Clear your MIND of can’t!

I’m going to be very honest with you. Committing to your health and fitness is a very scary and confusing endeavor.

When I first committed to my health and fitness, my brain was filled with questions. Should I start by lifting weights? Should I run a mile a day? Should I do push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups?

For a novice, getting started is overwhelming and intimidating. It is very easy to get caught up in the detrimental exercise of comparing yourself to others. And in today’s world of social media, our feeds are often flooded with the success stories of others. If you are not careful, you can find yourself engulfed in emotions of despair, discouraged that you cannot meet the standards set by this altered reality.

Admittedly, I was not immune to this. I couldn’t help but compare myself to others and as a result, feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, and discouragement started to creep in. After a few weeks of experimenting and training that yielded low gains, I realized that I was asking the wrong questions and focusing on the wrong things.

What I failed to understand about fitness is that my mentality played a much more significant role than I thought. In fact, I would argue that your mental approach is what sets up the physical aspects of your fitness. It wasn’t until I trained my mind that I saw significant physical gains. Certain principles need to drive your training…not the other way around. If I may, I would love to share the principles that helped me in the beginning stages of my journey and still guide me today…

1.  Accept and forgive yourself. We are all unique and special individuals and do not have to adhere to the mainstream ideal of beauty. The aesthetics are a byproduct of your peace of mind.

2. Be true to yourself. Never compare yourself to another.

3. Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. This is from the legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden.

4. Failure is an important part of the process.  Embrace it.

5. Think positive but make room for criticism.

6. Understand that we all progress at various rates.

7. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals. We all need a support group.

8. Celebrate others’ successes and never hate on another person.

9. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Friendly competition can be a motivating and positive tool but don’t fall into the trap of wanting to the get the best of someone. You’re either lifting them up or putting them down.

10. Remember where you came from. Be willing to help others who were in your shoes. We all started somewhere.

Go out there with confidence and always believe guys! Much Love!