part0009

You have probably been inundated over the past several years about the power of positive thinking. It seems like every self-help guru at any level is touting the “Positive mindset leads to a positive life” theory. Even though the phrase may be highly overused, it does not take away the truthfulness behind it. A certain amount of positivity is needed to move forward in life. This does not mean you never have negative thoughts, or you are simply walking around with a smile on your face. We are also not suggesting that thinking positively will magically solve all of your problems. What we are saying is that thinking positively will allow you to approach life in a more productive manner. When faced with a certain situation, keeping a positive attitude will allow you to overcome it more efficiently.

There is no way around it. Having the proper mindset is necessary to achieve your goals, including weight loss goals. You must always believe that you can achieve, even if you do not see results right away. In order to stay motivated, you must have an end goal in mind, however, focusing on daily steps that will help you achieve your end result. The old adage of forgetting the past, preparing for the future and living in the present is definitely vital in these situations. We must forget about our past and the mistakes we have made. We must also avoid people who remind us of our past mistakes. If you have tried to lose weight in the past but could not, don’t worry about it. It was the past and does not affect what you can do now. If you think too much about the future, you will just become stressed and worry too much. You will start thinking about all of the ways you may fail and this will impact your activity level severely. Plan but do not overthink.

A technique that people use to motivate themselves is having a positive image of where they would like to be. For example, if a person wants to be financially wealthy, they will have a picture of a beautiful home, either in their mind or as a physical portrait. In the case of health and weight loss, imagine yourself and where you want to be. Then, become very focused on the daily action steps you will take to reach those goals. There are many different ways you can motivate yourself and stay motivated.

Why are you doing what you're doing? Your “Why” is a strong indicator for your purpose in life. It is the reason you wake up every morning and live life the way you do. Determine your “Why” when it comes to losing weight. Is it for health reasons? Do you want more energy throughout the day? Do you want to live long enough to play with your grandchildren? Do you want to look and feel better? What is your “Why”? Figure it out and never lose sight of it. Your “Why” is what you are living for every day.

Every day, write things down so you can hold yourself accountable. This will help keep yourself in check. Write down your action steps for the day when you first wake up or the night before. Be very specific. For example, instead of saying, “I will eat right and exercise,” say, “I will exercise for one hour when I first wake up and then plan to eat these meals at these times.” Of course, there is certainly room for flexibility as all of our schedules are different and life can be unpredictable. Our point is to write things down so they can be concrete.

Also, track your progress. It can be hard to see progress day after day. However, assess how far you have come in a week and use this as motivation. If you have not made the progress you would like, then reconsider what you have been doing and make some changes. Write things down and track your progress, and you will see amazing results come your way.

In many activities in life, we find a partner to do things with. We find a travel buddy to see the world with. We seek out a workout partner for the gym. Most people don’t want to go to movies or restaurants by themselves. Whatever we are doing, we are seeking out a buddy to do it with. Why not do the same thing with our weight loss and detox plan? Buddy up and find someone that wants to work on the action plan with you. This way, you can keep each other motivated. Find someone you know will hold you accountable, and not someone who will just tell you what you want to hear. Find a buddy and start seeing great results for both of you.

Developing a new habit takes time and determination. It does not happen overnight. This seems especially true with positive habits. This is why you need to be forgiving of yourself if you don’t change quickly enough according to your standards. When developing a new lifestyle plan, you will have to develop new daily habits. Be persistent and disciplined when doing so. Eventually, the changes you want will occur. Consider these steps when developing a new routine:

● Focus on one habit at a time. It is easy to try and change so many things at once. However, if you try to do too much, you will do nothing at all. Pick one habit that you want to change and remain focused on it before moving onto the next one.

● Commit to 30 days. Several research studies have determined that it takes quite a while to fully develop a new habit. Many studies indicate at least 21 days. We say, give yourself 30 days. Commit to your new habits for at least 30 days, and watch as they will become part of your routine.

● Anchor your habit to your existing lifestyle. This means incorporating your actions as much as you can into your already existing routine. For example, in the case of our detox plan, you can have a glass of water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with your morning breakfast meal.

● Plan for obstacles. Life is not perfect and unexpected obstacles will occur. Plan ways to overcome potential obstacles. We cannot predict life, but we can prepare for it as much as possible and enjoy the ride.

Accomplishing goals takes a large commitment from yourself. You deserve a reward for doing so. When you reach significant milestones in your life, be proud and reward yourself. Remember, it does not matter how small the accomplishment is, as long as it is true. Don’t reward yourself until you actually reach a milestone, otherwise, you are giving yourself a pat on the back for no reason.

To accomplish significant goals in your life, you must have the proper mindset to do so. You must believe that you can, and take the correct action steps to get where you need to be. It may be difficult to understand how impactful the right mindset can be. However, what you believe about yourself is what you become. The way you think ultimately develops the habits you create. As you go through the action plan in the next chapter, you must be disciplined and believe that you can make it happen. We believe in you.