Mindset is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean?
And is it even important?
Not only is it important to have the right mindset in order to achieve your health and fitness goals, but it’s almost virtually impossible to achieve them without it.
Your mindset is made up of a series of beliefs, many of which you learned at a very young age and have stayed with you.
These beliefs form the first planet in a solar system that ultimately gets you the results that you’re getting in life. Beliefs create thoughts, which lead to feelings, which produce actions (or lack thereof) that yield outcomes.
So you can see that if the belief is flawed or negative, it’s going to set off a chain reaction that gets you a negative result.
Let’s take weight loss for example. Go ahead and write down the 3 most powerful limiting beliefs you may have about losing weight.
They may be something like, “Losing weight is hard,” or, “I’ve lost weight before, but I always find it again.”
Once those negative beliefs have taken hold, they create feelings. In this case, you may feel, “I don’t deserve to lose weight and be healthy,” “I’m not good enough,” “I’m not worth it,” or, “I don’t know how to do this.”
What do feelings do? They result in actions … things you do (or don’t do) in order to generate an outcome.
Do you think your brain is going to make it easy for you to take positive steps like drinking more water, eating more protein and vegetables, reducing your alcohol intake and cutting your portion sizes with all those negative beliefs and feelings rattling around in your head?
Probably not, right?
So what happens?
You wind up with a certain outcome … in this case, you didn’t lose the amount of weight you’d hoped to lose, or you lost none at all.
And what does that outcome do?
It validates the negative beliefs that you started with.
And the whole vicious cycle starts over again.
This doesn’t just apply to health and fitness, by the way. It’s the same for business and your professional life, your relationships, and more.
So here’s the ultimate question: How do you break the cycle?
First, we have to understand that beliefs are really decisions. And if you want a different result than what you’ve been getting, it’s time to start making some new ones.
That can be easier said than done, so I’m going to let you take in everything I’ve covered today and start thinking about what kind of beliefs you have that may be sabotaging your results. I’ll be back in a couple of days to help you start making some new decisions … and getting better outcomes.
Your friend and coach,
Paul F. Sweatt CPT PN1
Train Smart. Train Hard. Train Safe. Train to Sweatt
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