Sep 28, 2012
Posted by Rich Franklin on Sep 28, 2012 in Mind
Your behavior is the outward expression of your attitude. When it comes to weight loss and fitness, attitude is everything! Whatever shape you are in, your current level of knowledge, belief, thinking and action got you there and is not sufficient to get you out. You must become greater than your circumstance. You are the steward of your being. You are in charge of your thoughts, words, attitude and actions. Change will be commensurate with the amount of knowledge that you acquire and application of that knowledge.
Here’s how it works: you acquire knowledge and through self-discipline you apply it. By repeating that action, the knowledge becomes experiential and begins to become a habit. But now it is a trained habit that through the strength of your will, you implemented by design. The more that habit is repeated, the more efficient that habit or preprogrammed set of actions become. Now you have a skill, even it is something as simple as planning out your cheat meals. Those meals are now by design because you have put the mental programming in place to only eat them at the prescribed times. Remember practicing a skill over and over leads to mastery and with mastery comes wisdom. You’ll hear me repeat this over and over: Repetition is the mother of skill and skill is the mother of confidence. When you have confidence, you have belief in something built upon success, not just talk without action. Once you have created one habit you can create another, then another and so on because you have the confidence supported by past success. Success begets success!
In order to become greater than your circumstance, you must become greater than your present situation, environment, thinking, and associative memories. Become aware of your impulses. Pay attention to what triggered them. Do you unconsciously act out your impulses and cravings? When your impulses arise, ask yourself what skill you need to deal with it. Willpower is not enough when it comes to powerful cravings and bad habits. Learning how to deal with the expectation and the chemical processes of the brain requires knowledge and skill, which in turn expands the mindset. Willpower is a tool that if improperly applied can exacerbate the problem. You don’t use willpower alone to fight cravings and impulses. You use willpower to acquire knowledge that you turn into repeated action, which over time becomes a skill that leads to a solution. Remember losers are excuse-oriented and winners are solution -oriented. By becoming someone who seeks solutions through knowledge and skill, you will become greater than your circumstance.
Sep 19, 2012
Posted by Rich Franklin on Sep 19, 2012 in Mind, Soul
Every successful endeavor must have conviction. Conviction is defined as a fixed or firmly held belief, the state of being convinced. When it pertains to fitness it is the belief that you have a right to be healthy and the ability to achieve it. Conviction is gained by seeing the value and benefit of being fit such as lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, increased muscle mass and tone, lower body fat, less susceptibility to sickness, increased energy and libido, better mental clarity, less mood swings, etc..
In order to fuel your convictions you must decide what is valuable to you. What benefits will make you happy and give you purpose. Write them down and read them out loud every day. Speak this reality into existence and then take action.
“The first principle of success is desire-knowing what you want. Desire is the planting of your seed.- Robert Collier” I would add this ”Turn desire into a conviction!” Knowing what you want is the first step but believing it is possible transforms it into a passion!
Once you are convicted you will be compelled to take action. You believe you can achieve it and the expectation of achievement will sustain your efforts over the course of time long after the initial emotions that got you fired up have faded away.
Aug 28, 2012
Posted by Rich Franklin on Aug 28, 2012 in Mind
A couple of months ago I wrote an article called “Weight Loss, Mindset & Expectations.” I want to clarify something when it comes to the proper mindset. When losing weight, proper focus is the key. If you focus on just losing weight, your success will most likely not be permanent. We all know someone who explains how they’ve just lost “x” amount of pounds over a given amount of time, yet their appearance remains virtually the same. I see this over and over again. People with the weight loss mindset think in terms of eating less fat and measure their progress on the scale and that’s it. Their shape has not changed. They still have no muscle tone and their body fat percentage has probably gone unchanged as well. Eating fat free cookies and diet soda is not the solution. The weight loss mindset tends to cause people to follow unsustainable diets or diets that require very little self-discipline, like eating fat free foods that are still loaded with sugar. You must adopt a “Fitness Mindset.” When you have a “Fitness Mindset,” you will adhere to a sustainable eating plan that allows you to eat healthy foods that you enjoy and also allows you to have cheat meals that you’ve earned. You will be more nutrition conscious, and will desire food that builds your body and brings you closer to your desired self-image. The “Fitness Mindset” motivates you to be active. Daily activity and a sensible eating plan, along with a clear mental picture of your goal, is the core of having a “Fitness Mindset.” Have a daily written workout or activity plan and written meal plan. These are your written daily goals that contribute to your personal growth. The written workout and meal plan is your focused actionable daily goal that incrementally builds your resolve, belief, and results. The longer you stick to it, the easier it will become because you are creating a new habit and a “NEW MINDSET!”
