VISUALIZE, FOCUS

Visualize and Focus, two powerful words that should come to mind when you are tempted to skip the gym, eat something unhealthy or have that extra serving.  One of my favorite phrases is from Tim Gunn of Project Runway. Tim’s phrase ‘Make it work’ has become a fundamental way for me to always find a way to stay focused on my goals.  When something is important to you, you find a way to make it work.  There will always be times when you want to indulge or negative thoughts sneak up on you (sometimes people around you may not be supportive and can influence your emotions).   As far as indulging, an occasional indulgence won’t derail your goal.  Negativity of any kind, on the other hand, is far more dangerous and needs to be confronted so it doesn’t spiral out of control and disrupt your progress.  Visualize and Focus on where you want to be.  Surround yourself with positive people.  The mental conditioning you receive from your training will empower you to dig deep and find the strength to keep that vision fresh on your mind.

Each time you focus and resolve yourself to what you genuinely want, that vision gets clearer.  The journey continues to evolve.  You’ve made the commitment to make it work.  Know the difference and come to terms with what’s within your ability to change.  Accept what you receive from those that support you as positive feedback and part of your exploration.  Sometimes you need to take a chance out of your comfort zone to move forward. 

One thing to always remember, keep site of your goal and your vision.  Be realistic to what you can handle at the time.  When you try to advance to the goal without going through the progression, you can set yourself up for failure and miss an unexpected opportunity.  Trust the people that are special in your life for support.  There’s a tendency to have an expectation of how you want things to be and that others will lead you.  The feeling of wanting to capture things lost over the years can be overpowering.  Let the past go.  Be in control of your life and open to new experiences.  Have fun but have the strength of mind to make good decisions.  This applies to any change in your life.  Look ahead at the amazing people and opportunities that will come your way.

Embrace it! You never know where it will take you.

Surface or Substance

Now that you are on your fitness journey and you have that new found confidence and physique, enjoy the positive things that may come your way.  You’ll meet new people, maybe explore new opportunities.  You may also now have the strength to make a major change in your life.  As you continue your fitness journey, always remember to be true and honest with yourself.  You’ll be surprised how different you perceive others and more importantly, how they perceive you. 

Be careful, you want to avoid becoming self-centered or self-absorbed by creating your own little reality show and blind to what’s beautiful around you. We all want to have an attractive image. But there’s something to be said for humility.  Man or Woman, we are surrounded by images of what we are led to believe is attractive. We tend to compare ourselves to the image created by media or to others around us.  What is beauty and what does being attractive mean to you?  What are the qualities you look for (other than the obvious) in a woman or man?  Are you more surface or substance?  It’s okay to be honest.  In business and in our personal lives, the first perception of a person is their appearance.  That’s why we go to the gym and one of the main reasons people work with personal trainers.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel good as long as it’s kept in perspective. 

When you meet someone, look beyond the surface and what you think you see.  You never know what someone might be going through. Use that new found strength and energy to make a difference in someone’s life.  See the beauty in front of you. It may be cliché but looks are only skin deep and beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder.  Be confident and smile, you will be the most exquisite person in the room!

Training Strength

At times, people look at Personal Trainers and Training as a luxury, an appearances only business.  The benefits of training go deeper than what you see on the surface.  Whether you feel you are already fit and in good shape or you’ve never trained before, everyone can benefit from the awareness you achieve from working with a personal trainer.

As you train, you begin to feel different.  I’m not talking about feeling your muscles (which you may have never felt before) I’m talking more of a mental and emotional state of mind.  With each session, you discover something new about yourself.  From the coaching you receive from your personal trainer, you realize you are much stronger than you thought. It’s not about the circuit you just completed and how much weight you lifted or the kettlebell kgs, it’s that you were able to dig deep enough to discover the strength you already have to accomplish that circuit or exercise!  This, in turn, gives you the mental strength to realize you can get through anything no matter what life throws at you.  Training helps you learn to like yourself and be confident along with the bonus of the physical aspects that come along with it.  Start or continue your journey and never look back.