It is a fact that results that are most worthwhile invariably require a large input of time and dedication. A strong and healthy body ranks in the top 10 on the list of most rewarding goals. Most of us are instantly drawn in when we look at a magazine and see a model who displays a well developed and beautifully shaped body, and we almost always begin to imagine what it would be like to get optimal results for ourselves. What would it be like? What reaction would others have towards me if I had results like that; how would my life be different? This can be the first light bulb that goes off as we begin to formulate new physical goals for ourselves. From there, we decide on our game plan, seek out the best strategy and set a start date, knowing that it will take a lot of effort and prepare ourselves to fight the battle.

Fighting The Battle

In everything we do, we get into a certain comfort zone. Our daily routines do develop a pattern, and we are creatures of habit. When we feel that we are in control we get a certain level of comfort in it. Falling into a comfort zone is not necessarily a bad thing unless you are looking for a different result. The moment we realise that the result we are getting isn’t the result that we want, then comes the “battle”. The association with the word “battle” only comes from our own unwillingness to change, and the resistance that we put up to change occurs to us as “hard”.

If you look at your own reaction to a new plan of action, you will see that the discomfort comes from within yourself when you think of having to step outside of your comfort zone. We all have a limit beyond which we don’t want to move. It is a self-imposed limit that we choose and it keeps us from elevating our performance which is the only way to affect the results. People will fight very hard to protect their comfort zones, and sometimes it is up to a loved one or a professional to urge us to step outside of our own self-imposed barriers.

How The Situation Affects You Can Re-Set Your Limit:

Of course, if you were being offered US$3 million per year to model swimwear like Brazilian supermodel Emanuela de Paula, then your whole reaction would be different. In the real world, the stakes on your physical results are subject to your discretion -you alone can propel yourself forward or stand still. Using this analogy, however, can help to pull you into a frame of ultimate mind-body performance.

Changes In Your Eating Pattern

If you are trying to change your weight, then chances are that the recommendations will include your making a ton of changes to your eating behaviours. Making changes = going beyond your lines of familiarity.

I know a lady who is trying to lose weight and who sought my advice as a nutritional expert. She looks at the list of recommendations and decides on the ones she thinks that she can handle, and rejects the ones that she directly “cannot do”. One of which is the concept of eating every three hours.

“Oh no, I am a busy professional and mostly I am not available to break and eat every three hours,” she says. I respond: “Boy, I wonder how Madonna does it, she must have a pretty hectic day.” She countered with the argument about Madonna’s staff and facilities, but then I suggested that even if she was not equipped with staff and available options, she would still find a way to get herself the right food at the right time. Why? Because everybody knows that Madonna is a lady who really wants results badly.

So I ask her, “How badly do you want it?” After a pause she begins to wonder how she could possibly reach beyond the lines of comfort and do something she never thought she could have done before. All of a sudden those ‘out of the universe’ results seem possible, and she’s overcome by a wave of energy and motivation followed by a list of ideas of how she could move beyond her limits.

If you compare yourself with someone who really wants it badly enough to run the extra mile or jump the extra foot, then you can begin to see ways of stepping beyond your own lines and exploring new possibilities. Sometimes all it takes is to witness another’s bravery and unstopp-ability in order to be inspired and acknowledge that you have been stuck in a rut.

After a while, my newly enthused client was able to see herself planning out a menu that worked for her, placed food and water reminders in her phone, started her supermarket list and saw none of this as “hard” but as “new”.

Intentions Can Produce Results

Having good intentions is the starting point, but everyone knows that without taking action you cannot achieve a result. Actions that are born out of an intention will catapult you in one direction or another, so depending on what your intention is for yourself, then you can decipher whether or not your action is in line with it. If you say that you intend to lose 10 pounds and then you find yourself about to bite into a nice big slice of chocolate cake, then that action is out of line with your intention. You can control your actions as long as you are committed to inquire into every action and whether or not that action is in keeping with your ultimate goal. You will need to be painstakingly vigilant about everything that you put into your mouth, and you will need to ask yourself at the end of each day, “Have I done some activity today that meets my intention for my physical results?” Only then can you raise the bar on ordinary results. It is not that you are being paranoid, it is that you are exploring being “extraordinary”.

Turn ‘I Can’t’ Into ‘Just Do It’

When you become aware that it is only your own action that stops you from getting what you want, you can look at the “stops” differently. Instead of “I can’t”, ask yourself a simple question, “How badly do I want it?” and then follow that question with the greatest statement coined by Nike, “Just Do It” which takes any other option out of the picture. Once you approach your opponent – which is inevitably yourself – with a mind that is ready, there is no battle that cannot be won. The sweetest victories are always achieved from the most agonising triumphs. And success is not only measured in physical gains when we wage a battle against our own minds; our mental attitude towards the impossible also takes a quantum leap in the process. Whenever you hear yourself wavering, always try asking yourself the question, “How badly do I want it?” and see what else comes up from beneath your skin.