I recently attended the CanFit Pro Fitness Conference – the biggest of its kind in North America – at the Metro Convention Centre. It was a weekend of Jillian Michaels, Olympian keynote speakers, crazy choreography workshops (was I ever sore by Sunday night!!) and seminars from experts across the continent.
One seminar stood out in particular and I decided it’s worth sharing. Gotta love the Cole’s Notes version! You’re welcome.
A person’s fitness level is primarily determined by how they see themselves.
Did you get that? Let’s review. A person’s fitness level is determined by how they see themselves. Most would agree that each year, the number one New Years Resolution is, “I want to lose weight”. Diving deeper here, we see that this paradigm is all about what the person is trying to avoid: “weight.”
The trouble with this is that the unconscious mind recalls the word weight. The same goes for another common goal, “I want to quit smoking.” The mind ruminates on the thing you’re trying to avoid: “smoking.”
Now I realize this sounds a bit new-agey, but bear with me. We’re all familiar with the notion of the pink elephant; when someone tells you not to think about one, it’s all you can see dancing around in your head. “Whatever you do, don’t eat that chocolate fudge cake!” Guess what you probably want, right now. Chocolate freakin fudge cake (sorry).
Let’s relate this to a scenario we’ve probably all experienced. You’re driving down a country road at night and start to swerve onto the gravel shoulder. You immediately correct the vehicle and get back onto the asphalt. Easy! Why was that easy? Because you were thinking about getting back onto the road. Because you did not focus on the ditch.
See what just happened here? You must stop thinking about the ditch. You must think about where you’re going. Envision yourself clearly achieving your desired results by using positive language this is NLP folks, neuro linguistic programming, it’s super powerful stuff). And remember with goal setting, YOU HAVE TO WRITE IT DOWN BY HAND. Even better, be specific and write it down by hand as if it’s already happened.
I want to lose weight (lame) → I want to be fit (better) → I am fit, confident and healthy and rocking my high school jeans (best)
Your mind is now focused on high vibration words like “fit” “confident” and “healthy” versus the low energy word “weight”. Let’s do two more.
I want to quit smoking (lame) → I want to have clean lungs (better) → I have clean lungs and breathe easily when I run (best)
I want to get out of debt (lame) → I want to have more money (better) → I am financially free and live in abundance (best)
I urge you to practice this at home. It will feel uncomfortable at first to write things in the present tense that haven’t happened yet. Do it anyways. And do it consistently. Here’s a tip: make it exciting. Picture wearing that hot little red number at your holiday party, crossing the finish line of that marathon, getting the keys to your dream home or seeing a big balance in your checking account. How does that feel? Get detailed.
No really, stop reading and do this exercise.
Motivation is powered by two things:
1) You’re sufficiently scared into action (example: Doctor says your arteries are clogged and you need a lifestyle change or a triple bypass)
2) You are sufficiently excited in action (example: your positive emotions are super charged when you picture crossing that finish line)
Motivation through excitement is much, much more effective than motivation via fear. The internal pictures we create in our mind lead to behaviours, which lead to real results.
It all starts with a powerful positive internal dialogue. So please, speak kindly to yourself. Create exciting visions for your life. You truly can think yourself fit!
Yoda would be so proud!
