“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” – Thomas Jefferson
Taking on new clients, I can usually tell after the initial assessment if someone is going to be successful or not.
With some people, the hesitation to change, to adopt new ideas and behaviors is blatantly obvious. I see fear and defeat in their eyes… before things get serious even. They’re just waiting to throw in the towel.
On the other hand, I have clients approach me where I immediately know they’ll crush their goals without ever looking back. I know all they need is a little guidance, a little push in the right direction. They have the drive and the determination to go through intense hardship to see their goals realized.
What sets these people apart?
The mindset of a champion
Some people buy fitness coaches or programs in an attempt to outsource the effort, the work and the pain that comes with the territory. But that’s not how this works. If you think that someone else is going to do the work for you, do yourself a favor, save the money you’d spend on a trainer and upgrade your home cinema instead.
Most people don’t have the determination to see this journey through to the end. Actually, a lot of them don’t even have what it takes to get started.
The determined will make it. Sooner or later. Their desire to succeed is greater than their fear of discomfort or setbacks. What they lack, is the knowledge of how to go about their fitness journey. It is just a matter of time until they succeed, however.
The undetermined will never make it. They think they want it, but they don’t really want it. Certainly not bad enough. These folks will also never hesitate to blame others for their inadequacies (their parents for example).
How do you get the results you’re after?
You need to have a clear purpose, a clear picture of what you want to accomplish. Your vision must be unshakable, free of doubt. It must be with you during every waking hour.
Stop seeing yourself as a second-class human being and start conducting yourself like a champion. Carry yourself like a winner. Research has shown that a confident posture alone is enough to raise testosterone levels significantly! You know what testosterone does to you? It gets you off your couch and catapults you into life (read, read). This goes for you too, ladies.
I wasn’t kidding when I said the mindset is what separates winners from losers.
“What the… ? You can’t just act like a winner!?”
You can.
The only thing that matters is how you see yourself.
If you want to be a loser or that quiet, shy kid in the corner, then by all means, be that person. I won’t judge you. But stop the whining and the crying about life, will you? Some of us have asses to kick and titles to collect.
Fake it if you have to initially until it becomes second nature. You owe it to yourself.
Autosuggestion, anyone?
Your mind is more powerful than any muscle in your body. It is more powerful than any machine created by man. But just like your muscles it needs training. It needs to be stimulated and fed properly in order to function they way it was designed to function.
Feed your mind the right information. Endow it with the right ideas and realize that the only limitations are the ones you place upon yourself. Boy, this sure sounds farfetched, right? Wrong. This is as real as the laptop I’m using to type these words. Don’t fool yourself. Don’t accept everybody else’s petty reality.
Time spent with your thoughts will create the right frame of mind, the right attitude, your right state of mind. You’ll know what to do and how to do it, and when the time comes to perform, you’ll be free of doubts and insecurities. Train your mind and let it come to you.
100% grit and determination
The gym is your playground. It is here where you turn your visions into concrete reality. The gym should be a place of mental and physical reset, not a venue for socialization and leisure. In this world, where physicality is reduced to a minimum, we depend on a place to release the built-up tension, to blow-off some steam, if you will.
When I enter the gym, I don’t let doubts or insecurities clutter my mind. I’m focused, determined, confident and unrelenting in the pursuit of my goals. There is no plan B. I do what I set out to do.
Let loose inside the gym. Disregard politeness or social approval and do what you need to do to get the results you’re after. I’m not telling you to go around punching people or to scream and grunt while you curl in the squat rack. But go in there to do work. Turn off your brain. Stop thinking and just do it.
Developing the champion mindset:
-
- Have a clear picture of what you want to accomplish
- Conduct yourself like a champion
- Leave yourself no option
- Train your mind harder than you train your body
Are you still with me? Was this concept too out there for you? Are these ideas incompatible with your conventional mode of thinking?
Let me know in the comments below.
And as always…
Thank you for reading
Victor
Suggested reading:
- Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy
Resources:
Aarts, H./ van Honk, J. (2009).Testosterone and unconscious positive priming increase human motivation separately. Neuroreport 23. Vol. 20, Iss. 14, pp 1300-1303.
Carney, D.R./ Cuddy, A.J.C./ Yap, A.J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21, 1363-1368.
Mazur, A./ Booth, A. (1998). Testosterone and dominance in men. Behav Brain Sci. 21(3):353-63; discussion 363-97.
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