Through my years of coaching clients, I have come to realize that the exercise and holistic nutrition knowledge I bring to them is NOT the key to changing their lives. I have found that the true key to life-long health lies between my clients’ ears…in their mind, and in their thoughts. In fact, application of any of the knowledge I present and coach is absolutely irrelevant if I am fighting a lot of negativity and resistance. However, these clients are the ones who most NEED my help and I have adapted a simple technique that works quite profound miracles with my most discouraged and embattled clients.
First, I would like to explain that I believe that the recent research into the human brain and quantum physics proves that your body and mind are inseparable; that your mind has the ability to profoundly affect your body in both positive an negative ways. The greatest coaches, athletes and gurus all understand this deep connection and capitalize on it through meditation and visualization practices. You would be hard-pressed to find an Olympic athlete who does not incorporate visualization into their training regimen. With that said, I believe that it is at LEAST equally important for the average person with a fitness goal to harness the mind because the mind creates the thoughts which become the beliefs which create the behaviors which dictate success or failure . Without the thoughts and the vision, there is nothing to create the changes you desire.
If you are constantly stuck in negative self-talk or simply using a lot of energy disliking your body or the situation that you are in, then there is very little energy left over to actually create a new body. In order to free up some of this energy and help you focus on a new way of life, I have adapted a very powerful technique inspired in some ways by the work I have done on myself with Landmark Education.
Step 1) Create who you would LIKE to be.
Of Course, in the case of many of my clients we write down something relevant to fitness. The examples must be in present tense and NOT include negative words like not. For example: “ I am a vibrant Grandmother with the strength and energy to wear out my grandchildren .” instead of “I am a Grandmother without pain.” You can not really create a negative and it is much easier to create something that truly speaks to you; something that gets to the emotional tug of what you desire from your goal. Inspiration is essential here.
Step 2) I believe that the world works so powerfully for us when we actually tie our own goals into helping others. It takes us out of the world of “me” and puts us into a situation where we are getting what we want by giving back to those around us. So in step two, you create a world in which the person in step one actually exists.
How would be acting if you were actually the person you created in the previous step? The kicker: you must also tie that goal into helping others. For example: instead of “I am a grandmother who works out 4 times per week to get in great shape for my grandkids,” she would make it so much more powerful by stating, “I am a grandmother who has created a group in which I teach other seniors how to exercise and keep up with their grandkids.” or “ I am a grandmother who leads a group of other seniors and Grandchildren in fun, healthy activities each week.” The two latter choices puts this grandmother in a place of giving so much to others and makes her responsible for something bigger than herself. It would be much more difficult to skip her workouts with many people relying on her and she would certainly have to be fit and learn a lot about her body if she wanted to teach other seniors about fitness.
Step 3) Follow through with your ideas.
Tell other people about what you have created for yourself and begin to build it! Without actually taking action, the creation dies, and so does your created-self. Stick with it and grow as you become fit. Because when you help others in your journey, your power is amplified many times over.
I have seen this principle work time and time again with many of my clients and I am personally inspired by each client who completes this exercise. In my class just this week, I had a client who just came out of some heart difficulties create the future in which he has bicycling club for troubled teens in his area. He will soon be getting his heart strong through a very “big-hearted” possibility. My beautiful mother-in-law has rheumatoid arthritis and keeps her health by teaching yoga, recently adding children’s classes. People who help others in this way absolutely move me.
My own life is a an example of this principle as I have created for myself a future of abundance through inspiring over 1 million people to fitness through my clinic and my work by 2010. Since the time I created this future for myself, my life has bloomed as has my practice. Each day I wake up with a new sense of purpose and urgency knowing that there are a million people out there who need my help. It’s a good life, but don’t take my word for it…go ahead…sit down and start creating yourself now!
First, I would like to explain that I believe that the recent research into the human brain and quantum physics proves that your body and mind are inseparable; that your mind has the ability to profoundly affect your body in both positive an negative ways. The greatest coaches, athletes and gurus all understand this deep connection and capitalize on it through meditation and visualization practices. You would be hard-pressed to find an Olympic athlete who does not incorporate visualization into their training regimen. With that said, I believe that it is at LEAST equally important for the average person with a fitness goal to harness the mind because the mind creates the thoughts which become the beliefs which create the behaviors which dictate success or failure . Without the thoughts and the vision, there is nothing to create the changes you desire.
If you are constantly stuck in negative self-talk or simply using a lot of energy disliking your body or the situation that you are in, then there is very little energy left over to actually create a new body. In order to free up some of this energy and help you focus on a new way of life, I have adapted a very powerful technique inspired in some ways by the work I have done on myself with Landmark Education.
Step 1) Create who you would LIKE to be.
Of Course, in the case of many of my clients we write down something relevant to fitness. The examples must be in present tense and NOT include negative words like not. For example: “ I am a vibrant Grandmother with the strength and energy to wear out my grandchildren .” instead of “I am a Grandmother without pain.” You can not really create a negative and it is much easier to create something that truly speaks to you; something that gets to the emotional tug of what you desire from your goal. Inspiration is essential here.
Step 2) I believe that the world works so powerfully for us when we actually tie our own goals into helping others. It takes us out of the world of “me” and puts us into a situation where we are getting what we want by giving back to those around us. So in step two, you create a world in which the person in step one actually exists.
How would be acting if you were actually the person you created in the previous step? The kicker: you must also tie that goal into helping others. For example: instead of “I am a grandmother who works out 4 times per week to get in great shape for my grandkids,” she would make it so much more powerful by stating, “I am a grandmother who has created a group in which I teach other seniors how to exercise and keep up with their grandkids.” or “ I am a grandmother who leads a group of other seniors and Grandchildren in fun, healthy activities each week.” The two latter choices puts this grandmother in a place of giving so much to others and makes her responsible for something bigger than herself. It would be much more difficult to skip her workouts with many people relying on her and she would certainly have to be fit and learn a lot about her body if she wanted to teach other seniors about fitness.
Step 3) Follow through with your ideas.
Tell other people about what you have created for yourself and begin to build it! Without actually taking action, the creation dies, and so does your created-self. Stick with it and grow as you become fit. Because when you help others in your journey, your power is amplified many times over.
I have seen this principle work time and time again with many of my clients and I am personally inspired by each client who completes this exercise. In my class just this week, I had a client who just came out of some heart difficulties create the future in which he has bicycling club for troubled teens in his area. He will soon be getting his heart strong through a very “big-hearted” possibility. My beautiful mother-in-law has rheumatoid arthritis and keeps her health by teaching yoga, recently adding children’s classes. People who help others in this way absolutely move me.
My own life is a an example of this principle as I have created for myself a future of abundance through inspiring over 1 million people to fitness through my clinic and my work by 2010. Since the time I created this future for myself, my life has bloomed as has my practice. Each day I wake up with a new sense of purpose and urgency knowing that there are a million people out there who need my help. It’s a good life, but don’t take my word for it…go ahead…sit down and start creating yourself now!
2 comments:
Thanks for the inspiration! All of this really started to make sense to me when I thought about various significant goals that I've accomplished. When I asked myself "Why did I accomplish this goal? What made me be so successful?", my answer was, "I told myself over and over that I could do it. I pictured myself accomplishing that goal, I thought about different ways of getting there, etc." It guess it really does work!
Jim your article was amazing, keep up the good work.
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