different result than the one you are currently getting, you need to change your priorities and your mindset.
As Einstein says:
Seems to obvious yet, for some reason, most people do expect different results without changing their behaviors.
And maybe that is because often our diet and exercise programs merely focuses on new behaviors and not changing the mentally and mindset behind our current behaviors.
I’ve said it numerous times before, but I think that exercise can be empowering. I think it can change our mental attitude and make us into stronger, more confident people inside and outside of the gym.
But it isn’t as simple as just lifting weights and BAM! we are more confident.
It is about the positive self-talk we learn to do so that we can lift heavier.
It is about the strength we find because we learn how to mentally push ourselves further.
It is because in the gym we can learn a new mentality IF we take the time and don’t just go through the motions of exercising.
Because it isn’t enough to simply DO something. Mindless action isn’t enough.
You need to be intentional.
And I’m not even talking right now about designing workouts or eating according to your goals.
I’m talking about thinking through things and changing your mindset.
If you haven’t been getting results, you probably really haven’t changed anything. And if you haven’t changed anything it is because mentally nothing has changed.
You probably still have the same mindset.
The thing is, mindset is way harder to change than actions, but to truly change your behaviors in the long run, you need to change your mindset.
That is why you need to take a good look at yourself any time you want to start creating a program to work toward new goals.
Assess what has hindered you getting results before. Was it really the program or the fact that you made excuses?
Honestly….It was probably excuses.
And if it was excuses, what were your common excuses? Stress? Lack of time? Didn’t enjoy it? It was too hard?
Consider those excuses.
Now think of how you are going to OVERCOME them.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Plain and simple.
Did you lack motivation when you got stressed?
Could you then think of something to keep you extra motivated during times of stress?
Maybe a visual would help? Or getting friends involved. Or maybe simply having to log public would hold you accountable.
Or maybe simply it was creating something you could mentally prioritize. Like instead of going to the gym when you are stressed, you can put going for a walk ahead of simply going home and watching TV.
Or maybe you could make 15 minutes of working out at home a priority even if you can’t go to the gym.
The crazy thing is…All of these things will change your behaviors and your mindset.
They will get you moving in the right direction while changing how you prioritize and see things. They will create ways for you to mentally overcome the excuses and change your mindset.
Because success boils down to MINDSET.
You could have the best laid plans, the perfect program out there, and it won’t work if you don’t have the right mindset and really get yourself to truly adhere to it and give it your all.
So if you want to achieve results this week, how are you going to change your mindset?
What keeps you motivated and has helped you prioritize working toward your goals?
Take Responsibility And Want It For Yourself
I’ve had to deal with this a lot as a trainer…I’ve had to deal with seeing the potential in someone, in investing a ton of time and energy into helping them succeed, only to see them fail because they didn’t truly want it for themselves.
Because no matter how hard I encourage, how many of the tools I give them, success boils down to one thing – How bad do YOU want it for YOURSELF?
Are you ready to take responsibility for your actions and make things happen?
Because no one else can want it for you. No one else can get you there.
No one else can help you stay on track or cause you to fall off.
You are completely in control whether or not you believe it…whether or not you want to take responsibility for the fact that only you can want and achieve your goals.
Taking responsibility is knowing that whether you succeed or fail is ALL UP TO YOU.
But it is hard to take responsibility because that means it is your fault if you fail.
It is way easier to blame external factors and make up excuses than it is to take responsibility and work hard for results.
It is way easier not to hold yourself accountable and to believe that things weren’t within your control.
The simple truth though is – YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR FATE.
Yea…Shit happens…But if you want something, you will find a way. If you fail, you will hold yourself accountable, take a look at your actions and make changes.
Because even though you can’t control everything or even plan for half of the stuff that happens, you can take responsibility for your actions and your reactions to life.
You can hold yourself responsible for how you handle situations and pick yourself up after you fall.
Success isn’t about perfection. It is about learning and growing and constantly improving. But to learn, grow and improve, you must believe you are in control. You must hold yourself accountable for the actions you take and the results, both good and bad, that occur.
Only you can truly make things happen for yourself.
It isn’t luck that makes people successful…It is freaking hard work and taking responsibility for their lives that makes them successful.
As they say….
Monday Motivation and Fitspo – Focus on the positive
Today is Monday and #MondayMotivation and a bazillion Fitspo photos clog my social media.
For some reason we all just need that extra push on Monday.
POSITIVE! Promotes a great mindset and a great reminder to appreciate even the smallest success!
Be it that we fell off the wagon this past weekend or that we just need that little extra push to get going this week, many of us seem to seek out motivation on Monday.
And some of the motivational pictures, the fitspo that I see, I like. Others make me roll my eyes or simply don’t do anything for me.
I mean I think there is a ton of CRAP fitspo out there. A ton that does promote eating disorders and the belief that to be a bad-ass you need to push through the pain and risk injury….AKA BE STUPID.
I do think there is a ton of CRAP and I wish I could sometimes give a swift punch to the face of the people who created it.
BUT I don’t think ranting against it is going to do anything no matter how stupid or pathetic or whatever I think the images are.
For one….Different things inspire and motivate change for each of us.. And while I may not agree with it, while I may think it promotes unhealthy habits, others may find it is the motivation they need to create healthy change. They just interpret it differently.
And two…I think the best thing I can do is create and promote what I consider to be healthy and positive fitspo. I believe we have to BE the change we want to see – we can’t just complain about things.
So when I choose fitspo or #MondayMotivation, I think of what motivates me. What encourages me to have positive self talk. What boosts me up and what helps me mentally overcome all the excuses.
For me it is often a VISUAL of the positive self-talk I want to use or a visual of my end goal or even the positive emotions I want to feel about myself.
For me it is about the POSITIVE RESULTS I want to create and the POSITIVE MINDSET I need to get there.
I believe the POSITIVE truly MOTIVATES. While those negative fitspos GUILT you into making changes.
And GUILT doesn’t last long, which means you probably aren’t going to stick with your new lifestyle for long. And guilt promotes changes being made in unhealthy ways to try to get results fast to change the way you feel about yourself.
Good fitspo should help boost you mentally to achieve your goals.
So stop focusing on all the crap fitspo that doesn’t help you. Stop complaining about all the stupid images out there.
Stop trying to GUILT yourself into achieving your goals.
And shoot…If there isn’t any fitspo out there that you like, MAKE YOUR OWN!
I know I did! 🙂
I LOVE MYSELF – When did we lose the courage to believe?
When was the last time you did this? When was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror and was like, “I love everything about myself.”
Heck when was the last time that you looked in the mirror and didn’t instantly start focusing on all the things you would like to change?
Probably never or at least not very recently I’m guessing.
And that is just sad.
So often as adults all we focus on are the things about ourselves that we want to change – the things about ourselves that we don’t like.
When did we lose the courage to say, “I love myself?”
Because, honestly, I don’t believe it isn’t that we don’t see our good points. We do recognize our good points, we just don’t focus on them because we are afraid that everyone else sees our flaws and will think that we are cocky or full of ourselves or delusional if we say we love something about ourselves.
When in reality, we focus way more on our flaws than ANYONE else out there does.
We are our own harshest critics. And I firmly believe that.
We set our own limits. We push ourselves down.
We can say that magazines present unrealistic body images. We can can say society presents unrealistic standards.
And yes, those societal standards do seep into our brains as we age so that we can’t, with the same abandon as Jessica, say we love ourselves.
But despite what society tells you, I guarantee that there are traits that aren’t deemed beautiful or wonderful by society that you love about yourself. Yet, because society doesn’t value them, you are too afraid to admit your beauty out loud.
YOU hold yourself back.
When will it stop?
When will you muster the courage to admit that you love yourself? Flaws and all.
When will you stop picking and pushing and start enjoying and celebrating?
When will you stop setting boundaries and limits and instead look at the world and yourself for all that you have to offer?
Society isn’t going to change. Magazines. TV. Ads. Aren’t going to change….
Until we do.
So start creating change by changing your opinion of yourself. Tomorrow, look in that mirror and focus on what you LOVE not what you’d change…
And if you happen to do a little dance while looking in that mirror…well that is fine too!
No one’s judging except you.
Man Bicep 