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Motivation and The Body-for-Life Program
By: Brad Morgan
www.BodyForLifeCoach.com
What do you suppose is the most powerful motivating
force in the universe?
Is it desire for fame, riches or power? For some, maybe.
Some say our motivations come down to just two things; avoiding pain and
seeking pleasure.
With Body-for-Life I think we can employ both of those as
motivators, but let's get more specific.
The examples below may or may not speak to your situation. If they don't
then just substitute in your own favorite pains and pleasures, then re-read it,
the message will be essentially the same. The goal here is to shake up
your existing thought patterns in order to initiate massive change in your
habits and behaviors.
When it comes to your own self-image what comes to mind for some people is
shame. Even though this is often kept below the surface, it can influence
your behavior in subtle ways.
I'm sure we can all think of a political scandal or two where shame was the
prime motivator for appalling cover ups. Without a doubt people will go
to great lengths to avoid the pain associated with shame.
So then why aren't more people in great shape? Probably because they have
an even greater fear of failure, and the pain that they imagine would come from
failing in yet another attempt to gain control over their bodies. You
will always tend to act toward avoiding what you perceive, either consciously
or unconsciously, to be the greater pain.
What you need is a paradigm shift. A complete restructuring of your inner
dialogue to shake you out of any limiting beliefs you may have. You need
to become crystal clear that your thoughts become your reality. No truer
words were ever spoken.
So how do you change your thoughts? Can you do it by thinking about
it? Probably not, you can see the catch-22 developing here, using
thoughts to change your thoughts. Not impossible perhaps, but beyond the
ability of most of us.
Our thoughts are profoundly influenced by our underlying belief systems, some
of which we may not even be consciously aware of. They have been
developed over a very long time, and as hard as you think about changing, the
moment you stop concentrating on it your underlying beliefs take over once
again.
So if your thoughts alone aren't strong enough to overcome your underlying
beliefs, what is? The answer is feelings.
A feeling that is truly powered by a grand vision will be with you in every
moment ready to do battle with limiting beliefs.
Think about a time when you were deeply in love with someone, that intense
feeling that comes at the very beginning of a great relationship. Isn't
that feeling with you in every moment? Wasn't it powerful enough to allow
you to think anything was possible?
Sure it was. But, you say, you needed something external to generate
those feelings. Correct. For most people thoughts alone cannot generate
feelings of this magnitude.
So why not use something external to generate powerful feelings now?
Something that goes beyond "just thinking about it".
What would happen if you, lets say, publicly declared to everyone in your world
that you are going to achieve a certain, specific, seemingly impossible goal,
and changes that might affect them were imminent. What would their
reaction be? What would yours be?
Some people will be very supportive, and this can be a powerful
motivator. You won't want to let them down, and you will begin to develop
a vision of yourself that these supporters see in you.
You will start feeling intense pleasure as you begin to achieve the small goals
you set for yourself, while continuing to set more goals once those are
met. This sort of feeling of satisfaction can indeed be with you in every
moment, and can put a real bounce in your step.
Other people may have a tendency to not believe you, they may even shout you
down for even considering such a thing: "What, you mean you aren't going
drinking and partying with us tomorrow night? Why, because you think you
can actually make that Body-for-Life thing work? Get real man!"
Don't get angry with these people. Remember, this is the nature of
the world we live in. The trick is to realize that even this reaction is
generating powerful feelings inside your entire being. Realize that this
is exactly what you need to succeed, put a smile on your face, and say: "Yes, I
can make it work."
Once you've said that, said it just that way, then all of a sudden the powerful
motivators of pain and pleasure, in this case pain, are on your side. All
of a sudden it becomes crystal clear at a profound level that there will be a
lot more pain from failing than from not trying at all.
Succeed in your plans despite the odds and you will begin to experience the
exact opposite of shame. You will be respected and admired. Any
negative talk you experienced will be replaced with, "Wow, you actually did it,
that's amazing!"
So if you are serious about making a change, don't be afraid to tell people
about it in very specific terms. Specific weight, body fat, measurements,
clothing size, or whatever works best for you. Be sure to put a timeframe
on your goals.
Tell people exactly where you expect to be after the first 12 weeks. Then
based on your results you may want to take a week off, re-evaluate, and set new
goals for the next 12 weeks.
Often the most supportive people are from far away, because they miss you
and want the best for you. Not to mention the fact that the changes you
are going through won't affect their daily life, whereas close family and
friends may be affected by your need to change your schedule and eating habits.
With BFL Coach you
can create your very own multi-page Body-for-Life website with a few clicks of
the mouse to involve these people in your journey. You are given a
special link to your website that you can email to all your family and
friends. Invite them to visit your website once in a while to check on
your progress.
It won't be long before you are on the right track, and your motivator will
slowly shift from a "fear of shame" to a "pleasure in accomplishment".
So, what is the most powerful motivating force in the universe? It's the
one that you create for yourself and that works for you. The one that
becomes a pervasive feeling in your body because you have setup the proper
conditions for it to be there and grow in you until there is literally no other
option but the correct way forward!
About the Author:
Brad Morgan is the founder of the popular
Body-for-Life Challenge support site BFL
Coach. The site focuses on 8 critical Body-for-Life success areas and
provides audio, articles, photos, graphs, tracking and a totally free
Body-for-Life Program Tips and Tricks newsletter.
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