Good job Ray! This seemed like a very clean and technically precise lay. Not always easy to accomplish.
Also, its been requested of me to post the chapter on affirmations to which Ray was referencing. Here it is. The rest of the book is actually about dieting/weightlifting. But this particular part is about the subconscious mind and how you can use it to accomplish your goals in life, whatever they might be.
Chapter 1: How to Set Powerful, Compelling Goals That Will Propel You Forward
and Charge You Up With Unstoppable Motivation
“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but
that it is too low and we reach it.”
- Michelangelo
"The strangest secret in the world is that you become what you think about.”
- Earl Nightingale.
The simple procedure you must complete before you begin any diet or exercise
program.
This might be the most important chapter in this entire book – even though it has
nothing to do with calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats, cardio, weights or anything else
related to nutrition or training. You see, there is a simple, but critical procedure you must
complete before you lift a weight, jog a mile, start a nutrition program or even set foot in
the gym. If you successfully complete this procedure, the nutrition and training will come
easy and a lean body will soon follow. If you ignore this step – like most people do - you
are destined to fail no matter what you do or how hard you try. This crucial first step is
goal setting.
A lot has been said and written about goal setting – entire books have been
devoted to the subject - but the truth is, most people never decide exactly what they want.
Some people give their goals a fleeting thought, but most never get specific and commit
their dreams and desires to writing. “Most people,” says Denis Waitley, author of The
Psychology of Winning, “spend more time planning a party, studying the newspaper or
making a Christmas list than they do planning their lives.” According to Zig Ziglar, an
expert on goal setting and one of the nation's most respected motivational speakers, only
3% of Americans have actually taken the time and effort necessary to put their goals to
paper.
This is unfortunate because the number one reason for failure in losing body fat –
and in life - is the lack of clearly defined, written goals. Ziglar compares not having
goals to shooting at a target with a blindfold on. “How could you possibly hit a target you
can’t even see?” says Zig. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re probably not
going to end up anywhere! Action without planning is the number one cause of failure.
I’d like to share with you the most powerful goal setting formula in the world, but before
I do, you first need to understand the hidden reasons why goal setting is so important.
The difference between knowing what to do and doing what you know.
Nutrition and exercise can be confusing subjects, so when you first get started, the
initial challenge is that you don’t know what to do. Now that you have this program in
your hands, knowing what to do will no longer be a problem. However, gaining
knowledge is only half the battle. The far greater challenge for most people is applying
that knowledge and taking action. There is a big difference between knowing what to do
and doing what you know. Goals are the bridges that span this gap.
Goals, when properly planted in the subconscious mind, produce action. Goals
create energy and motivation. Goals get you out of bed early in the morning and into the
gym. The secret to staying motivated all the time is to set emotionally charged goals – in
writing - and to stay totally focused on those goals day and night, without taking your
eyes off them. A goal with a purpose is the fuel that propels you forward.
You might think that you’re in total conscious control of your behaviors, but it’s
really your SUB-conscious that controls your behavior. If you know what to do, but you
can’t seem to get yourself to do it, you’ve probably been giving negative or conflicting
messages to your subconscious mind. The behaviors that are produced by subconscious
conditioning are more commonly referred to as habits. Fortunately, you can re-program
your subconscious mind with positive instructions and become a creature of positive
habit, just as easily as you can become a victim of negative habits. It all begins with a
conscious decision and written goals.
The power of the thought
After competing in dozens of bodybuilding competitions and helping thousands of
people with training and nutrition programs, I have become firmly convinced that the
most important part of getting in great shape is simply making up your mind to do so.
You get in shape by setting goals and thinking about them all day long. I know that
sounds a little strange, but stay with me for a minute and I'll explain.
I'm not saying you can simply "think yourself thin." No amount of positive
thinking will work without action. Obviously you have to exercise and eat the right foods.
What I’m suggesting is that if you don’t channel your mental energies properly, even the
best diet and training program won’t help because you will always “sabotage” yourself.
Did you ever wonder why you have lapses and breakdowns in “willpower?” Or why
some days you just can’t drag yourself to the gym? Or why you “fall off the wagon”
completely? Or why you can’t say “no” to those chocolate chip cookies? It’s because
negative programming in your subconscious mind is controlling your behavior.
This is not a “new age,” “Pollyanna” or “pie-in-the-sky” mentality – there’s a
valid scientific reason why goal setting works. It works because it harnesses the awesome
power of your subconscious mind, and your subconscious mind guides your behavior.
How your “mental computer” is programmed for success or failure
Your mind has two components: The conscious and the subconscious. The
conscious mind is the rational, logical, analytical, thinking part of the mind. The
conscious mind is constantly taking in information from the five senses, then it reasons,
analyzes and comes to conclusions about whether the input is true or false. The
subconscious is the part of the mind responsible for storing data (memory), for automatic
behavior (habits), reflexes and autonomic functions of the body such as digestion,
breathing and circulation.
It’s important to understand that unlike the conscious mind, the subconscious
mind does not “think.” It is entirely deductive in nature, which means it works like a
computer. All the data programmed into your subconscious “computer” is accepted and
assumed to be true. It doesn’t matter whether the data is actually true or false. The
subconscious unquestioningly accepts everything that reaches it. It then carries out the
programming you have entered into it.
Suggestions given under hypnosis or affirmations repeated during deep relaxation
are quick ways to access the subconscious mind. Another way to penetrate the
subconscious (although much slower) is through repetition. Everything you hear, see, say,
read or think repeatedly will eventually filter into your subconscious mind. In other
words, you are constantly programming your brain through conscious self-suggestion – or
you are allowing your brain to be programmed through external suggestion.
The psychological reason most people sabotage their efforts to lose body fat.
The conscious mind is a lot like the captain at the bridge of a ship. The captain
gives a command and sends it down to the engine room. The subconscious mind is like
the men down in the engine room. No matter what orders come down from the bridge
(conscious mind), the crew obeys, even if the orders are stupid ones that crash the ship
into a rocky shore. The reason this happens is because the crew (the subconscious) can’t
see where the ship is going; they are simply following orders.
Like the ship’s crew, your subconscious mind accepts every command your
conscious mind gives it – its sole purpose is to obey and carry out your orders, even if you
give stupid ones like “I’ll never see my abs.” Frequent repetition of thoughts (mental
orders) is one of the most certain ways to penetrate the subconscious mind. This is why,
by repeating “I can’t lose weight” over and over, your subconscious will see to it that you
never lose weight because that’s its job – to follow your every command literally and
without question. If you program your subconscious with negative suggestions often
enough, your subconscious will lead you right into cheating on your diet, skipping
workouts or some other form of self-sabotage.
What you think about repeatedly every day is eventually accepted by your subconscious
mind and your subconscious mind guides your actions on “auto-pilot.” This is the basis
for the entire positive thinking movement. People who say that positive thinking,
affirmations and autosuggestions don’t work for them aren’t using them correctly or
consistently; they’re canceling out every positive command with a negative command. If
a captain gave an order, “Go east,” but then kept changing his mind; “No, go west…no,
go north, etc.,” the ship would never get anywhere! That’s why most people don’t get
anywhere in their fitness, bodybuilding or weight loss endeavors, either. Ironically, the
very statement “positive thinking doesn’t work” is a negative affirmation that guarantees
it won’t work!
Dr. Maxwell Maltz, author of the incredible book, Psycho Cybernetics, described
the human brain and nervous system as a “perfect goal-striving servo-mechanism.” This
mechanism helps you achieve your goals much like a self-guided torpedo or missile seeks
out its target and steers its way to it. Like the torpedo, the goal-striving mechanism of
your brain can only work in your favor if you’ve specified a target.
Without a target, your mental “servo-mechanism” will simply steer you towards
your dominant thoughts. The subconscious mind is always at work 24 hours a day
whether you direct it consciously or not. Denis Waitley says, “Since we become what we
think of most of the time, whatever we are thinking of now, we are unconsciously moving
toward the achievement of that thought. For an alcoholic, this could be the next drink –
for a drug addict, the next fix – for a surfer, the next wave. Divorce, bankruptcy, and
illness are all goals spawned out of negative attitudes and thought patterns.”
The power of focus
Because of the way your subconscious works, it’s extremely important for you to
focus all your thoughts on what you want to achieve, not on what you want to avoid. This
is not mere semantics; it’s a very important distinction. If I ask you to close your eyes
and not to think about monkeys, you'll (mentally) see monkeys everywhere. You can't
NOT think about something! You either think about something or you don't. And you
always move toward what you think about the most, regardless of whether it’s positive or
negative.
Like the soil, your subconscious mind is totally impartial – it doesn’t discriminate.
In it will grow whatever seeds you plant there or allow to be planted there. Many people
have perfectly good intentions, but they unwittingly allow their subconscious to work
against themselves by focusing on what they don't want. And, as metaphysical writer
Louise Hay reminds us, “The more you dwell on what you don’t want, the more of it you
create.” Others simply pay no attention to their thoughts whatsoever, and like a garden
that’s neglected, soon enough, weeds start growing. Eventually, the weeds take over your
garden. Here are a few examples of negative statements and self-defeating questions:
Negative statements and self-defeating questions
I can’t lose weight no matter what I do.
Why can't I lose this last ten pounds?
Why is it so hard for me to lose weight?
I have a slow metabolism.
Why can everyone else lose weight except me? It’s not fair.
It’s not my fault because I don’t have good genetics.
I don't want to be fat anymore.
I wish I could get rid of this gut.
It’ll never work because I like food too much.
I don’t have the willpower to get lean.
I would work out but I don’t have time.
I just can’t get myself up that early to work out.
I hate being fat.
I’ll never see my abs.
I hate cardio.
I can’t.
I’ll try.
All day long you carry on a mental conversation with yourself. Psychologists
estimate that we think up to 60,000 thoughts a day and that 98% of these thoughts are the
same ones we had yesterday – most of them negative. In a year, that’s almost 22 million
thoughts! If Madison Avenue advertising giants can influence your subconscious mind to
make a buying decision by repeating an ad a mere two dozen times (they can), then just
imagine the impact that millions of your own thought commands have on influencing
your subconscious mind – it’s staggering! That’s why it’s so important for you to take
conscious control over your mental dialogue and program your brain with positive goals.
Fortunately, the one thing in life you always have 100% total control over is your
thoughts. If you want to be successful in losing body fat or any other endeavor in life,
you must master your communication with yourself. You must take charge of your selftalk,
“police" your thinking, and literally re-program your brain for success. If you’ve
cluttered your mind with a lifetime of “Stinkin Thinkin,” as Mr. Ziglar calls it, this may
be challenging at first. It will take time to erase the old programming, but it can be done.
The first step is simply to become conscious of what you are thinking. Become
aware of your thoughts. Bob Proctor, a master success coach and creator of the Goal
Achiever program, suggests saying “NEXT” or “SWITCH” the instant you catch yourself
in the middle of a negative thought or self-defeating question. Then, immediately replace
it with a positive thought, affirmation, or an empowering question. Simply overwrite the
old thought with a new one. Replace “I’ll try” with “I’ll do it.” Instead of “I should” say
“I must.” Completely banish “I can’t” from your vocabulary. Soon you’ll find that your
mind switches its “polarity” and the negative thoughts pop up less. Here are some
examples of how you could change the negative self-talk to positive self-talk:
Positive statements and empowering questions
How can I lose fat and enjoy the process?
What can I do today that will help me get closer to my weight loss goal?
What can I eat right now at this meal that will help me lose body fat?
How great am I going to feel after I finish my workout today?
My metabolism is getting faster every day.
I am getting leaner every day.
I like the way I look.
I am 100% responsible for my results.
Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.
I like eating healthy foods.
I love working out.
Training early in the morning is exhilarating.
I have time for anything I am committed to.
I like myself.
I can do it.
I’ll do it.
The most powerful goal-setting formula in the world.
In the beginning of this chapter, I promised to reveal to you the most powerful
goal setting formula in the world. Now that you understand the nature of your
subconscious mind and why goal setting works, you’re ready to learn the 11-step formula.
1. Set specific goals
When I ask people what they want to achieve from their fitness programs, I
usually get vague answers like, I want to get leaner, "I want to lose weight," or "I want to
build muscle." That’s a good start, but it’s not enough – it’s too general. Specific goals
have a more powerful impact on your subconscious than general goals. A vague goal is
like the captain of a ship saying, “Go west.” The ship may be headed in the right general
direction, but without a specific destination, it will probably get lost at sea.
Narrow it down. Be specific – right down to the digit. Exactly how many pounds
do you want to lose? When do you want to complete your goal? How much body fat do
you want to lose? How much do you want to weigh? What measurements would you
like to have What size clothes do you want to wear?
2. Set measurable goals
You must have a way to objectively measure your progress; otherwise you’ll
never know whether you’ve actually reached your goals or not. The mirror is definitely a
useful tool, because ultimately the only thing that really matters is that you’re happy with
the way you look. However, because you perceive changes in your body so subjectively,
(and it’s sort of like watching the grass grow), it’s also helpful to have other ways to
measure your results.
The scale is also a useful tool, but it doesn’t give you 100% of the feedback you
need. You shouldn’t be as interested in how much you weigh as in how much body fat
you have. The ideal method to measure your progress is body composition testing. Body
fat can be easily measured using a skinfold test. Chapter three will discuss body
composition testing methods in more detail and chapter four will teach you how to chart
your progress and interpret the results.
3. Set big goals.
Too often, people shortchange themselves and make statements like, "I could
never look like that" or “I’m too old.” Other people buy into the low expectations of wellmeaning
family or friends who tell them to "be realistic." Nothing great was ever
achieved by being realistic! Most people get scared when setting goals and ask only for
what they think they can get, not what they really WANT. This is a mistake because puny,
“realistic” goals are NOT motivating. WANTS are motivating.
It’s okay if your goal scares you a little. In fact, if your goal isn’t scary and
exciting at the same time, then your goals are too low. Thinking about a big goal you’ve
never achieved before is always going to make you feel a little uncomfortable and afraid.
This discomfort makes most people pull back into their comfort zones. Don’t let the fear
of failure or the feeling of discomfort prevent you from going after what you really want.
Always step forward into growth; never pull back into safety. Refuse to sell yourself
short. Raise your standards. The famous architect Daniel Burnham said, “Make no small
plans; they have no magic to stir your blood to action. Make big plans, aim high in work
and hope.”
When you’re setting your goals, don't be afraid to think big and set your sights
high because you can only hit what you aim at! Decide what would you really like to
look like if you could have ANY body you wanted. See the picture in your mind. Make it
clear, vivid and dynamic. Dream. Fantasize. You’ve been endowed with an amazing
creative faculty called imagination. Use it - it’s the starting point of a new self-image and
all lasting changes.
There are certainly genetic limitations to what you can achieve athletically and
physically, but most people never even come close to actualizing their full potential
simply because they don't believe it's possible. Therefore, they don’t even try. It’s really
more a question of willingness than genetics. Don’t ask yourself, "Is it possible to reach
this goal?" That’s the wrong question. The right questions are, “How can I achieve this
goal?” and, "Am I willing to pay the price necessary to achieve this goal?" You can
accomplish virtually anything if you’re willing to pay the price.
4. Set realistic deadlines.
“Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!” “Lose 10 pounds this weekend!” You see ads like
these plastered on billboards all the time, and they sure are enticing. But is it really
possible? Can you really lose weight that quickly? The answer is yes. It's quite possible to
lose 30 pounds in 30 days or 10 pounds over the weekend. However, if you do, you’re
making a big mistake by confusing fat loss with weight loss.
Your body is 70% water, so it's easy to lose weight quickly. Any diet that
dehydrates you will create quick, dramatic weight loss. If you want to lose ten pounds
over the weekend, just stop drinking water! Of course that would be pretty dumb and
pretty dangerous too, but that's precisely what you're doing when you lose weight rapidly
- you're simply dehydrating yourself (or even worse - you're losing muscle too!) Your
goal should be to lose body fat, not body weight.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the largest and most
respected health, medical and exercise organization in the world, has established
guidelines for healthy weight loss. In their position statement on "Proper and improper
weight loss programs," they recommend a weight loss goal of one to two pounds per
week. In terms of body fat, that translates to about a half a percent per week. For the
impatient, this may seem like an excruciatingly slow process, but the safest and most
intelligent approach to fat loss is a gradual one.
It’s possible to lose more than two pounds per week, but if you do, most of the
additional weight will usually be water and muscle. When you lose water weight, you will
gain it back immediately as soon as you re-hydrate yourself. When you lose lean body
mass, your metabolic rate slows down and your body goes into “survival mode.” As
you’ll learn in the next chapter, if you let your body slip into “starvation mode,” you will
almost always gain back the weight you lost and sometimes more. You end up with less
muscle and the same amount of fat (or more) than when you started.
Don't be afraid to set big goals, but always set realistic time frames for achieving
them. There are no unrealistic goals, only unrealistic deadlines. Be patient: There are
definite limitations to how quickly the human body can safely lose fat.
5. Set long-term and short-term goals.
As you begin to think about what you want specifically, don’t just write down one
goal, make an entire list. Your goal list should include long term and short-term goals.
There are six types of short and long-term goals you can include:
1. Your ultimate long-term goal
2. 12 month goal
3. Three month goals
4. Weekly goals (Weekly body composition test and weigh-in)
5. Daily goals (habits to develop, things to do every day repeatedly)
6. The goal of beating your personal best.
First set a long-term goal; your ultimate outcome. What kind of body do you
ultimately want to have? Let your imagination run wild and dare to dream. Don’t listen to
anyone who says it can’t be done! You can’t afford to associate with negative people
who always try to tear you down. If you really want it badly and you’re willing to work
for it, then go ahead and set the goal.
Next, set a one-year goal. A one-year goal is especially important if you have a
lot of work to do. For example, if your primary objective is to lose one hundred pounds,
that’s at least a twelve-month project. Don’t expect or even attempt to do it any faster.
Probably the most important goal you can have at any time is your three-month goal.
Three months is the perfect time frame for your short-term goal because a lot can happen
in three months. Most people can completely transform their bodies in 90 days. A
sensible and realistic 90-day goal would be to lose up to 6% body fat and 12 to 24
pounds. The three-month goal is important because long-term goals don’t have any
urgency. A one-year goal is so distant, you may find that you tend to procrastinate more
without the impending deadline.
There’s a law in psychology called “Parkinson’s Law,” which says, “A task takes as long
as there is time to do it.” Differently stated, “Work always expands to fill the time
allowed.” Deadlines are motivating. Without time pressure, you’ll rationalize missing
workouts or cheating on your diet: Your brain will keep saying, “You have plenty of time,
so missing this one workout won’t matter.” With a deadline right in front of you, you’ll
know that every workout and every meal counts.
You also need to have weekly goals to let you know if you’re on track. Weekly
goals provide immediate feedback to tell you whether you’re moving in the right
direction. Each week you should weigh yourself and have your body composition
measured with skinfolds. If you’re getting the results you want, you simply continue
doing what you’ve been doing. If you’re not seeing the results you want, you can
immediately adjust your training or nutrition to get yourself back on course. (See chapter
four for more information on how to chart your progress and adjust your approach).
To reach your weekly, three-month, twelve-month and ultimate goals, you must
develop good habits every day. You develop good habits by setting daily action goals and
working on them repeatedly until they become as routine as brushing your teeth or taking
a shower. Ninety-nine percent of the actions you take every day are habits. Write out a
list of daily goals, to-do’s and habits you want to develop - good daily habits that serve
you – habits like eating small, frequent meals, cutting down on sugar, getting up early,
making your meals in advance for each day and so on. Long-term goals are important, but
they can be intimidating and discouraging if you don’t have small daily goals, too. If you
only look at the “big picture,” it can sometimes be unsettling to realize how much farther
you have to go.
There’s an old saying about tackling big tasks: “The only way to eat an elephant is
one bite at a time.” When your larger goals are broken down into smaller parts and you
focus on each little step one at a time, you won't be overwhelmed "By the mile it’s a
trial, by the yard it’s hard, but by the inch it’s a cinch.” Take baby steps. Every step you
take, no matter how small, will give you a feeling of accomplishment and keep your
momentum going.
The next time you feel a craving, you’re tempted, discouraged, unmotivated or you feel
like skipping a workout, focus on your daily goals, not on the huge amount of work that is
ahead of you. Tell yourself, "All I have is today. All I have is this moment, this workout,
this meal, the next 30 minutes, the next hour. If I just do what I know I must do now,
then I know I'll reach my ultimate goal eventually." Concentrate on the task at hand in this
moment. As the Zen masters of Japan remind us: “Be here now.” The point of power is
always in the present moment.
The final type of goal you should set isn’t so much a goal as it is a mindset. If you
fall into the habit of continually comparing yourself to others, this will ensure that you are
perpetually unhappy and unsatisfied, no matter how much you achieve. This is called the
law of contrast. There will always be people stronger, leaner, faster, more athletically
talented and more genetically gifted than you, so compare yourself only to yourself, not to
others.
Set goals to become better than you used to be, not better than someone else.
Constantly challenge yourself. Keep aiming to beat your previous bests. Going to the
gym can become fun and exciting when you’re always working on improving yourself.
So make it fun – make a contest out of it. Go for one more rep, five more pounds, five
more minutes, or one level higher on the Stairmaster. Aim for hitting your lowest body fat
ever. Work on constant and never-ending improvement. Make this process a fun game!
6. Establish the emotional reasons why you want to achieve your goals.
Everyone has days when they don’t feel like working out or eating the right foods.
The secret to staying motivated at times like these is not just having a goal, it’s
establishing the "reason why" you want that goal - it is the purpose behind the goal. The
philosopher Nietzsche said, “ If you have a strong enough why you can bear almost any
how.”
Determining the reason you want to achieve a goal adds emotion to it. The more
emotion you stir up, the more motivated you’ll be to go after it. In his Goal Achiever
program, Bob Proctor says, “The moment you get emotionally involved with your goal, it
instantly and automatically begins to move into physical form.” This is true because your
subconscious is the emotional part of your mind. Getting emotionally involved with your
goal impresses it deeper into your subconscious and whatever idea is fixed in your
subconscious will always express itself in physical form (behavior).
Remember, emotion is “feeling.” When you think about the reasons you want
your goal, you are “feeling” with emotion. What are your reasons? Sometimes people
have something to prove. Getting in shape for a wedding or vacation is often an important
reason for many people to get in shape. So is being attractive to the opposite sex. For
others, their reason is fear of health consequences (their doctor tells them if they don’t
lose 50 pounds in the next six months, they will die of a heart attack!)
After you’ve set your goals in terms of a specific weight, body fat, etc, then
continue to re-write an entire list of goals with as much emotional impact as possible. In
particular, answer these two questions: (1) What’s important to me about reaching my
goal? (2) Why is that important?
Some additional questions you might ask yourself to add emotional impact to your
goal list include: Who do you want to look like? Who is your physique role model? Do
you want to look like a bodybuilder, an athlete, or a model? Do you want to impress
anyone? Do you want to prove something? Do you want more energy so you can enjoy
certain sports or activities more? Do you want to win a contest or award? Do you want
more self-confidence? Do you want to look great in a certain type of clothes? Do you
want to look good for a certain event (vacation, wedding, reunion, etc.)? Do you want to
look great on the beach? Do you want to attract someone of the opposite sex? Answering
these questions will help you uncover the driving force behind your goals.
7. Make sure your goals are not conflicting. Put all your attention on your number
one most important goal.
There's an ancient Chinese saying: "He who chases two rabbits catches neither."
One of the most common obstacles blocking the way to reaching a goal is setting two
goals that are in conflict. In the case of fat loss, the most common conflicting goal is
trying to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. It’s common to see a large decrease
in body fat accompanied by a slight increase in lean body mass. It is also common to see
a large increase in lean body mass accompanied by a slight decrease in body fat. But one
thing you will almost never see is a large increase in lean body mass and a large decrease
in body fat simultaneously. It is physiologically impossible to lose fat and gain muscle at
the same precise moment in time. In order to lose fat you need a calorie deficit. To gain
lean body mass you need a calorie surplus. One process is catabolic and one is anabolic.
Therefore, there are big differences in the types of nutritional programs you need to
achieve each of these contrasting goals.
Over a period of weeks or months it is certainly possible to see a net gain in
muscle and a net decrease in body fat. However, that is the result of alternating back and
forth between short periods of caloric deficit with short periods of caloric surplus (aka,
the zig-zag” method). This is the most difficult of all the goals and it is a slow and
inefficient process. You are compromising your results in both departments if you set
muscle gain and fat loss as simultaneous goals. Advertising for supplements and weight
loss products has brainwashed many people into believing that incredible gains of muscle,
along with large losses of fat are commonplace – they’re not! They’re quite rare. When
someone successfully makes large muscle gains and fat losses at the same time, usually
they’re merely regaining muscle they’d previously lost, they’re genetic superiors or
they’re using performance-enhancing drugs.
Charles Glass, who has probably trained more professional bodybuilders than any
other trainer advises, "While you are dieting and burning fat, you are not likely to add any
more muscle. Burning fat and gaining muscle do not go together. Concentrate totally on
getting lean and defined during a pre-contest phase and forsake the thought of adding
muscle to what should be an already prepared framework." Although Charles was
speaking of competitive bodybuilders, his advice applies to everyone: Get the fat off first,
then set your new goal for gaining muscle while staying lean.
8. Write out an extensive goal list in the form of affirmations
The next step is to write down all your goals on a sheet of paper or on cards in the
form of statements called “affirmations." There are three rules you must apply when
writing your affirmations:
1. First, your affirmations must be personal: Use the word “I.” One of the best ways
to start an affirmation is to use the phrase “I AM” or “I have.” Your subconscious
only responds to commands given to it in a personal manner. Anything you say
after “I AM” has power. One of the best affirmations I have ever heard comes
from Bob Proctor, and it goes like this: “I am so happy and thankful now that I
am________________” (fill in your goal).
2. Second, your affirmations must be written in the present tense. To your
subconscious mind, there is no future. Your subconscious mind only responds to
commands given to it in a present tense. It may feel strange to write a goal in the
present tense, but if you write it in the future tense (for example, “Next year I
will” or “I’m going to”), your subconscious mind will make sure it always stays in
the future. Always write, think and visualize your goal as if you have already
achieved it.
3. Third, you must state your goal in terms of the positive. Your subconscious
moves you towards whatever you think about whether it’s positive or negative.
Therefore, write what you want, not what you want to avoid.
9. Read your affirmations (your goal list) at least twice a day and always keep your
goals “in front of you” and “on your mind.”
Psychologists have proven that repetition is an effective way to penetrate and
program the subconscious mind. Fortune 500 companies spend millions of advertising
dollars every year based on this fact. Why is it that people reach for Coke, Pepsi,
Budweiser, Marlboro, Crest, Palmolive and other brand name items? It’s because the
repetition of the advertising has penetrated their subconscious minds and moved them to
action.
You can use the power of repetition to influence your own subconscious and
move yourself into action. Once your affirmations are written out, read your list at least
twice per day, once in the morning and once at night. Read them more often if you can. If
you want to amplify the effect of the affirmation technique even more, don't just read
your affirmations; write them out by hand every single day.
Once you’ve set all your goals and written your affirmations, use the power of
repetition even more by literally “keeping your goals in front of you” all day long. Post
your goal statements in a conspicuous place such as your refrigerator, your bathroom
mirror or in your daily appointment book. Keep a goal card of your 90-day goal in your
pocket. Paste them onto the dashboard of your car. Stick them on the top of your
computer monitor so you have to look at them all day long.
You may have been exposed to this affirmation technique before and shrugged it
off as "corny." If so, let me ask you this: Did you really give it an honest trial? Did you
put 100% effort into it and put it to the test for at least 21 days in a row? If not, then
you’re denying yourself the chance of achieving everything you ever dreamed of. Don’t
let the simplicity of the affirmation technique fool you. Be open and don’t judge it.
Affirmations are far more powerful than you can imagine, but they can’t work
when you just “try” them once or twice. They won’t work even if you do them for a few
days. They won’t work if you say them and then cancel them out with negative
affirmations like “this is stupid!” They only work when you continue to repeat them with
faith, emotion and belief over and over again so many times that they completely replace
your old, negative internal dialogue. Your affirmations must become the new “tape” that
runs over and over in your mind every day. When you reach the point where your
affirmations become your new habitual way of thinking, the results will astound you and
what you have been imagining will begin to materialize in your life.
10. Read your goals with faith.
William James, the “father” of American psychology, wrote that the subconscious
will bring into reality any picture held continually in your mind and backed by faith.
Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich and The Law of Success, said, “All
thoughts which have been emotionalized and mixed with faith begin immediately to
translate themselves into their physical equivalent.”
What is faith? Faith is just another word for unshakeable belief. Faith is
believing in what you can’t see. Faith is knowing that eventually you will reach your
goal, even though you look in the mirror and see that little or nothing has changed yet.
The opposite of faith is doubt. Shakespeare said, “Our doubts are out traitors, and make
us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” The poet William Blake said,
“If the sun and moon would ever doubt, they would surely go out.” In short, you must
practice believing in yourself, or “banishing the doubt” as inspirational author Wayne
Dyer calls it.
How do you cultivate this attribute of faith? ACT AS IF. Read affirmation
statements written in the present tense as if they were already achieved. See mental
pictures of yourself as if you had already achieved your goal. When you look in the
mirror every day, see what you want to become, not what is presently there. Behave as if
you were already there. Speak as if you were already there. “Act as though I am and I
will be,” says the ancient proverb. If this seems like you’re “lying” to yourself; well, yes,
that’s exactly what you’re doing. Repeat a “lie” often enough and you’ll soon start to
believe it and act on it.
To quote personal development expert Denis Waitley again, “Every captain
knows his next port of call, and even though he cannot see his actual destination for fully
99 percent of his voyage, he knows what it is, where it is and that he will surely reach it if
he keeps doing certain things in certain ways every day.” That’s the essence of faith –
continuing to take action towards your destination even when you can’t see it yet!
Read your goal lists with faith! Believe it’s going to happen, no matter what is
actually happening at the moment. If you read affirmations while at the same time
doubting that you can achieve them, you are canceling out the affirmation before it ever
has a chance to take root; it never reaches your subconscious mind.
11. As you read your affirmations, mentally visualize them as already achieved.
Visualization means making mental pictures or images – it’s thinking without
words. The brain thinks in pictures. If you think of a mountain, you probably don’t see
M-O-U-N-T-A-I-N spelled out in your mind. If you’re like most people, you see an image
of a mountain. If I ask you to think about your car, you’ll instantly get a picture of your
car in your mind.
Because your brain thinks in pictures, adding a bright, clear, moving mental
picture of what you want to achieve will help you to penetrate your subconscious mind
more rapidly and more deeply than if you just read your goals. In Psycho - Cybernetics
Dr. Maltz wrote, “Experimental and clinical psychologists have proven beyond a shadow
of a doubt that the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between an "actual"
experience and an experience imagined vividly and in detail.” As with affirmations,
visualization is most effective when your body is in a relaxed state, because that’s when
your subconscious mind is accessed most easily.
In the book Peak Performance, Mental Training Techniques of the World’s
Greatest Athletes, Charles Garfield writes; “Without a doubt, the most dramatic
contribution to the advancement of goal-setting skills in recent years has been the
Soviet’s introduction of visualization. During mental rehearsal, athletes create mental
images of the exact movements they want to emulate in their sport. Use of this skill
substantially increases the effectiveness of goal-setting, which up until then had been
little more than a dull listing procedure.”
Garfield went on to talk about a startling experiment conducted by Soviet sports
scientists. The study examined the effect of mental training, including visualization, on
four groups of world-class athletes just prior to the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. The four
groups of elite athletes were divided as follows:
Group 1 – 100% physical training
Group 2 – 75% physical training, 25% mental training
Group 3 – 50% physical training, 50% mental training
Group 4 – 25% physical training, 75% mental training
What the researchers found was that group 4 – the group with the most mental
training – had shown significantly greater improvement than group 3. Likewise, group 3
showed more improvement than group 2 and group 2 showed more improvement than
group 1.
In Psycho-Cybernetics, Dr. Maltz shared a similar account of an experiment on
the effects of mental practice on improving basketball free throws. The study, published
in Research Quarterly, divided the subjects into three groups. Each group was tested for
free throw accuracy once at the beginning of the experiment and again at its conclusion.
Group one physically practiced free throws for 20 days. Group two performed no
practice at all. Group three spent 20 minutes a day getting into a deeply relaxed state and
visualizing themselves shooting free throws. When they missed, they would visualize
themselves correcting their aim accordingly. The results were remarkable: the first group,
which practiced 20 minutes a day, improved in scoring 24%. The second group, which
had no practice, showed no improvement. The third group, which practiced in their
minds, improved their scoring 23%! Amazingly, mental practice yielded results almost
identical to physical practice.
What does this research on athletes have to do with your losing body fat?
Everything! Remember that the subconscious is the part of the mind that is responsible
for automatic behavior (also known as habits). By visualizing your fat loss or fitness goal
as already achieved, you are giving your subconscious mind instructions that will cause
you to automatically begin acting in a way consistent with your mental image. You’ll go
into automatic pilot mode. There will be less struggle and willpower involved. When
you’re in a situation that used to tempt you, suddenly you’ll notice you are no longer
tempted. If you used to dread going to the gym, you'll start looking forward to it. If the
idea of eating healthy, natural foods used to seem like hard work, you'll actually begin to
enjoy it. Everything will seem to get easier and your workouts will become better than
ever. The end result of making “mental motion pictures” is that you will see results more
quickly than you ever have before.
All great athletes and peak performers use visualization. Jack Niklaus said he
never hit a golf shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of
it in his head. Tennis superstar Andre Agassi once told an interviewer that he won
Wimbledon at least ten thousand times. When asked what he meant by this, Agassi
replied, “Since I was five years old I saw it over and over and over again in my mind.
When I walked on the court that day, it was my exact vision. I felt like I was stepping
into the role I was made for, and I just demolished them!"
Legendary basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell wrote about his use of mental
imagery in great detail: “I was sitting there with my eyes closed, watching plays in my
head. It was effortless; the movies I saw in my head seemed to have their own projector,
and whenever I closed my eyes, it would run.”
Bodybuilders and fitness athletes use visualization in many ways: they visualize
their workouts or they see themselves successfully completing a lift or performing aerobic
training. They also see pictures of their bodies the way they want them to look when they
reach their ultimate goal. Arnold Schwarzenegger visualized his biceps as mountains;
“When I am doing barbell curls, I am visualizing my biceps as mountains – not just big,
but HUGE!” Former professional bodybuilder Lee Labrada visualized the skin on his abs
getting tighter and thinner like cellophane wrap clinging to the abdominal muscles as he
was dieting down for competition. Three time Mr. Olympia Frank Zane said that he
mentally saw himself winning the Mr. Olympia at least one million times before it
actually happened. Former Ms. Olympia, Rachel Mclish said, “I visualize the blood
surging through my muscles with every repetition and every set I do. When I pose, I’ve
got a mental picture of how I want to look. When you have that in your brain, the
physical body just seems to respond. Its important to tell yourself you are good and you
look wonderful.”
What if you’re not good at visualizing? What if you can’t see “vivid Technicolor
pictures” in your mind? Don’t worry about it– everyone creates mental images in their
own unique way. Some people see clear vivid pictures, while others get only
impressions. You’ll get results either way and you’ll also get better with practice.
Some real goals
I’ve given you a lot to think about, so to help jump-start your imagination, I’d like
to give you some ideas for how to write your goal list. What follows is a composite list of
some real goals from some real people who have completed my personal coaching
programs. Use this list to generate some ideas for starting a list of your own.
Women:
I am so happy and thankful now that I am 13% body fat!
I am losing body fat and reaching my goal weight of 110 lbs and my goal body fat of 14%
by June 1st.
I am fitting into my Gap stretch jeans, size 4, by early November and looking so good in
them when I wear them to work that I leave all the guys' jaws on the floor.
I am a fitness magazine success story. When my success story is published, one of the
star fitness photographers is calling me for a photo shoot and including me in the next
swimsuit edition. (well, I at least look good enough so that they could call me. In fact,
they’ll definitely be thinking about it.)
I fit perfectly into the slinky black suit I bought this summer and I am wearing it to work.
My spaghetti strap flowered summer dress from the summer of 1998 fits me perfectly and
I am wearing it during my winter vacation in the Caribbean.
I am learning enough about my body, diet and exercise that I am easily staying within 2-3
pounds of my optimal weight for the rest of my life.
I am celebrating the New Year with clearly visible abs.
I wake up every morning at 6 to fit in my first meal and cardio before 7 - yes, I am a
morning person!
I eat 5 meals a day with proper ratios of lean protein, carbs, fats always on time at 3 hour
intervals.
I stay well-hydrated and purify my body by drinking a gallon of water every day.
I strive to constantly improve my body and optimize my genetic potential.
I’m grateful and proud of how good I look today.
I deserve to be healthy and super fit.
I help those close to me choose healthier habits by leading by example (not nagging) and
being a reliable source of health and nutrition information.
I am developing clean eating and consistent exercise habits that are so ingrained into my
lifestyle that they stay with me for the rest of my life.
Men:
I am so happy and thankful now that my body fat is in the single digits. I am now 9%
body fat and I look great!
I am reaching the most aggressive weight and body fat goal possible by the program’s end
(217 lbs & 19.3% respectively) by January 1st
I can see all of my toes when I look down.
By January 1st, I fit comfortably into size 32” pants without having to inhale
I am surprising (and shocking) my friends and family who I have not seen in a while by
the way I look at Christmas time.
I am keeping up these lifestyle changes when the 12-week program is over.
I am reaching my ideal weight and body fat composition by April so I can show off my
new body in the summertime.
I always carry my goal card with me at all times and read it as often as possible (at least
three times a day).
I am reaching my goal of 15% body fat and 199 pounds by December 31st. I know this is
a little fast but it is my dream for New Years Eve – I can do it!
By my 35th birthday on June15th, I am so happy that I have lost 24 pounds of fat and my
body fat has dropped by 6%! I look awesome, I feel great, and I'm ready for some summer
fun.
I am buying all new clothes to show off my new, lean body: Killer suits, nice shoes, nice
casual stuff.
I am now leaner than I was 30 minutes ago (after finishing every cardio workout)
Heads are turning when I take my shirt off.
I look good with my shirt off
I am taking on being a body builder and learning about body building (for tone and
definition, not massive bulk).
I am continuing the coaching program for another 3 mo and losing another 24 lbs.
I am designing my weekends and vacations to include healthy activities.
I eat six, moderately sized meals every day, each with a serving of lean protein and a
complex, all natural carbohydrate and I prepare my food in advance every morning.
What you should do every time you reach a goal.
Every time you achieve a goal you should do three things:
1. Celebrate and/or reward yourself. Great managers, great parents and great
animal trainers all have one thing in common: They all know how to
continually get their “people” (employees, children or animals, respectively),
to repeat the behaviors they desire. They do it by rewarding the behaviors
they want more of (“giving the dog a bone.”) You should do the same thing –
reinforce your success by rewarding yourself. Did you have a great week of
dieting and training? If so, go out and splurge! Have a “cheat meal.” Eat some
pizza. Treat yourself. Pamper yourself. Take a trip. Get a massage. Go
shopping. Buy yourself something you’ve always wanted. And don’t feel
guilty when you really deserve it!
2. Keep a list of your achieved goals. It’s been said that success breeds more
success. That’s why you should start a “collection” of all your successes.
You will reach many, many small goals on your way to your ultimate goal.
Write all of them down on an “achieved goal list.” Any time you feel your
motivation or enthusiasm flagging, go back and read your list of past
successes. This is a sure fire way to lift your spirits when you’re feeling
discouraged. Even after a few short months, you’ll absolutely amaze yourself
at how big your list will become and how easily you can get motivated by
reflecting on your past successes.
3. Set new goals continually. Goal setting never stops – it’s an ongoing process.
In truth, there never really is an ultimate goal because if there were, and you
reached it, what then? When the day arrives that you no longer have any goals,
your life ceases to have meaning. Success is traveling towards the goal, not
the goal itself. Anthony Robbins wrote in Unleash the Power Within, “The only
true security in life comes from knowing that every single day you are
improving yourself in some way – that you are increasing the caliber of who
you are. I don’t ever worry about maintaining the quality of my life, because
every day I work on improving it.”
Why you should put this book down and set your goals right now
To conclude this chapter, I'd like to tell you why you should put this book down
this very minute and write out your goals - NOW.
In 1987, I read a book by peak performance coach Anthony Robbins called
“Unlimited Power.” I was so impressed with its contents that shortly after, I purchased
Robbins' tape series called "Personal Power" after seeing him on TV. In those tapes,
Robbins discussed the importance of setting goals. As I listened to the cassette on goal
setting, Robbins urged me to "stop the tape now and do the goal setting exercise." There
was a brief pause in the tape and then Tony came back on and repeated his instructions.
He said in a teasing voice, "If you just kept listening and you didn't stop the tape and
write down your goals, stop the tape and do it now." Guess what I did? I just kept
listening. I said to myself "I know what my goals are, I don't need to do any ‘corny’ goal
setting exercise," so I just kept listening to the rest of the tape (dumb, dumb, dumb!)
Eight years later, in 1995, I found myself having achieved some moderate success
in several areas of my life, including bodybuilding, but I was frustrated because I hadn't
reached my biggest, most important goals and I couldn’t figure out why. Then I thought
about the Tony Robbins tape. I remembered that even though I definitely knew what I
wanted, I never took the time to write it down and read it every day.
Frustrated with my mediocre results, I conceded and went back the goal setting
exercise I had “blown off” eight years earlier. Sure enough, the next year I won two
overall bodybuilding titles and within a few short years after committing my goals to
writing and reading my goal list every day, I had accomplished EVERY SINGLE ONE
OF THEM! It was amazing – it was almost uncanny! Then I made a new list, with
bigger, better goals that I am still working on to this day - and I know I will achieve them
too.
Put this book down RIGHT NOW, make your goal list and write out your 90-day
goal on a small card to carry around with you. Don't worry if it's not "perfect," just start
writing. You can always go back to it later and edit. Do it now!
