Do you have a Strong Mind?

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To continue with my inspirational posts, I want to talk about mental toughness. I believe this to be an epidemic in today’s society. That is, the lack of mental toughness; a weak mind is a weak body. No wonder people are in terrible health, and it is such a big political issue. I think the first step is to do some soul searching and find out what you want, what your goals are, etc. I want to share with you some wisdom I have picked up along my travels though life, which says…

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.

Watch your words, for they become actions.

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it comes your destiny (legacy).

Misguided thoughts lead you down a dangerous path. This is why it is so important to surround yourself with people who have the same vision of success as you do. And YOU are in complete control of who you associate with. Think about how you want to be remembered, or what legacy you want to leave behind. How will people remember you? Once you have that, backtrack and ask yourself are you living your life now that supports your beliefs? Do your habits, actions, and words all lead you toward that goal? If not, change them and make sure things match up. In other words, your perception is reality, you are what you do, you are what you eat, you are who your friends are. That is the lens through which others see you. So take a good look at your friends, your job, your hobbies, your thoughts and see if that coincides with who you really are.

Change your ATTITUDE!

One of my favorite people to listen to and read is Elliott Hulse. I don’t agree with everything he says or does, but I love his attitude, and the principals he follows. I love brutal honesty, because there is no fluff, there is nothing but truth. Well Elliott does not sugar coat anything, and sometimes people just need a kick in the butt of some truth! He talks about how most successful people usually have success in any realm they take part in. Whether that is their job, family, weight lifting, business, music, etc. They will get more gains in the gym in 6 months then you have in 2 years. They know the value of hard work, but also the value of introspection, and can listen to their body. They know you can’t go hard all the time, and they know how to recovery and when to stop. There is no BEST program, but hard work trumps the errors in programming. You can have the best program from the top fitness trainer specifically tailored to your needs, but will get poor results if you do not work your butt and put yourself out of your comfort zone. It is human nature to seek comfort and avoid pain, and it is that attitude that the majority of people have. Change that attitude and change your life. Remember, attitude is a thought process and thoughts turn into words, actions, etc.

Try to FOCUS!

Another person I want to mention is Steve Siebold. He is a professional speaker and lectures to fortune 500 companies about mental toughness training. He says, “Learning to control and manipulate your emotions is what mental toughness training is all about.” What separates top executives from everyday people like you and me? He says it has NOTHING to do with IQ, education, genetics, etc. It is the way you think! Everyone and anyone is born with the ability and capacity to think the way champions and top CEO’s do. We just don’t know it, and don’t train that ability. This is the ability to FOCUS. Most of our mental energy is dispersed throughout the day, bouncing around like a pin ball from things like groceries, bills, when the kids need to be picked up, friends, work, etc.  We live in the information age where we are bombarded with images, ads, etc. Imagine if you came home from a day like that and your house was on fire with your kids/dog/loved one trapped inside. You run up to the Police and Firemen and they say you cannot go inside. In a matter of seconds your mind went from scatter brain, to 100 % focused on ONE thing… your kids/dog/loved one. You would think, “to hell with the fire chief, I am doing to do whatever it takes to save them.” That is the kind of focus Steve talks about. We all know how to do it, just not in the context of everyday life. We are constantly being bombarded with information overload from tv, media, iphone, facebook, media, etc, that demands our attention. We have lost the ability to develop laser FOCUS.  Train this ability with mediation, breathing exercises, balance, etc.  If you don’t use it  you lose it, which holds some truth, so train  your mind everyday to FOCUS, OVERCOME and SUCCEED.