Many of you have probably heard of this book by Norman Vincent Peale but I’ll give you the Scott Welle ultra-short condensed version. Most people underappreciate how important it is to think positively and how it affects all aspects of your life…notably your relationships, professional successes and, certainly, your fitness.
I always tell clients you have to train your brain like you train your body – with focused, committed consistency. If you really want to make tangible progress you cannot do it any other way. This is because your brain (and attitude) directly controls your adherence to an exercise program, the effort you put into it and the results you get from it. How would your body look if you trained it once a week…or not at all? Probably not the way you want.
Any time I’m working with an athlete one of the first questions I inevitably ask them is what percentage of their sport they consider to be mental? And because I work with a lot of golfers, the answer is ALWAYS greater than 50%. My next question is: how much time do you spend training your mind vs. training your body? The discrepancy in the amount of time allotted to each reinforces the point for me. The body is trained much more than the brain.
The same question can be asked for non-athletes, fitness buffs and those looking to get in better shape. The question that needs to be asked is…
“What percentage of LIFE do you consider to be mental?”
In other words, how much do you think your attitude influences the choices you make and the success you have? For the small minority who believes fate “just happens” to you regardless of attitude, mental training is not for you. But for the overwhelming majority of people the answer will be similar to athletes who are asked the similar question – mental training is responsible for greater than 50%.
And this is all it comes down to – train your brain and your body will be better (and I’m guessing, your life will as well). I’m not saying you have to spend hours a day training your brain but you SHOULD spend a minimum of a few minutes a day focusing on your thoughts, shifting them more positively and getting in a proper frame of mind for success.
My 3 favorite ways to train the brain are:
1 – watch motivational videos (I watch a lot of them on YouTube)
2 – read motivational articles and/or books (I subscribe to a few blogs but I’m almost always referencing a motivational book on an ongoing basis)
3 – practice mental training techniques (I try to set a few minutes aside each morning where I turn my phone and TV off, and decide what I’m going to accomplish that day. I then determine how I’m going to do it and reinforce the positive thoughts that I’m going to get it done)
Good luck! Let the positive thoughts begin and I’ll see you at better!
Scott
