I wrote previously in Cut the Yo-Yo String that one’s subconscious mind acts somewhat like a thermostat. A thermostat keeps a house’s temperature around its setting. When the temperature falls too far, it turns on the heater until the temperature reaches its setting. Or, during the summer months, it will behave similarly with an air conditioner, cooling the home when the temperature rises too far above its setting.
Our subconscious mind drives us in a similar manner to gravitate to the same level of fitness — or lack thereof — that we’ve retained for so long.
Polishing Off Step One
The first step, laid out in Setting Your Fitness Thermostat discussed becoming very clear on what fitness means to you. This must a vivid, detailed picture. Write it down in detail.
Now sit back and be aware of how you feel. Are you inspired? Excited? Great! However, a word of caution: Beware of the little voice in your head that scoffs, or tells you that you can’t, or that you’ve failed before, or… you get the idea. It’s that part of your mind that says, “That’s great, but….”
Watch out for that “but”! That’s your subconscious mind making its presence known. That’s coming from the current “mental thermostat setting.”
Look at your written description of fitness. Despite the “yeah, but” voice, does it strike a chord with you, deep down? If not, spend a little more time thinking about it. If you have a close, trusted friend, or better yet, a trusted mentor, take up the conversation and kick it around. Losing weight is one thing, but fitness encompasses much more.
When you feel you have it, even a first draft, you’ve put your hand on the mental thermostat.
Reframing the Written Statement of Fitness
Before we can call step one good, there are some crucial details that will transform the image of fitness into a useful tool for rewiring your head.
- Take the statement one phrase at a time and rework any that have a negative spin. The reason for this is rooted in psychology. The subconscious mind cannot see “not,” “don’t”, etc. It only sees the main part of the idea and locks onto it.
For example, wtih “I don’t want to be fat,” the subconscious locks onto the idea of “fat”… and you’ll fail to change. Switch that to something like “I want to be lean.”
A tricky one that society has drilled into us is “lose weight.” The simplistic subconscious mind locks onto “lose” and gets into a panic. One should avoid losing things! Instead of “I want to lose 20 pounds” alter that to something more specific like “I want to weigh 150 pounds.”
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Change the statements to the present tense. Remove the expression of desire (“want”, “would like”, etc.) and change them to a statement that you’ll say in the future, after you’ve become fit. For example, “I want to weigh 150 pounds” becomes “I weigh 150 pounds”.
At this point, it’s common for the little “but” voice to start chiming in here. It says things like, “That’s a lie! I don’t weigh that much!” Remember that this is a future statement. Now you’re not, but in the future you will be.
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My friend Ross Moore of Creation Tree Coaching taught me to add this last step. It seemed… well… kind of hokey at first. After learning more of the nuts and bolts behind the mind and brain, the logic behind it started to become clearer. We can talk about that more later.
Add the following text to the beginning of the revised statement: “I’m so grateful and happy now that….”
It’s possible that you might end up with something like the following:
I am so grateful and happy now that I live an abundant life. I enjoy good food, both nutritious and delicious. I take delight daily in vigorous recreational activities that strengthen and renew my body and mind. I enjoy an ideal weight of 150 pounds which provides ample strength. I find myself full of energy in my daily activities, sleep soundly, and enjoy fulfilling relationships with my family.
At this point it’s common, once again, to have the little voice in the head start screaming, “but it’s a big, bloody lie!” If you’re experiencing something like that when you reach this point, don’t worry. You’re in good company. All successful people have their doubting moments along the way. The key is to keep moving forward.
We’ll continue this discussion soon.
Status: 30 pounds lighter
The last days have been somewhat of a struggle as an edge of a heavy box fell smack on my broken bone. I suspect may have broken the bone further. It’s made exercise even more difficult.
While one set of opportunities have been withdrawn from my life, others have presented themselves. For example, I spend a full day building seven 4’x4′ boxes for square foot gardening, clearing the ground, preparing the soil, and planting. That resulted in a tremendous amount of exercise stretched out over the day, with the added prospect of delicious, fresh “organic” food through the summer.
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