Have there ever been things in your life that you want to accomplish, but for some reason you never make it happen? My guess is that everyone in the world has had this happen at one time or another. Why is that? How is it possible to want something so badly, but never achieve it? Everyday thousands, maybe even millions, of people go to a gym with the hopes of changing themselves physically. Then why is it that 63 percent of our adult population is either overweight or obese? I find it hard to believe that the only people going to the gyms are the 37 percent of fit people. I know I have seen people in the gym who are struggling with their weight. That’s a good thing; they should be in the gym. I am happy for them that they are trying to change their lives. My problem is the number of people who buy a gym membership or fitness equipment and never actually use it.

In my opinion, it’s not all that hard to lose weight or get in better shape if you are truly committed. That’s the key word committed. I really don’t think deep down, people are willing to do whatever it takes to change their lives. Think of all the excuses people come up with explaining why today isn’t a good day to go to the gym, or why they can eat that piece of cake. People have become increasingly lazy. Do you think that thousands of years ago a caveman would say to his wife, “You know what; today I just don’t feel like going hunting, sorry.” Not going to happen. Why is it that everybody in America pretty much hates their job, but somehow everyday you manage to get out of bed and go to work? The difference is the way you mentally evaluate different activities throughout your day.

Someone who I have taken a great interest in is a man named Anthony Robbins. He is an internationally renowned public speaker who helps people change their mental states so they can achieve anything they want. For those of you who haven’t heard of him watch the movie “Shallow Hal.” He’s the tall guy in the elevator with Jack Black. Some people may think that this guy is full of crap, but trust me, if you use the ideas he suggests you can do anything you want. I truly believe that you can achieve anything in life you set your mind to. The key there is setting your mind to it. Your brain is more powerful than you could ever imagine, but for some reason most people live on autopilot. Wakeup, go to work, eat lunch, come home, watch TV, and then go to bed. They day this day after day, year after year without any thought. Then they wonder how there lives have passed by so quickly without achieving anything. Well, that stops TODAY.

Take a second and think of two to three goals that you have. They can be about anything, maybe one fitness goal and one general goal. Now here is the interesting part. We perform every action in life to fulfill two basic needs, to avoid pain and/ or gain pleasure. Think about it for a moment, at first it seems kind of far fetched, but it is true. How does this relate to your goals? You need to establish some sort of pain to the habit you want to change and pleasure to the new habit you will achieve through your goal. As an example, let’s say you want to lose some weight. First, you have to associate some sort of pain to being overweight, maybe having poor self-esteem. Then you have to associate pleasure to losing weight, maybe feeling happier and healthier. Once you do that you can achieve anything, as long as you truly convince yourself that the pain and pleasure is real.

Another way of looking at the process of change is to, first decide what it is that you want or the specific goal you have. Then you need to mentally understand why you MUST achieve this goal. This is by using the pain/ pleasure example. From there you need to learn to interrupt the old habit you want to change. Let’s say you want to stop eating french fries. Every time you are about to eat a french fry say or do something that will reinforce your goal and keep you from eating them. Maybe you tell yourself, I don’t want to die, and french fries will kill me. It needs to be something very powerful in order to make an impact. After you break the habit of eating french fries you need to find an alternative to replace the old habit. Maybe instead of eating french fries at a restaurant you order fruit or vegetables. Once you have found an alternative you need to constantly reinforce it until it becomes habit.

If all of this is done properly you can change any habit. You are capable of anything you set your mind to and this is a step by step process to utilize the mental power you possess. If this idea intrigues you and you want more information on how to change your life for the better I really recommend reading some of Anthony Robbins’ work. Both “Unlimited Power” and “Awaken the Giant Within” are phenomenal books that will change your life. They have really helped change my perceptions on life and what I am capable of.

From this point on don’t make excuses of why you can’t do something. Realize that you have the power to change whatever you want. It’s just a matter of realizing the potential hidden inside of you. Start today, do something you have always wanted to but have always found an excuse for. You will thank yourself. Good luck.

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