You often hear it in self-help circles; where the mind goes, the body follows. I used to believe this wholeheartedly myself.
Today, not so much.
This morning as I struggled to get my groggy head off the pillow, a thought came to mind:
''I'd rather not go to work today''.
Such thoughts can be dangerous for me as an online personal trainer who works for himself. It's not like I have a boss to answer to. If I really wanted to, I could have taken a day off.
With the help of a crane, I got up out of bed despite my discouraging thought, drowned myself in a hot shower, threw on some clothes, and got out the door and down to my office.
An hour into my work a different thought came to mind:
''I'd much prefer to be here working right now than laying in my cozy bed wasting my day''. A transformation of mind, aye?
You see, sometimes the reserve is more true:
Where the body goes, the mind soon follows.
This was certainly the case for me today, and just might be the case for you too.
When it comes to losing weight, getting into shape, or improving any area of life, it can be easy to fall into the trap of relying upon the mind, or motivation, to want to do what needs to be done before we do anything at all.
So we wait...................... And nothing changes.
I have learned, through my own experiences and studies of psychology and human behavior, that changing the mind with the mind can be quite hard, and rather than merely trying to change it with it, or wait on it to change by itself, we should focus on changing our actions instead.
By acting in spite of the mind, or doing the complete opposite of what it discourages us from doing, soon the mind catches up with the actions.
Example.
You lack the motivation to start exercising, but you start exercising anyway. After a week you feel a lot better within, and lose a couple of pounds too. This, in turn, has a positive effect on your psyche: ''I have my mojo back. Let's do this''.
The mind follows the body and soon catches up.
In the words of the great psychologist William James: ''If you want to possess a quality, act as if you already had it.''
If the quality you want to possess is one of motivation, confidence, gratitude, health/fitness, or whatever else, start taking small incremental steps and acting as if you already possess it, and soon you will!
On the lookout for an online personal trainer who helps you work on the mind too? Then click on my website link below.
Coach Alan
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