By Sam Kappel
As fitness professional, I know first hand, how important it is to be healthy and helping people achieve the health they desire. I also know how hard it can be to achieve some of our needs and wants. No matter what area of our lives, whether it’s fitness, financial or even relationships, roadblocks and challenges come along. Life challenges us everyday, and it is important to be mentally strong enough to overcome and solve these challenges. This is what helps us succeed as humans and stay on the right path towards our goals.
One of the things I have learned over the last 15 years being in the fitness world is to take baby steps and this is a journey, when it comes to getting what you need and desire.
The first thing I start with when I am coaching someone, who is trying to get the body they want, get their health freedom back or just lose a few pounds, is developing their mindset around it. Having the right mindset is by far the first thing you need to get in order, if you want to achieve the results and goals you have set for yourself.
What do I mean developing your mindset around results you desire? Well, over the past 15 years I have discovered that if a person’s mind is not in the right place when they are trying to get in shape or achieve any goal by that matter, they almost always fail. Actually, I am confident to say 99.99% of the time failure to reach their goal occurs, if a person’s mindset was not in the right place. Getting your mindset focused and in the right place allows you to commit to your goal 100%. Once you have committed 100% and have the right mindset, nothing can stop you, including those frustrating roadblocks.
So how does one get their mindset right when it comes to getting healthy and in shape? I am going to share with you three tips to help put your mind in the right place to get the body you desire, get your health freedom back, and achieve the goals you have set for yourself. You can use these approaches for any goal in life; your brain is your most powerful tool to success with anything.
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Know your WHY. Why are you doing this? Get precise with why you want to get in shape, lose weight, build muscle, etc. We all have reasons. For some it’s being able to keep up with our kids, and for others it’s to wake up feeling alive, light and energized. Your why could be to be able to fit into those clothes you once did 15 years ago.
The main thing here is to discover why you want to get in shape or lose weight. If you are vague, like I want to lose weight, your mind will still not be in the right place. Get precise on why you want to lose weight. Write down your why, and have it in front of you at all times. I suggest putting it on your bathroom mirror, or on the refrigerator, somewhere you will see it everyday. Always being aware and knowing why you are doing all this will keep you motivated and on track. This will keep you from forgetting the reason and moving on to something else.
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Set and write out goals. Create goals for yourself while striving for your why. I like to set mini bench marks to keep myself motivated, otherwise, I might get discouraged with the journey towards the big picture.
If your why is to lose weight, so you can run around with your kids without getting tired, set a number for the amount of pounds you would like to lose. Once you find out exactly what it will take to get to your why, then break down this bigger goal into mini goals. If your goal is to lose 30 pounds, then set your first goal for 1-2 pounds lost in a week. This will make the process seem simpler.
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Give yourself an award system. Once you have figured out your why and have set goals to get there, make sure you reward yourself when you hit each milestone. This is important because it will give you a sense of accomplishment when working towards the goal in sight.
It can sometimes get very discouraging and frustrating, when it seems you will never achieve that mountain of a goal, so give yourself an award system. Give yourself some smaller rewards for the smaller goals and give yourself something big for your final accomplishment. Some examples are maybe a movie night out for smaller goals, and maybe a vacation or new clothes once you hit your final goal.
I will repeat this again. The mindset is a very important step in your journey to a healthy and fit body. Before you even start a fitness program, diet or workout, make sure to develop the right mindset and discover your why and goals. Write both your why and goals out, stick them somewhere you can see them everyday to remind yourself there is a big purpose for why you are challenging yourself. Make sure to reward yourself for your accomplishments. You deserve to have the body and health you desire and need, so do yourself a favor and get your mindset focused and clear.
Visit the author’s website:
http://thenewbodysecret.com
Thank you for your insightful article!
You’re absolutely correct about the importance of our mindset in accomplishing our goals. These principles apply to all areas of our lives, and not just when it comes to getting in shape.
It has become a cliché to talk about the importance of developing the mind, body, and spirit. Today, more and more people are actually putting this into practice.
At one time in my life, I was really into bodybuilding. I took it quite seriously, so in addition to training my body, I also trained my mind to be more disciplined. Ironically, I believe this led to a profound spiritual experience.
Now, I teach people how to realize their full potential as a human being through the practice of mindfulness meditation. Through the practice, people learn how to discipline their minds, in addition to developing great self-awareness. We also stress the importance of good health.
The main purpose of mindfulness meditation is to achieve freedom from suffering, so they can live rich and fulfilling lives.
Charles A. Francis
The Mindfulness Meditation Institute
I am a fitness enthusiast and reasonable spiritual as well. I love food and am very fond of trying homemade recipes of my favorite desserts. So, in order to stay fit while enjoying life’s sweetness, I must realize that maintaining an optimum body weight is important.
I agree when you say that we need to be mentally aware of why and how we achieve our goals; fitness or spiritual. With time, I have successfully adopted the practice of doing everything in moderation and nothing in extremes. Work out is as important for the body as it is for the mind and soul. For example; self introspection from time to time allows us to relate our goals and objectives for life.