I am naturally a pretty positive and upbeat person, but don’t buy into the whole positive thinking movement. The way I look at achieving goals like getting in great shape or building a successful business is that it is positive actions that matter most.
Simply do the actions necessary to reaching your goals, and forget how you feel. What I found is that the proper actions always lead me to feeling better anyway. My advice about getting in shape is that sometimes you will feel like exercising and sometimes you won’t. Make sure and exercise either way!
[Thinking about getting fit and doing what it takes to get fit are two very different things. It is great to learn and to discuss fitness, but make sure you become a person of action as well. You need to take consistent action to get great results.]
I Like to Keep it Simple – Do the Actions it Takes to Succeed
Want to lose weight, then eat less than you burn. Learn some advanced strategies, like outlined on this site, to accelerate your progress. Once you learn the proper steps, simply begin “doing” them (not great English…I know). Regardless of your mood, do what it takes to reach your target. Don’t over-analyze, start moving toward your goals and learn as you go.
Often it is Your Mind That Will Follow Your Body
There are many times that I don’t feel like working out, until I begin to workout. It is funny how it works. How can you “feel” like exercising by exercising.
I am convinced that your mind will follow what your body is doing. It isn’t true 100% of the time, but more often than not…it is the case. I’m sure many of you have experienced this as well.
What If You Really Don’t Feel Like Exercising?
Here is how I push myself to complete any action even if I don’t “feel” like doing that particular action.
- I ask myself what most people would do given the exact same circumstance.
- The answer is that most people would simply allow themselves to be talked into doing nothing due to their mood.
- I remind myself that in order to be extraordinary at anything I need to do what others are unwilling to do
To me, this is just using logic. I realize that the difference between success and failure is almost always lack of “positive action”. Obviously the correct actions need to be taken, but that isn’t the main reason why people fail…lack of action is.
What Will Make It Easier for You To Take Positive Action?
To me, you need to find ways to make sure you take positive action. This post isn’t against positive thinking. In fact, if that causes you to take positive action…I’m all for it.
Find out what works for you. Some people work well if they reward themselves for positive action…others work better on punishment if they don’t do something. I remember reading somewhere about a person who said they would eat a can of cat food if they cheated on their diet.
The bottom line is to figure out what it takes for you to take positive action on a consistent basis.
Three Action-Oriented Blogs I Think You Should Subscribe To
Zen Habits: Leo, the author of this site reads Fitness Black Book…but it isn’t why I am listing his site here. He has achieved a ton of accomplishments in a short period of time and outlines his way of thinking which made it easy for him to do so. Read My Story (a bit about Leo), to see what I mean! I love learning from do-er’s! Very entertaining writing as well.
Steve Pavlina’s – Personal Development For Smart People: Another site dedicated to achieving goals without getting super “spacey”. Okay he does get a little mystical at times, but most of the time it is just solid info to motivate you to take action. What I like best is that he has recorded an amazing amount of content. Click “Audio” underneath the header graphic at the top of the site to see what I mean.
The Positivity Blog: Henrik Edberg and The Positivity Blog is one of the sites that I modeled my blog after. He writes entertaining posts, tells stories and really puts himself out-there. His blog is a “best of” when it comes to achieving goals and happiness. I enjoy how his posts are entertaining and to the point. I make it a point to visit a few times per week.
Happiness – What Does it Mean to Live a Happy Life: This is just one of the best articles I’ve read on the subject of happiness. Really, the reason we try and hit goals in the first place is to increase our happiness, right?
Note: As always…let’s continue this conversation in the comment section.
I’m really excited by all of the action this site has recently received. What motivates you to take action? What has been a sticking point?
“Positive Action” Gets Results – Not Positive Thinking” i think its a combination of both. if you only think and not act, you gain no profit. if you act without thinking you will lose yourself.
Many of my personal training clients feel somewhat afraid to actually reach their goals. That this will give them one less excuse in life to accomplish other things. Thinking positively and developing a positive, energetic attitude can help!
Wow, great article. It even inspired me to work out today! Thanks!
I agree; exercise needs to be consistent in order to see results.
We encourage our clients to have an action plan, and to set small goals to help them obtain their big goals. Positive thinking helps them in the process.
I believe that positive thinking can lead to positive acting. They tend to feed off of each other.
Positive thinking is useful but doesn’t get you the results that you expect! Action does! and it’s better if it is positive action 🙂
Great comments! We’re all trying to make a difference here, we all share the same burdens in so many ways. Let’s work together to get moving and raise the bar on our country’s health!
LouAnn Good
louanngood@fitnesstogether.com
I totally agree with this blog post and the title. A vast majority of people forget that thinking positive and not taking action does not get them the results that they’d want.
Hey Rusty!
I have to say, I just love your site! This article in particular really hits home! I suffered from depression for many years. It’s almost impossible to motivate yourself physically, mentally or any way when your emotional health is in the toilet! So, a few months ago, I quit taking my anti-depressants and started taking care of my mind, body, and spirt.
One treatment I highly recommend and use is Emotional Freedom Technique or (EFT). It works for everything from overcoming addictions such as overeating to setting positive goals. You wouldn’t think this simple 5 minute practice could have such a powerful impact on your negative thought patterns but it does, and it works!
No matter how commited you are to eating a balanced diet, exercising, and living a healthy lifestyle, you will not achieve your body’s maxiumum healing if your emotional barriers are blocked!
Rusty, have you ever heard of ‘The Law of Attraction’ though? ie the more you concentrate on your goal and vividly imagine and FEEL like you’ve ALREADY attained it, the sooner you will attain it.. I think theres alot to be said for how thought processes mould everyday life too…
“Every time you slack off, it becomes a little bit easier to slack off the next time, and every day you work hard, it becomes that much harder to walk away.”
SO TRUE MAN!!!
Terriffic post, I am a huge believer in mind over matter as well when it comes to working out. “Shut up and get it done” is the motto of any successful sports team because it gets results.
I always think of the work ethic my old football coach instilled into his athletes: “Every time you slack off, it becomes a little bit easier to slack off the next time, and every day you work hard, it becomes that much harder to walk away.”
Hey man, awesome site and congrats on your success.
While im not bodybuilder-like bulky, i still have some excess muscle do to my small height and it makes me look pretty bulky, im pretty much tired of it and clothes not fitting, etc. At the same time I would like to lose fat.
I read the “lose muscle mass on purpose” post and have a couple of questions, since i also want to lose fat:
should I start with marathon cardio and when I reach my target weight then use hiit? or should I use hiit to get lean first and then start doing marathon cardio?
Would hiit create a “pump” in the thighs? (where i want to lose the most muscle)
is there anyway to use hiit as a burner for both Fat and muscle?
sorry if some of these don’t make sense, my english ain’t that good