If you are someone having trouble sticking to a fitness plan, you may find it frustrating you don’t follow the proper routine that was designed or you find you just don’t feel like going to the gym. So, why is it that so often, people don’t do what they know they are supposed to do? Are some people just more disciplined than others? I don’t believe it at all; in fact I believe that we are all given the same amount of discipline. You may think “How that can be?” seeing that not all of us can be pro athletes or doctors and lawyers. Well first of all, we all are given different gift or talents so we all can’t be a pro at everything. Our diversity in our talents is what our species needs to survive, we all need each other. We all can’t be the best however; we all sure can be great in what we do. We all have the option to be disciplined, but being disciplined in a way that moves us closer or farther away from our goals will define weather we are successful or not which is all determined by our current patterns. Our patterns are our actions and belief systems that we automatically follow which require little thought because we’ve done them so many times.
I’ve worked with thousands of people, some reached their fitness goals and others did not. However I did notice an obvious pattern, they were all very successful in some area of their life! Some people who cheated all the time on my fitness programs were doctors, lawyers, millionaires, homemakers, leaders in business, the list goes on. Can you honestly tell me that these people who made these great accomplishments for themselves were not disciplined? No way! It wasn’t that they didn’t reach their fitness goals because they were not disciplined, it was because they’re patterns were not programmed to empower them to reach their specific fitness goals. Follow these steps so that you or your clients can program new patterns that will get you to where you want to be.
#1 Make The Decision Of What Exactly You Want.
Write out your exact and specific goals which will include how you want to look and feel like when you have built your best body. Also find pictures of what you want to look like and post them in front of you where they can be seen all day. Write at least a full page of what it is that you want and it must be specific. This will help put your goals in sight to aid in its attainment. When you have completed it, make a real decision that you will get it and start to believe that you are going to have it.
#2 Discover The Patterns Holding You Back
As you go about your day, find what patterns, both actions and thoughts that prevent you from getting what you want. Write down as many as you can. Take at least a full day to do this so you don’t leave any out, when you are done choose 3 of them that are holding you back the most. Now, ask yourself if you are willing to give these actions up. If you are really committed to this than look at any others and do the same thing so you can move on to the next step.
#3 Discard The Old Patterns And Install New Ones
Now that your committed to your end result and taken out patterns that will cripple your progress you need to install new patterns of behaviors to cover the old ones or they will come back to haunt you. On the same paper that you wrote the patterns that held you back, take a different color pen and with one line cross out the old pattern and write down what you are going to do to replace the new one. This may sound silly but this actually creates a mapped out plan so you know what to do when the old patterns begins to happen also, writing it down further commits you.
#4 Perform Your New Patterns Until They Are Programmed
It’s one thing to write it down and it’s another to do it. When you have planned your start date (asap), then it’s time to commit and follow your plan. It’s going to feel odd when you start because your body won’t recognize the differences in patterns, but stick with it no matter how hard it may be and in about 1-4 weeks you’ll be reprogrammed. To help accelerate this phase I suggest that you read out loud and affirm to yourself that you will reach your goals that you wrote in the 1st phase every single day before bed and when you wake. State these affirmations with firm belief or your psychology won’t even believe you!
Keep it up no matter what and within a month you will be a new person getting closer to your goals with a new found discipline and commitment level. You will equate so much pleasure to the new patterns because all of the success you will endure in such a short time that you won’t ever want to go back to those poor patterns.
Stay true to yourself and do your absolute best, and you will come out a winner this time.
