Motivational or inspirational quotes from someone who has achieved what you aspire to, or are working towards is often a difficult pill to swallow. Especially when you feel demotivated it will only magnify those feelings. Looking for motivation on the internet is like poking yourself in the eye with a fork – it’s painful and will blind you from what you want to achieve for yourself.
Today a client came in with a very negative mindset; they had been burning through their sessions with very little progress and were on the verge of packing it all in. I suggested we try a very simple exercise to put things into perspective. If you have stalled with your training and if you have 5 minutes I’d like you to give it a go.
Separate a page into 2 columns with one heading ‘negative’ and the other ‘positive’. Write down in the negative column everything that happens when you don’t do what needs to be done to move forward with your training. For example it could be: ‘When not progressing I am very hard on myself’, ‘My health suffers and I feel terrible’, ‘I give myself excuses to make bad choices’, ‘Quick fixes and bad food choices only make me feel good in the short term’.
Then start to fill in the ‘Positive’ column with everything that makes you smile and feel good about yourself when you are making the right choices. They could include; ‘Mentally I am in a great place, able to deal with stress much easier’, ‘Can wear anything and not feel self conscious’, ‘Confidence is high’, ‘Sleeping better’, ‘Smiling more’, ‘Feel strong, fit and capable’.
I know which column I’d like to live by. The irony is not lost here as I am telling you to be positive in an internet post. However my point is that we can train ourselves to focus on the negative and too often end up living with that mindset. Why not train your mind to focus on the positive? If you don’t want to write it down then try one to two positive actions every day? No matter how you feel, the behaviour more than the thoughts will rewire your subconscious mind to lead you to achieve progression over time – the secret here is consistency. It might be something as easy as actually sitting down and eating breakfast every morning? Or you might aim to drink 3 litres of water every day?
If you can’t think positive then act it and the rest will follow.
