Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Be consistent by not pulling yourself off track

We know that our program works for burning fat, building muscle and getting people in amazing shape.  The biggest issue with getting results is people consistently completing the workouts and eating challenges.  It is by no means an easy program, if it were it probably wouldn't get results, but why do people struggle to get through it?  There are lots of different reasons/experiences people have and 90% of them are mental blocks. 

People may not be ready to commit,
they might not believe in the program,
they might not have the patience,
they might not be used to the feeling of the physical challenge,
they might have powerful emotional eating,
they might not have the mental strength,

but all these people and reasons for not being able to consistently complete the program have one thing in common... they are all creations of our mind and can be overcome by a simple decision.  "I want to see and feel the fitness results and I will consistently complete the program for 3 months regardless of how I might feel"

The problem is not that we have these derailing feelings of weakness, frustration, anxiety, embarrassment, etc.  These are natural occurrences that force us to dig deeper to work harder to be disciplined, be patient and all the other virtues.  It is through struggle with our own minds and bodies that we become better, wiser, happier people. 

The problem and break in progress to our goals comes when we start to actually believe these negative thoughts and feelings and identify with them.  We jump from, "I am feeling frustrated that I cannot run longer or faster" to "I cannot run and so I cannot do this program".  Or "I am not comfortable cooking healthy because I rarely do" to "I don't cook so oh well." 

Our minds have approximatley 17,000 thoughts a day.  Just think about all the crazy emotional thoughts we have in one day and what would happen to our lives if we started to actually believe and follow through with all of them.  Don't trust every feeling that comes into your head.  Distinguish the healthy ones from the unhealthy ones and make a conscious decision regarding your path.  Be mindful, be smart, be healthy and consistently complete the program both eating and workouts and you will get results and feel great about them.

1 comment:

Eleni said...

This morning, Jesse wanted us to run at 90% for 3 minutes. I figured I'd never be able to do that, as I'm not a runner and 90% is all out. I was running on a tred that was facing the mirror. As I started thinking that I wouldn't be able to do the full three minutes, and contemplated jumping off, I saw myself in the mirror. My face showed that fear/anxiety, but my legs were running strong and smooth. I realized that my mind didn't think I could make it, but my leg's knew they could. I just decided to focus on any other thought for the remainder of the time--and I made it.

It was a great lesson in pushing out mental negativity, which was reaffirmed by this post. Thanks, Gavin!