In my last blog I introduced you to “Drawing New Shapes of Success”. If you were inspired to spruce up your self portrait I hope you captured your best inner selfie (no filters needed). Feel free to go hashtag crazy on that new portrait and share with me your fresh out of the gym inner glow on Instagram at @briphilli. I would love to see your new “artwork”.
I have to say the real beauty of being a personal trainer is that I get to help shape and transform the outside of your body while at the same time watching you also do the work to shape and transform the inside. Through constant work and dedication in and out of the gym it truly is possible to become the real person you were meant to be – both inside and out. I know that selfies can be obnoxious when overdone, but they are also human and powerful. I always look to see the inner drive coming through because these are the true reasons for capturing that particular moment. My job as a personal trainer is to help you capture the “before” and “afters” of this inner drive. The progress of the journey from “before” to “after” is what inspires me everyday to work with you on your canvas.
We all ultimately have the choice to create and experience true success and happiness on this blank canvas called life. In the previous blog I mentioned a few ways to get started with creating a timeless body. One area I wanted to look further into was the impact of motivation through goals…..
In case you missed it the key point highlighted was, Turn your biggest baddest goals and desires into realistic action steps. Write down what it is you want and whisper those 3 most important words everyone wants to hear, “Just do it”….thanks a lot Nike!
I know the other 3 words everyone REALLY wants to hear, ironically are involved in this step as well. Ready for it, “I love you”. Yep, I love you. Whether you are saying it to someone for the first time, or to your mom for the nineteenth time that day it has a weight and power to it. I think to really be able to say it to someone else and mean it, you also have to know what it truly means to love yourself. To know this, is to begin to create the foundation for your life goals as well as fitness motivations.
So let’s look closer at what is your motivation behind your desire to have that “perfect body”? When you are driven and motivated to look and feel good usually a whole list of goals pop into your mind; “I want to be skinny”, “I want a six pack”, “I want to be sexy”, “I want to fit into my favorite jeans”. We want to get to these goals as fast as possible so we look for the quickest and easiest way to do this. The actual realistic time it takes to really get to that point might get frustrating and you begin to lose patience and therefore you give up too soon on your goals. Forcing your body to follow a quick fix fad diet and following a wrong training plan sets you up for transient goals that can become painful and elusive once they are gone.
So if the question is, “how do I get to the root of what determines my success in achieving these things I want?” Identifying uncompromising powerful goals VS transient goals is your answer.
Rather than looking for a quick fix, get ready to commit to an uncompromising mindset of doing all the right things with no shortcuts. Uncovering the motivation behind why you are seeking the goal in the first place opens the doors to live in an uncompromising power. This power allows for success and happiness to be present and remain. In this power there is an endless motivation to open and expand into more meaningful goals and aims.
Take a peek into the door of power you might be surprised to see that there exists love, healing, nourishment, meaning, pleasure, happiness, and astonishingly your most “perfect body” ever! Connect to your own empowerment and quit forcing and pushing against fears. I believe true success in finding that “perfect body” comes from learning to stop forcing and letting go of fear to find this connection. If you are driven by fears rather than rooted in your power, your goals will be scattered all over the place without any true source of being. Your new goals might sound more like this; “I want to protect and nourish the body that allows me to work hard”, “I want to feel my energy lifted and soar so that I can run an extra mile”, “I want to love my body at whatever stage it is in as I trust that I am growing stronger”, “I will squat that extra 90 lbs because I can”…
It’s a good idea to look deeper into what category your goals fall under. Are they transient, or uncompromising powerful goals? I think that you can have that sexy body, fit into your favorite jeans, and have a killer six pack. The real motivation that gets you there might be what determines if you STAY there. So to turn your biggest baddest goals into reality, it’s going to take a lot of thought and some action to follow.
Take Action!!!
One way of taking action is to write your goals down. I don’t know about most of you, but I think that sometimes writing out goals can get out of control! The list might be pages and pages long and then it becomes too daunting. That is why it is good idea to break your goals down into tiny action steps. This is less overwhelming, and more likely to be achieved. If you want to lift 100 lbs you don’t just start lifting 100 lbs, you build up towards it with 10, 20, 30 lbs. The same can be said for goals, sometimes you have to work your way up towards that goal. Just because you can’t lift 100 lbs right away doesn’t mean that you never will. It just takes time!
My challenge for you is to take a look at what you are striving for in your health and fitness. Really look at the type of goal you are trying to achieve. What is truly motivating it? How would you categorize it as? When you write down your goals put them into 2 columns, transient and uncompromising power. You might be amazed that your motivations are all out of whack. Once they come into alignment with your uncompromising power I can guarantee the results are going to be more than you have even visualized for yourself to begin with.
One of the ways I get myself motivated and pumped up is through my music. One of my favorite songs I’ve been listening to in the gym lately is Avicci “Wake Me Up”, check it out and find a song you like that motivates you to get to action!
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This track has been motivating me to work hard on my fitness journey and be happy while doing it! As the lyrics say: “Feeling my way through the darkness guided by a beating heart I can’t tell where the journey will end but I know where to start”. I know where I will start…LOVE!
