The Mind is Where Real Change Begins - Part II - The Decision

The Decision

It’s what makes a trainer, or at least this trainer, frustrated every time it hits the ears.

"I want to lose this many pounds in this amount of time."

That’s when I know my client and I have an issue. Because if the mind is where real change beings, than this is a mindset destined for long-term failure.

Achieving the body you desire is a race more often won by the tortoise, not the hare. Numbers and dates are just that, figures on a page. So when it comes to the figure of your dreams, the one you visualize when you close your eyes, erase timelines, eliminate scales and create a vision in your head that exists beyond measurements.

You wouldn’t go pick out a car and say to the salesman, “I want this car to go 80 miles per hour until it gets me to California”. OK, then what? You stop and sit? Because that’s what will happen to your fitness goals if you place too much emphasis on short term numbers. You'll eventually stop and sit. Like a reliable automobile, you want value from your body, something reliable that will perform and get you wherever you need to go year after year.

- REAL GOALS –

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it a thousand more times – health and avoiding being at the doctors office or in a hospital is a great motivator, an excellent reason to get on a treadmill or pick up a weight. But what percentage of people out there trying crash diets or purchasing infomercial style fitness equipment are doing so because their health is in peril? Now let’s examine that question and ask how many are doing it for reasons stemming from vanity. Don’t be ashamed to walk into a trainer’s office and say, “I wanna look good so I can get a date and be more attractive to the opposite sex.”

I had a 16-year old kid come to me for his first session recently and of course I asked him why he was interested in lifting weights. He said, point blank, “to get chics!” to which I responded “halleluiah, finally an honest answer”.

Another woman answered my same question by grabbing her stomach and confessing, “I want to lose this so I can get on top for a change when I have sex.” Sure, a bit shocking, but hell, brutally honest and I loved her for it.

By real goals, I’m really talking about real motivation. And although I may alienate myself with some fitness purists out there, what’s a bigger motivation than sex and attracting the opposite sex? That being said, let’s not get on a tangent. This blog series is centered about making the mental change, creating a mindset for permanent changes and long term success that doesn’t have a finite date or assigned poundage to weigh. Because I repeat, THAT DOES NOT WORK.

Personally I discourage drastic change and instead encourage steady, incremental, long-term lifestyle transformation. But that cannot happen without a realistic conversation within your head in which you ask yourself - Why am I going into this gym? - Why am I thinking about hiring a trainer? What kind of motivation do I have and what kind of realistic changes am I truly willing to make?

It’s not a quick conversation. In fact, you should probably sit on it for a couple of days and explore your mind. Explore where the real change is going to begin. That is when the foundation for the body of your dreams is laid down.

Stay tuned…..