Change Your Mind To Reach Your Goals

By Chelsi Rodrigues

If you're working towards making body transformation changes or improving your health and well-being, it is also important to work on changing your mindset. People who want to change their health and bodies usually only focus on the physical ways of doing so. I bet you have done it yourself. If you're new to fitness, or you are already along on your journey, I bet you started by exercising regularly and trying to eat healthy foods. But have you ever considered your mindset? Typically, this is what it looks like: individual joins gym, exercises 3-5 times a week, eats healthy 70-90% of the time, and repeats this weekly. We keep up with this for a few months and, even if small or big changes have been made, we still feel crappy about ourselves. When we are not at the gym, we are thinking that we should be there, when we are not eating healthy, we feel guilty, and when we are not doing anything, we feel anxious and our insecurities take up all the space in our minds. Maybe some of your thoughts sound like this: “I am working so hard for nothing,” or “I don't have what it takes, I am useless.” There are many things you’re probably telling yourself that are holding you back more than any lack of healthy food or exercise will.

Anytime I have a client join my program, I ensure that they are committed to doing the hard work to reach their goals. What is the hard work? It’s the internal work to re-program their brain and develop strong emotional and mental health. This is key for long-term success and lasting results. It is hard, uncomfortable, and very emotional work to do, but motivation only takes us so far and it is easily diminished. Once we begin to re-program our thoughts and fall in love with ourselves, the physical work is easy and the progress is endless.

Create A Vision Board

A vision board is an excellent tool to use for inspiration, motivation, and to truly understand where you want to take your journey. When making your vision board, be sure to meditate before starting so that you have a chance to clear your mind and connect within to find what is really important to you on your journey. You can make your vision board by cutting photos out of magazines or printing photos from Google and gluing them onto a canvas. Your photos, quotes, and messages should all be a reflection of your goals over the course of 3 to 6 months. Once finished, place your vision board in a spot in your home where you will see it daily. This is your reminder of your why and it will help keep you motivated.

Meditation

Meditation is a key practice in shifting your mindset and re-programming limiting beliefs. Maybe you have tried meditation before and learned that you cannot sit still or in silence for over 5 minutes. That is okay! Meditation does not have to be long and it does not have to be silent either. The idea of meditation is that you do not attach yourself to any of your passing thoughts, just let them come and go. Analyze them but do not become them. If this form of meditation is still challenging for you, I recommend trying sound healing meditation. Put on some headphones and YouTube bi-neural beats or meditation music.

Start A Journal

Journaling is huge for long term success. This is the first practice I get all of my clients to start, as it is something most of us have experience with. My journal recommendations are to write statements of affirmation or gratitude. For affirmations, write about things that you like about yourself, such as physical attributes or personality traits, your environment, people you admire in your life, or anything else you are appreciative of. If you have a hard time with this, or you want to dig deeper into your affirmations, use your limiting beliefs or negative self-talk. Find the opposite of these negative things you tell yourself and write the positive opposite of it as your affirmation to manifest this new feeling and/or experience. Start your day with these affirmations so that you raise your energy for the rest of that day.

Gratitude journaling, on the other hand, should be done at night before bed. Reflect on things you are grateful for or positive things that happened throughout your day that you want to bring awareness to. This can be as simple as getting a fresh cup of coffee or as specific as having a loving family that supports and loves you. By writing these types of things in your journal, you will start to notice all of the positive and good things in your life, instead of constantly focusing on the negative.

These tools, along with your workout regimen and healthy diet, will keep you on track and create a new, healthy Lifestyle that will last long-term. Cultivating a positive mindset and strong mental focus will make you feel good as you continue your journey and make it much easier to stay committed.

Healthy, happy living!

Yours truly,

Chelsi Rodrigues (Personal Trainer, Holistic Health Coach, PN1)