Vitamin D to clear your head
Content Focus: Mindset
Coach Joe Walsh
As you heard we will be rotating through 4 content topics. Week 1 will always be Training, week 2 will always be Mindset, week 3 will always Lifestyle, and week 4 will always be Nutrition.
We’ve all met people who are full of negativity and skepticism, who always second guess everything and criticize those around them. I’m sure you have experienced skepticism when you were about to start your fitness journey. Someone probably told you how you are eating is wrong or how you are working out is wrong or the trainers you are listening to are wrong. I’m sure that same someone also had no alternative advice for you, they were just compelled to tell you how wrong or how much they don’t believe in whatever you are doing. I have experienced a primary care doctor being skeptical towards one of my clients weight loss journeys and mind you this client was eating whole foods, constantly losing weight (averaging a healthy 1-2 lbs per week), her blood work was constantly improving, she felt better and had more energy and she was happy. Needless to stay that client chose not to surround herself with negative people and sought out a new primary care doctor. And that client not only lost weight she’s kept it off for years and is healthier than she’s ever been in her life, so kudos to her for surrounding herself with others who supported her.
Negative mindsets can be like a wet blanket, smothering anything productive or beneficial before it can ignite.
Whether you have met that person or whether you have been that person from time to time a growth mindset is critical to achieving your goals and dreams in life. This kind of mindset can be cultivated, but only if you are willing to open yourself up to new ways of thinking.
Have a Growth Mindset.
Whether it’s weight loss, strength, or your life completely outside of fitness this is the mindset that will allow you to dream big and push boundaries of your ideas and achievements.
“Everything on the way rather than in the way.” Instead of judging experiences in terms of failures and successes, frame them in a positive light. You will have challenges and obstacles along the way. Recognize that all of them can help you grow and become a better person.
Example: You were eating healthy and working out for 2 weeks and then you slipped up. You were out with friends, had a few drinks and ate more pizza then you’re proud to admit.
The negative mindsets tells you: “I just failed my diet.” In this mindset your night out is a set back, your 2 weeks is a waist of effort and you are back to square 1 if not worse off because you don’t feel good about yourself or your actions.
INSTEAD
View your night out in a positive light. You just accomplished something amazing. You ate healthy for 2 weeks and you are started to change your body and mind to the point where you can acknowledge pizza and alcohol don’t make you feel great. You physically and mentally know what it feels like to be healthy and you are now more ready than ever to change your life. In this this mindset you wake up early the next morning with energy to get your next workout in and a healthy breakfast.
If you are in the first negative mindset, you probably have a fixed mindset, which is dangerous because it will ultimately stifle your ability to reach new achievements. A fixed mindset is when you believe your basic qualities, intelligence, talents and abilities are just fixed traits. You have a certain amount and that’s that.
With a growth mindset, you believe that your talents and abilities can be developed over time through experience and mentorship, so you push yourself and “go for it.” You’re not always worried about how smart you are, how you’ll look or what a mistake will mean. You challenge yourself and grow.
No risk, no reward.
Sometimes you just have to jump off of a cliff (metaphorically, unless the cliff is like one in the movies where they safely jump into a large body of water and it honestly just looks like a blast. LOL.)
Do something completely out of your comfort zone and your mind will become more nimble. As a result, you’ll learn to push yourself to new heights. Those who fail to get out of their comfort zone often end up with a rigid mindset.
One of the most rewarding moments to me as a trainer is seeing someone pick up a barbell for the first time who “didn’t believe they could.” When that client does their first deadlift or their first clean or what ever the movement and that client all of a sudden gets that “wow I can do this- look in their eyes.” I could see that moment over and over again and it would equal as rewarding every single time. My point is don’t be afraid of weights, don’t be afraid of the gym. Take risk and that risk can be lifting a barbell for the first time or something completely unrelated to fitness like your first business investment.
An unwillingness to take risks stymies progress, and you will ultimately fizzle out. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Don’t worry about your image or how people will view you. Take risk.
Everyone makes mistakes, embrace and move on.
Part of taking risks is being able to learn from your mistakes. A blunder can also be an amazing blessing because you can use your misstep as a jumping-off point toward something new.
The universe gives us gentle reminders of what we need to do. However, if we ignore that advice for too long or fail to understand the message and take action, that is where we receive our greatest life lessons.
Instead of trying to hide or make excuses, consider what you can take away from these experiences as you go forward. This is true for the client who went out for a night of drinking and pizza after their 2 week bootcamp to the entrepreneur who lost their life savings to a failed business investment. Everything you do can be viewed in a positive light and that client can use their night out as a learning experience to fuel their motivation for success just as much as that entrepreneur.
Never stop learning.
No matter what your level of education, you should never stop learning. A thirst for knowledge is something that can never be quenched, and should be a lifelong quest.
Having an endless supply of curiosity is key to seeing beyond what’s in front of you, discovering what you are truly capable of and keeping yourself in a growth mindset.
I can honestly say that no amount of knowledge is ever enough to quell my thirst in life to know, have and be more than I am today.
Be courageous and selfless enough to embrace others success.
Another important factor is to cultivate gratitude by celebrating and sincerely being happy for other people’s successes. Don’t be the primary care doctor thats skeptical over weight loss success and tells their patient- “you probably won’t lose anymore weight so don’t expect it.” Be the primary care doctor that encourages their patients success and is eager to learn more about how they achieved it. Be the husband that supports their wife through the emotional side of their weight loss journey. Be the trainer that answers emails and text messages with encouragement.
Acknowledging and celebrating in others successes will help you shirk feelings of bitterness or resentment, and will allow you to focus on the positive things you have accomplished as well.
In life, you cannot receive that which you resent. Therefore, if you resent or are upset about other people’s success, this leads to you being unable to achieve the level of success you desire. How do you expect to be fit if you have hate towards those who are fit? How do expect to be rich if you have hate towards those who are rich? How do you expect to be happy if you have hate towards those who are happy?
Anyone or anything in your life has to earn a spot in your life.
As a rule, you reflect the characteristics of the people with whom you surround yourself. You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. Know when some people just don’t deserve a spot in your life- that primary doctor didn’t earn his spot in my clients life and she was better off without him.
In the same way, your mindset will reflect whatever information you feed it. That’s why it’s key to fuel your mind with positive information on a daily basis.
Most importantly, you must surround yourself with positive influences that can help you live your best life and become your best self.
Mentally and physically fit.
Don’t discount the importance of both physical and mental agility they work together to keep you alert and focused.
Being fit and healthy creates more positive thoughts than negative and helps you to take the daily action necessary to achieve your priorities.
What I mean by that is, by staying fit and healthy is balance between mentally working on your health and physically working on your health. Workout but also meditate. Go to the gym but also go for a hike. Work on improving the way your body looks but also work on how you breathe.
Physical exercise and positive thoughts will all work to make it easier to attract positive circumstances into your life.
