Worry. We all do it; and it isn’t productive for any of us.
I’m steering more and more toward the “mental” aspect of getting and staying in shape these days. After all, without your mind in the game, your body simply cannot change and adapt.
The mind controls the body, and without the proper mindset the body is completely and utterly lost. The body may prefer to stay at a certain weight, but if your mind decides you should be 30lbs overweight – well, face it, you’re gonna be 30lbs overweight.
In this installment of the blog we are going to talk about worry and how to avoid it.
Most Things We Worry About Never Happen...
In my recent research I have discovered that the best way to overcome worry is actually not to try and “stop worrying”. In the past that’s what I always tried, and it never seemed to work.
In the book Psycho Cybernetics (I beg you to please read this book – it is fantastic) Maxwell Maltz talks about worry and how to beat it.
Instead of trying to stop worrying, he recommends replacing the worry with a feeling of “success”.
For example, let’s say you are imagining vividly that you are going to mess up while giving a speech. You imagine getting up at the podium and stuttering, saying something completely ridiculous, or going completely blank. You imagine how the crowd is glaring at you – how you have been made a fool.
Most of us are pretty good at this type of “visualization”. Sad but true. We are used to imagining the worst possible outcome; and doing so with the utmost detail and realism.
Maxwell recommends that you “worry backwards” when this takes hold of you. For instance you would immediately think about some positive and successful event in your past – something that you succeeded at – and replace that vivid “negative” image with a vivid “positive” one.
Eventually the mind will recognize that when something negative is thought of – that that is a signal for something positive to be thought of immediately after. In essence you “rewire” the brain for success.
Now don’t think you have to have won a prestigious award or become a movie star to have experienced “success”. Everyone has success in their background, from winning a race at school to being recognized for rescuing the neighbor’s cat. Everyone has felt success in the past – and that is what you conjure up when you feel like you are doomed for failure.
Alright, now you’re probably wondering how this applies to fitness. Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about this.
I think that if you are on a weight loss plan you need to have your “fuel” sorted out. Fuel is the reason “why” you are losing weight. What is that reason? I can’t tell you yours because it’s a very individual thing. You have to figure that one out yourself.
Maybe you are going to the Bahamas’ in the spring – maybe you want to impress someone – or just get healthy and strong for your family. Whatever the reason it’s yours and yours alone. If you didn’t want to accomplish it you probably wouldn’t be on this site – so that alone should tell you it’s pretty powerful.
After you have your fuel – you need to imagine in vivid detail what it would be like to accomplish that goal. How would your life change? How would you feel? Imagine everything down to the finest detail.
Do this whenever you get a quiet moment – see yourself the way you want to be. Visualize it, smell the air, feel the ground beneath your feet.
Take the success feeling that you’ve had in the past and mold it with this image. You have done it – you have accomplished your goal. Actually feel the success and what Maxwell calls the “winning feeling”.
Ever Think The Difference Between These Two Guys Might Be 90% Mental?
I do this a lot before I go to sleep – with my business, body or whatever my current goal is.
Now you have your “replacement” feeling.
When you start to feel hungry, deprived, or weak, close your eyes and imagine this scene. You’re “winning feeling” scene. Imagine the way you’ll feel, the way you’ll look – the way your life will improve when your goal is accomplished.
Does this take away all the desire to eat bad food or skip a workout? Nope. But I do believe it helps immensely. You will be reminded of why you are working hard – why you are putting in this work and effort, and you’ll be able to stave off the temporary pleasure gained from a tasty treat or skipped workout session.
Try this the next time you have a desire to cheat on your nutrition or skip a particularly unpleasant workout session. Let me know below what you think about this post and what helps you get through those moments! I want to hear your opinions on the mental aspect of getting shape!
nil desperandum! NEVER GIVE UP
Great article!!