The Power of Positive

There's some things in life you just can't control.

Everyone is going to deal with stuff in their life that they would consider negative.  People lose jobs, end relationships and lose loved ones.  Likely, most of those things are more or less out of our control.  But that's where one of my favorite quotes, from football coach Lou Holtz, comes in...

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it."

You just have to make sure you respond the right way.  Some people choose to be negative about little things while others smile and roll with the punches.  When your schedule gets busy, how will you respond?  Will you make excuses to yourself about why you can't exercise or why it's just impossible to eat healthy foods when things get stressful?

Especially when it comes to exercise, understand how important small actions can be.  I'm not talking about parking further away from the grocery store.  I'm talking about taking four minutes out of your day to kick your butt with a Tabata.  You're not too busy for that.  You have exactly the same number of hours in your day as Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein and Mother Teresa.  With all the things that a person can accomplish in their life given just 24 hours a day, make a few short minutes for your own well-being.  Even if you can only exercise with one Tabata per day, you'll fill the remaining 1,436 minutes with more productivity, better sleep, and most important of all...

Positive energy!

Never underestimate how much a simple smile can affect your mood and the people around you.  And I guarantee you, if you take care of yourself, if you find time for a little intense exercise, you WILL smile more.

That's my sappy thought for the day and it leads me to my new sign-off...

I love you and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!

-Mark

aimfitcamp.com

Are You Reading The Right Script?

I was talking to a fellow coach last night who was asking me for some advice to deal with an athlete’s dilemma. The athlete was essentially having confidence issues. It goes right back to what I wrote last week about a successful mindset. You can really hurt your chances of success – at anything – if you have something negative in your mind.

I once heard a mental health professional put it in terms of the left and right sides of your brain. When it comes to having a successful mindset, the saboteur is always the left side, the side of linear reasoning and language. The left side is the side that thinks it knows everything, and it’s all about having a script. For many people, that script tells them that they are going to fail at losing weight before they even start.

Maybe they’ve had a bad experience in the past, or maybe they’re just naturally skeptical, but the left side of their brain tells them in no uncertain terms exactly how their efforts are going to end up. The thought of potential failure exists exclusively in this side of the brain. But there’s one really important thing you need to know about that script – it isn’t representative of a real thing; it’s something your brain is making up.

If you ever catch yourself being a pessimist, just ask yourself a simple question – where would I be without that thought?

It’s really simple, actually. Does that negative thought represent anything real that is occurring, or is the left side of your brain writing a script where you fail? If it’s the latter, all you have to do is write a different script.