Episode Transcript
Are you on your own ‘to do’ list?
Let’s say you decide you want to sculpt your arms. And you make
a plan, and get everything you need to do all lined up. You’re
ready. But somehow, even though you really want to do this, the
everyday challenges of life come up and you simply forget to
focus on what you want most.
Does that sound like something that happens to you? It’s more
common than you think.
Today, I’m going to coach you and teach you how to avoid this
pitfall. I’m going to show you how to keep your sculpted arm
project the ultimate priority, so you can get it done.
Hi, everybody, and welcome to The Arm Coach podcast, episode
#32.
Hi everyone! Welcome back!
Today we're going to talk about how to make sure your sculpted
arm project is a true priority in your life. In one of the very early
episodes, we talked about Project YOU. How to look at the
whole idea of sculpting your arms as a project. It really, really
helps. So, I know how much you want to lose your extra fat and
flab on your arms, and as I say, more importantly, to not just lose
that fat and flab, but to really lose the whole problem. You don't
just want to lose the fat and flab and then be worried about it for
the rest of your days. You want to lose the whole problem. That's
why we're working on this problem from the inside out. From the
cause of your eating and skipped workouts that gives you that
extra fat and flab, to the solution centered around how to think
differently, so you can shed that fat and flab. Today I'm going to
show you how to make this sculpted arm project a true priority,
so you can be the master of your life.
Now, first let's take a look at where you are right now. If you're
anything like my private clients are when I first meet them, you
might be struggling. That's natural. You search, and search the
internet, the bookstore. You search the latest issue of People
magazine. You research what's new, what's working for the
Hollywood crowd. What your best friend is doing. And then you
choose some program and you make a plan. And in the
beginning, guess what? The plan works. You're excited. And you
should be. You're having success, you're taking small steps
forward. And while you are, there’s a small nagging voice inside
you that wonders how long the success will last. And rightly so.
You're in the honeymoon stage of your program. You're intensely
committed and motivated. And yet, you have no evidence that
this will truly work for you, because let's face it, you've never
been successful before. At least not in a lasting way, right? So
you're in that honeymoon stage and then BOOM, life happens.
You have issues with your job or your spouse or your kids.
Money’s short this month because of that unexpected expense
and suddenly your emotions take over. And just like that, you're
off your plan and beating yourself up for once again, not being
able to get there, to truly lose all that arm fat, and change the
way you think and feel and eat. MAN. Now you feel worse than
before. Worse than before you tried. Because each attempt into
the world of scuplted arms, and failing, opens a wound in you
that's hard to heal. So, what I want you to do is, let's together do
things differently this time. Let's leave all those past failures
behind. And let's learn from your mistakes, so you're not doomed
to keep repeating them.
So first, let's take a look at your plan. Your plan has to be more
than sculpting your arms. You need to have a plan for your plan. I
don't want to confuse you or make this complicated. But when
you've made commitments before, and have chosen plans to
follow before, you haven't been successful, right? So we need to
approach this differently. Whatever plan you choose to sculpt
your arms any differently, you also need to approach it differently
this time. And what I mean by that, is you need to create
something that will fit your life. Something that you're truly
capable of following. And learn how to motivate yourself all the
way through this project. And you might also have to put this
sculpted arm project on the front burner of your life. No plan, no
program, no matter what type or how good it will be, it won't
work if you don't learn how to manage yourself, and manage
your project, and stay motivated. So let's dive in and talk about
how to make this happen. How to make your sculpted arm
project the most important project for you right now. Because if
you can make your plan a major priority in your daily life, then
you will finally get where you want to be. And you will see the
results you wish for.
So let's talk about the first step in how to make your sculpted
arm project the big priority in your life right now. So first, know
your goal. I know you think your goal is that muscle and definition
you'd like to see in the mirror, right? But that isn't your goal,
because we can't jump from what you see now to something
else without a lot of steps in between. Your goal is to think
differently, to feel differently, and then to act differently. When you
see someone in your life who's naturally fit and doesn't seem to
diet or stress about their workouts or the weight, I know it's
natural to think, I just want to be as fit as him or her. They don't
seem to struggle, and you don't want to either. But wishing for
their arms, or the ease that they have with their workouts, or their
eating, leaves out what they do to get to, and maintain their arms
without a struggle. And that's how they think and how they feel.
That's what allows them to eat the way they do and lift the
weights they way they do. And that is what you want to emulate.
Your first big question is ‘how does she think to eat that way and
lift consistently’. What might she feel to eat the way she eats and
lift consistently? Not ‘what does she eat’ or ‘what exercises does
she do’. And that's what your first goal is. To clean up your
thinking, so you can take the actions you want to take. Imagine
your end game. And don't just picture how you want your day to
be, and how you want to look. I know that's a part of it, but really
try to imagine how you would think and feel, living naturally toned
and sculpted. Now oftentimes to imagine that, you're going to
uncover some thoughts that hold you back. Those simple,
innocent thoughts, that are in direct opposition of what you want.
So you need to uncover those thoughts and challenge them.
Because that's part of what's holding you back. Know that
whatever you think on a daily basis is the foundation for what you
do and what you create. So if you want to create something
different, then you need to uncover those thoughts that hold you
back, and question them. You can't continue to think, ‘I’ll never
do this” and make a plan, and move ahead. It won't work. You
need to eliminate those types of thoughts and replace them with
others that are true and believable. Even if that New Thought is
just ‘I’m working on it”. So the first way of making your sculpted
arm project the major priority is to do some writing about what
you want and why. And then, don't just put it away! No. We're
programming your brain to think differently. So you can't just
have intellectual understanding of something. You need to repeat
it. To focus on it, and to practice it over and over. Really know
your goal clearly and deeply, and study it, as if it were a course
you were taking and there was going to be a test. I want you to
look at that goal daily. Alright, enough said.
Now, let's talk about the second way to make your sculpted arm
project the big priority in your life right now, and that is to focus
on what you do, and on how you think, instead of on your arms.
Once you know what you're working toward ,and you know what
thoughts may be holding you back, then I want you to switch
back from the goal to the steps that you need to take to get
there. Sculpted arms take time. It takes time for the exercises
and food and the amounts you eat, that are different than what
you're been doing, to show up on your body. You need to do
them over and over again. So if you judge your success by
whether the image in the mirror is getting closer to your wish,
then it's pretty likely you're going to lose your motivation.
Because we can't control how fast you get there. So after you
decide what your goal is, and after you study the how part of the
thinking and feeling that will get you there, now it's time to shift
your focus back to the daily doing. The actions, the eating, and
the weight lifting, and the selfcare, that will get you there. So,
defocus on the reflection in the mirror for now, and refocus on the
process. Part of making your project the major priority for now,
we'll be looking at how you're doing it, not yet what your result is.
Once you set your big picture goal and you study it daily, then
you're going to place your daily focus on the steps themselves,
not on the refection in the mirror, or the photograph of yourself.
Those will only remind you of how far you have to go. And that
could very easily be demotivating. So keep your eye on the day
to day steps you want to make into habits.
The third way you're going to make your own sculpted arm
project the priority, is to create a daily plan. Is this a lot of work?
Well some of my clients think it is. And many think planning
actually makes life easier. I belong to the group that thinks
planning ahead, makes the daily priority easier. When you plan
what you want and how you will do things, well, it takes the
decisions in the moment out of the picture. So instead of being
influenced by your mood, or your surroundings, or who you're
with, you'll be influenced by what you've already decided, in a
peaceful moment. What do I mean by a plan? Well you take a
look at your week. I like planning week by week, not day by day,
Day by day doesn't give you enough time to respond to what you
need to do, and prepare for yourself. But if you look at your
whole week, you can see what's coming. What are your
challenges? Are there any obstacles on the horizon? Any life
stressors coming up? These need to be planned for. It sounds so
good to some of us to be free and creative and flowing with
whatever comes up, and to deal with things in the moments. I get
that. But in reality, we only have so much energy each day. And if
we don't plan, then we're in constant reaction mode. Fighting
back against whatever hand life deals us that day. We struggle in
the moment. And planning ahead and looking ahead, take the
reaction out of the equation. Then we get to decide, really
consciously and effectively, what we want. What we want to do
and why. This feels so much better than living by the seat of your
pants. You may be saying, ‘I'm just not a planner’, but I will say,
in almost every client I work with, not planning, does not work. So
please consider trying it. Step out of your comfort zone. Plan a
week. Look at what's coming up. Decide ahead of time, how will
you deal with it? Planning is something you do that's totally for
you, not against you. And if you do it on the weekend, looking
ahead at your week, you'll have more energy left to deal with
each day, because you won't be dodging bullets, reacting in
each moment.
So after you've agreed, I hope, to give planning a try, to help
make your sculpted arm project the priority, now I'd like to take
you to step four, and that is prepping. Yes, I want you to do
things ahead of the week to help yourself stay on course. And
that might mean scheduling your workouts and shopping for
what you need for the week. Planning some meals ahead of time.
And prepping like cleaning and cutting vegetables, washing
berries, making some grabbable food on the weekend, like
chicken breasts or a crock pot of pulled pork for salads or hard
boiled eggs or turkey burgers. Now, I know, I know, you may not
want to do this on the weekend before your busy week begins.
But during your busy week, you will keep sabotaging yourself
and falling off your plan, because you're too heavily scheduled.
Or too tired to think about when to workout, what to eat, and
where to get it, until the last moment. Almost every single thing
we do in life, that's important to us, requires some effort. And the
more effort you put into prepping ahead of time, the more you
can relax, and be present, during the time of doing, during the
week. You don't want this to feel like a struggle, because that's
another reason why you may continually fall off your plan. You've
planned, but you didn't execute. No shopping. No food prep.
Nothing happening until the last minute when you're starving,
and you grab whatever's around, even if it takes you back to
falling down, off your plan. So I want you to try to wrap your brain
around the concept of prepping.
Now last, the fifth way to make your sculpted arm project a
priority that will actually happen, is to access your motivation
daily. Now, your motivation is personal. It's an individual thing for
everyone. We may all want to be toned and healthy for common
reasons, right? But it's your very specific, particular reason, that
counts for you. And that is what will pull you forward as the week
goes on. All types of things will come up daily, that are going to
compete for your time, your energy, and your focus. So you need
to know ahead of time, right now, why you want to do this, in
detail. What is your big why? You need that constant reminder to
keep your eye on the prize. The prize that is specific to you and
your life. That is what will allow you to stick to your plans, day
after day, until you get where you want to go.
So let's review for a second. Here are the five ways we talked
about to help make your sculpted arm project a priority. Number
one. Know your goal and study it daily. Know, not just what you
will do, but what you need to think and feel to get yourself to do
it. And study it daily. Pretend that you're in college. Number two,
focus on the daily process, not on the ‘end result’ you want to
reach. If you stay focused, and then you take your steps, that
end result, it will come. But if it comes slowly, you'll be in danger
of stopping altogether if you make it your main focus. And we
have no control over how fast it comes. Number three, look at
your upcoming week and plan. What will you do? How will you
deal with whatever you have scheduled? And we didn't talk
about this a lot, but what's your plan B for when things don't go
as planned? Number four, prepare. Do whatever prep is needed.
That is what makes your plan doable. It may be laying out cute
workout clothes. It may be food. It may be blocking out some fun
time, some self care time, some rewards. It may be getting a
partner lined up for a workout. Whatever it is, prep for the week
to come ahead of time. And number five, last, keep your eye on
the prize. Journal about your desires. Keep your goal on that
front burner of your mind, where it belongs. And if you're saying
to yourself right now, ‘I don't have time’, if you do not have five
minutes to focus on yourself, to help you get what you really
want in life, then something is wrong with that picture. That you
need to think about. Five minutes. You can do this.
I know that it can be so discouraging to keep deciding you want
to work on project you, and then keep stumbling, and falling, and
here's the worst part, staying down. You don't have to keep
doing that. Doing something new, no matter how you look at it,
requires an investment of time from you, for you. And this is how
to make that investment, and stay focused, and make it a priority.
Remember my favorite saying. And that is, if anyone can do this,
you can.
