Creating The Right Attitude To Achieve Your Goals

Creating The Right Attitude To Achieve Your Goals

Why is it that some people can achieve their goals more easily than others? Well, you can assume that they simply have more willpower; but if everything was a constant challenge, eventually, even the most determined person will slip up and either get poor results or just quit altogether. You know how it is when you start to exercise again... At first it's really hard and challenging, but eventually you get into it and it becomes easy. You don't dread that morning run, you actually start to enjoy it and you feel energised and ready to take it on! You've conditioned your body and mind and now it makes you feel good. It's a positive cycle! You associate running with all good things, not the aches and pains the morning after as most beginners find out. So when you start a new healthy lifestyle, you want to make sure you're getting positive things from it, and not make it about a life of deprivation. This is negative thinking and will no doubt be the cause of your failure.

When achieving something, it comes down to your belief in what you are doing -- this determines whether or not you'll take it seriously and work hard to achieve your goal. If you don't believe this diet will work in helping you drop some weight, make you healthier, and increase your lifespan, then the chances you'll stick with it are slim. So if your belief is low to start out with, then you'll never achieve the results that you should and could get. So changing how you think is critical to your long term success.

When I embarked on this journey, I already held a strong conviction that I would a) Be healthier by doing it b) I would stay looking younger for much longer. c) I would live to over 100 and therefore give me a greater chance to reach a point in time when science could effectively rejuvenate the body and cure aging.

I remember thinking when I was younger that I could see myself being 30, but only looking only 20. Or I would project into the future to where I was 50, but had the body and mind of a 30 year old. In my mind, this wasn't a possible reality, this was the only reality -- this is what was going to happen, I thought to myself. Whether or not these were entirely realistic goals didn't matter so much. They were necessary for me to stick with the plan when I had many people all around me telling me to quit and eat a "normal" diet like everyone else. Now I am almost 30 years old and so far I seem to be doing just fine. If you do what your friends and family are doing, then don't expect to have radically better health. You have to do something different! Otherwise you'll likely experience the same kind of diseases as they suffer from as you age.

What you can do to change your mindset and create positive reinforcement

• Fast forward: Close your eyes and imagine that you've achieved your goal weight. How happy does this make you feel? Feel how light you are on your feet, how radiant you look, and how free you feel. Think of all the things you can now do! See yourself in that favourite dress or suit you've wanted to wear again. Hold onto that image and the feelings of happiness associate with it. Remember, this is not just a 'possible future', this is your future.

• Surround yourself with people who live active and healthy lifestyles (positive examples). The environment you're in can have a great influence on whether or not you stick with the changes that you've made.

• Set realistic goals - track your weight and progress over time - reward yourself for good behaviours and reaching targets that you've set.

• Write a small journal about how you feel, as this will give you something to look back on and see how far you've come. Sometimes we forget what it felt like before we started the diet. Most people don't just become overweight and unhealthy over night - it's a process that takes months or years - so subtle changes are missed.

• Get blood tests to determine your current health and redo them periodically (every 12 months). Seeing the dramatic improvements in glucose, cholesterol, inflammation, and other health biomarkers can be a great motivator to keep doing what you're doing. The more feedback we get from our body, the better we can make decisions and tweaks to get the most optimal results. 

• Keep learning and experiment with new recipes and foods. Keep it fun and new! Living healthy does not have to mean boring and bland foods. 

• Join the Calorie Restriction group on Facebook to get support from others who are thriving on this diet.

I'll soon be offering email and phone consultations for anyone who would like advice that is more personalised to them. More details on this shortly!

Recommended watching:  Tony Robbins: Why some people take massive action and others don't