Is Your Dream Body Painful?

When you think of your dream body what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

Do you get excited?
Do you feel happy?
Do you think of how great it feels to fuel your body with healthy foods that it now desires?
Do you anticipate each workout with great enthusiasm because you know it will take you one step closer to your goal?
Are you walking tall and proud?
Do you see how proud your friends and family are of you?
Have you attracted a new mate?
Are people complimenting you on your efforts and how absolutely fantastic you look?
…After all you look totally stunning!

Are you absolutely certain that you will achieve this goal at any cost because you know how absolutely amazing your life will be once you totally embrace this healthy active lifestyle?
Were these the thoughts that first popped in your head? Or did you think something totally different?

Did you instantly think of how hard it would be and all the work that it will take to get there?
Did you think of all the sacrifices you will have to make and all the junk foods that you will have to avoid?
Did you think of how painful it would be to eat all natural healthy foods that you consider bland and boring?
Did you think of all the previous times that you attempted to get there and didn’t quite make it?

Which of the above scenarios did you go through?

Unfortunately too many people associate getting in great shape with sacrifice and pain. You think it’s painful because of the hard work as well as the pain of failing to reach your goal.

Is this you? If it is, then today you’ve got to commit to change.

Tony Robbins, who I admire in so many ways, often mentions that in everything we do, we are either doing it to gain pleasure or to avoid pain. My fitness mentor and role model Tom Venuto puts his own twist on this principle and calls it “Rewards and Consequences”.

What I see way too many times when people talk about junk food or alcohol is that they associate great pleasure with it. Half the time they’re drooling at the mouth just talking about it.
Is this you? Have you gone through this?

The instant you stop eating the junk or drinking the alcohol, after the temporary satisfaction has worn off, do you begin to feel guilt? Do you beat yourself up and begin to think about how fat you are and what you are doing to your health? Do you vow to never do it again?

The problem is, even if you vow to never do it again you still associate pleasure with that junk food. If you would just think of all these terrible things about what the junk is doing to your body before you put it in your mouth, it would be much more difficult to eat it.

But you can’t just stop there. You’ve got to start thinking of the healthy all natural foods as something pleasurable. Think of all the good things that it is doing for your body. How much your energy levels will increase. How much your body fat percentage will drop.

I once thought oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and vegetables were bland, boring foods that I couldn’t imagine eating. I remember those first few times that I ate them. I didn’t enjoy it at all. But then I began to think of why I was eating them. What the outcome was going to be.

After the first day I immediately noticed how great I felt. I didn’t enjoy the foods too much, but I was certainly enjoying the increased energy and I knew these foods had a purpose. They were stepping stones to my dream body.

Then a funny thing happened. I couldn’t go a day without eating this stuff. Not only was my body craving it for what it was doing for me, but my mind was too. I was now associating pleasure with healthy all natural foods.

I still enjoy chocolate. But I’m not a slave to it. I enjoy the temporary satisfaction, but it’s not the same as it once was. My body sort of rejects it. Much like it would reject fast food if I had to consume it.

Today, I eat healthy foods and exercise frequently because I enjoy it. I know it’s a lot of work, and I know that I’m going to push my body hard and feel some pain (not injury pain, but hard working and burning pain).

I anticipate this. Some days it’s more difficult than others, but I remind myself of why I am doing it. It has a purpose. It is part of my journey and I take it all in.

You are not eating healthy foods and working out just because you want to look good. That’s just part of the experience. The benefits and pleasures are far greater than that, and maybe even greater than you are capable of imagining right now.

The consequences of continuing to live an unhealthy lifestyle where you are a slave to unhealthy foods and you skip the gym to watch your favorite television program are way too great for you not to make a change at this very moment.

You have the power within you. You can take your life and transform it into what you desire. You just have to want it bad enough! I believe your dream body is right there in front of you just waiting for you to reach out for it and embrace it.

Make yourself proud. Show me what you are capable of. It’s much more than you have previously thought. But now you know that you are unstoppable and are destined for greatness.
Don’t wait another minute. Start NOW!