Humans make tens of thousands of decisions every day. Some are bigger than others, but they all work the same way.
We decide to do something, not do it, or do it in a half-assed way.
We make decisions to eat or not to eat, and what to eat.
We decide whether we’re going to exercise today or not, what kind of exercise we’re going to do, and with whom.
We decide whether to show up at work early, leave late, or get home in time for dinner with the family.
At the end of the day, each and every one of these decisions is based on your beliefs. And it’s important to understand that beliefs are really decisions that we’ve made.
If you believe that losing weight is hard, what you’ve really done is decided that losing weight is hard.
If you believe that you have a history of losing weight and then gaining it back with interest, what you’ve really done is decided that’s true.
If you believe that in order to be successful you need to work long hours, then you’re forever going to be looking for opportunities to work longer and longer hours in order to validate that belief.
And so if you don’t like the results that you’re getting, it’s probably not the workouts you’re doing or the nutrition plan you’re following or the job that you have that’s standing in your way.
It’s YOU.
And if we want better results in life — whether that’s with our fitness, our business or our relationships — then we have to start making some new decisions.
Let’s take a look at how this might work for weight loss.
One example of a positive decision that could lead to better outcomes would be, “I’ve decided that losing weight is simple and that I deserve to have the body and health that I want.”
Or, “I’ve decided that my coach has put together a plan for me that works, and I’m going to trust it and follow it.”
Once you’ve been able to push your previous negative beliefs aside and replace them with positive, affirmative ones, you can begin the process of breaking the cycle that wasn’t working for you.
Suddenly, you have feelings of optimism and positivity when it comes to weight loss. And your brain will begin to seek out people and circumstances that make it easy for you to take actions that are aligned with your beliefs and feelings.
And lo and behold, once you start taking those actions consistently, you wind up with a better outcome … one that validates your initial beliefs.
Look, I don’t mean to oversimplify this, as there are people who’ve devoted their lives to studying the brain and behavioral psychology … and while I have a basic understanding of it, I’m not one of them.
But I believe … I mean, I’ve decided … that if I can pass on the basics of these teachings to you, it will improve your life dramatically. And it will help you navigate a path to getting better outcomes and results than you’ve ever gotten before.
What’s one decision that you can make today that will help you break the cycle? Reply back and let me know, and I’d be happy to guide you in the right direction.
Your friend and coach,
Paul F. Sweatt CPT PN1
Train Smart. Train Hard. Train Safe. Train to Sweatt
P.S. – Get a Fresh Start on your fitness.
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