I wake up at 6:30 AM everyday to go to the gym; sometimes earlier. After a night out at a networking event it’s often hard to roll out of bed. However, what keeps me going is this statement…
Successful People do the things Unsuccessful People don’t like to do.
I’m not sure where I heard that (or even if I made it up). The point tho is that even when you know you have to do something but you really don’t want to if you can play little tricks with yourself to find inner motivation to get it done… well then my loyal reader… then you will be successful.
You probably know by now from past blog posts and/or podcasts that my favorite book is “Think and Grow Rich”. I learned the power (and skill) of being success conscious from this book.
Quick Story
I don’t think I’ve told this story here before but here we go… in the Fall of 2014 I decided I was going to complete an Olympic Distance Triathlon in 2015. With no background in cycling, swimming, or even running I made this lofty goal. I used to have a strong dislike for running (all my life actually). Then in 2012 I lived in Communication Hill (for my non-local friends… it’s up on a hill and known for it’s beastly stairs… lots of people run out there). I literally almost (oxymoron?) felt guilty as I drove home from work and saw all these people running. So, I started running and like Forest Gump I didn’t stop. From there I started to “compete” in local 5k’s and 10k’s. That’s as strong as my running background goes. Now cycling… that’s a whole ‘nother story. My Father is a huge cyclist (or rather was). This guy rode his bike across the country around the time he was 18 and all my life he competed in long distance races… I never found an interest in bikes. As for swimming, well like most kids I took swimming lessons and I know how to swim; but that’s about it and actually doing a freestyle swim – shoot let’s see it would have to have been years since I did any real attempts at laps prior to my training.
Outcome: Not only did I finish the Olympic Distance Triathlon that year but I completed 3 total and a couple duathalons mixed in. The first day of training I showed up to the pool with my friend who has been doing Iron Man’s for years… he had me swim one lap… to the end of the pool and back. When I got to the first end I had to stop and catch my breath. I couldn’t even swim back! Just one lap! I thought I was doomed… I knew I was doomed. That was negative thinking; without a doubt. Over the next couple days I started to apply what I do in my business life in terms of goal-setting to my fitness life. And just to fast forward… within 6 months later I went from not being able to swim 1 lap non-stop to swimming 100 laps non-stop. I attribute 100% my ability to accomplish all this to the Power of Positive Thinking.
Here is an actionable Tips to get you started:
Lock-screen
Pull out your phone or if you’re reading this on your phone – read this section then do this exercise. So, get to your lock-screen. It should be blank, so remove all the notifications so you can just see the image on your lock-screen.
What is it?
Is it a scenery picture?
Is it a picture of you and your significant other?
What are you looking at every single time you look at your phone?
Talk about subliminal messaging… do you know how many times on average people check their phone?
It’s been said that on average people spends hours on their phone daily while looking at the screen over a 100 times. THIS IS SUCH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY!
What I’ve been doing for years now is making a custom message to myself and switching it up when I start to feel the burn out coming. Most recently I’m pumped on the Podcast I’ll be releasing soon so right now I’m using that image and a simple Harbaugh quote: “You are getting better or you are getting worse” (see image below).
Here’s how to do it (sorry, this is based on iPhone apps)
1.) What is your goal? (make sure it’s a written down goal somewhere btw)
2.) Now that you know your goal, what motivates you to achieve it? Maybe it’s to lose 10 pounds for your summer trip to Hawaii or something like that. How about finding a sick Hawaii scenery image? Go ahead and find a picture that motivates you to achieve your goal.
3.) Download 2 apps – the first “FitWallp” and the second “Over”. We will use the FitWall app to adjust the image so that it fits your lock-screen cleanly. Secondly, Over is one of those apps where you can add text, images and the like to your image. This is key here… I like to write either a quote or just a simplified version of my S.M.A.R.T. goal.
4.) Now that you have it… go to your settings and set it for your lock screen.
Lastly, Rinse & Repeat… as soon as your lock-screen doesn’t do it for you anymore just simply find a new image and start over 🙂
What do you do to stay motivated and keep yourself thinking positive?
This is just one trick I use and I think not many people do this… I’d love to hear what keeps you going.
And Remember… if you stay the course, maintain focus, remember why you started and are success conscious … then there’s just no reason why you won’t achieve your goal.
