Imagine
your alarm clock next to your bed. I want you
to picture it clearly in your mind. What color
is it? Are the numbers red or green? Are they
small or big? Now, imagine the sound it makes.
You can hear it clearly in your mind right now,
can't you? Does that buzz or beep make you cringe?
Is it soft, loud or does it make your heart
feel like it's going to jump out of your chest?
Whatever your alarm clock does, I'm sure of
one thing: it is one of the worst sounds in
the world, because when you're snuggled warmly
under your covers and that piercing sound sends
shivers down your back, the most tempting thing
to do is to hit snooze and roll back over under
the covers. So there's definitely nothing exciting
about your alarm clock, unless of course you're
a child on Christmas morning or you're a golfer
with a 7:00 A.M tee-time at Pebble Beach.
How
about this: does your alarm give you a kick-start,
encouraging you to get out of bed and exercise?
My guess would be no, nothing of the sorts.
I bet the snooze button is practically worn
off the surface. But what if I told you that
you could train your mind to get you excited
to go to the gym or go for a run when you hear
that "bone-chilling" buzz or beep?
Would you believe me? Read on.
When people come to my office for weight-loss,
the number one excuse that I hear for not exercising
is that there's just not enough time. And when
I say, "how about getting-up a half hour
or forty five minutes earlier in the morning
and doing it then," most of my clients
cringe. But I can tell you this; I have helped
countless people to do just that, including
myself. It's all relative; whatever your mind
believes, it will produce, and when it associates
exercising at 6:00 A.M with being tied to a
whipping post, it's not likely that you're going
to get out of bed and do it. But this is changeable.
You just have to change the way your mind thinks.
Power
Programming is a system I created that will
teach you how to associate excitement and determination
with waking-up and getting your workout in then.
It's pretty simple in fact. All you have to
do is train your mind, but most of us don't
really know how to do this. The techniques are
pretty simple in fact. Here's how it works:
1.
The first step is to dedicate 15 or 20 minutes
of your time, several times a week. Go find
a comfortable place with no distractions. Close
your eyes and begin breathing deeply and let
your mind drift into a comfortable, relaxed
place for a little while. Anytime you do this,
you are opening your subconscious reservoir,
and this is the part of your mind that is easily
programmable. This is how you change the way
you react to your thoughts.
2.
Once you've reached a relaxed state, the next
step is to use some simple imagery. First see
an image of yourself, exactly how you want to
look and feel. Make the image vivid and get
excited about it. Make it your goal. Next, imagine
yourself feeling more motivated than you've
ever felt before. See and feel yourself walking
or running briskly on your treadmill. See and
feel yourself pumping iron at the gym and feeling
good about it. Create whatever you want, but
feel it baby, feel it.
3.
Finally, imagine the sound of your alarm and
say to yourself over and over again in your
mind, "from now on the very first thing
I think as soon as I hear that alarm go off
is leaping out of bed and exercising."
Surprisingly, you're going to see that this
indeed will be the first thing running through
your mind when you hear that alarm. And instantly,
all of those positive feeling and images you
created earlier are going to emerge. You will
actually feel motivated to get out of bed and
after you do it for a couple of weeks you're
going to start feeling excited about it. I know
it sounds too good to be true, maybe even a
bit quirky, but I'm telling you it works. Everything
is mind over matter. Soon, getting-up and getting-in
your workout in the morning will just be another
part of your day, much like brushing your teeth
or taking a shower. You just have to dedicate
the 15 or 20 minutes of mental work to make
it happen.
If
exercising in the morning is something you long
for, or, if you are in a little bit of a rut
with your workout routine, training your mind
should be the first thing you do. Soon you will
see that the agonizing sound of your alarm clock
isn't so agonizing after all. It's all in your
head and once you learn how to change what goes
on up there, anything is possible.
Thomas J. Kersting, LPC, Ph.D is the author
of FAT PROOF:
Power Programming Your Bodies Weight-Loss Computer
(Harbor
Press, coming in Winter 2006). Dr. Tom has helped
countless
people to lose weight with his methods. Please
visit his
website to receive a free copy of his Power
Programming
Weight-Loss CD.
http://www.fatproof.net/
