| |
You Snooze You Lose: Use Your Subconscious To Get You Out Of Bed And To The Gym
By Dr. Tom Kersting
Imagine the alarm clock next to your bed. I want you to picture it clearly in your mind now. What color is it? Are the numbers red or green? Are they small or are they big? Now, imagine the sound it makes. You can hear that sound 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 isn't pleasant, 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 get up and exercise 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 of 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 getting up and exercising. 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 images you want, but feel them baby, feel them.
3. Finally, imagine the sound your alarm makes 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 we do is mind over matter. Soon, getting-up and fitting-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.
About the Author
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 copy of his Power Programming Weight-Loss CD and a special free offer. http://www.fatproof.net/.
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/28252.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/28252.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| Some other articles by Dr. Tom Kersting | Lose Weight Subconsciously
Sitting on your shoulders is a loaded gun. A weapon. A part of your mind that is itching for you to grab its triggers and start gunning down cravings, bad eating habits and stress. ...
What Exactly Is An Exerciser? The Big "C" Word
I exercise! I run! I lift weights! We've all heard these expressions before. But just what is "an exerciser", " a weight lifter" or "a runner"? Is "an exerciser" someone ...
The easy 1-2-3 Quick Workout
Think you have to kill yourself at the gym to get in shape? Too many people believe that when starting a workout regimen, that they'll to have ...
Health Woes In America
The improvement in the overall health of Americans is decreasing. While the 1990's saw a 1.5% increase per year in overall health, the 2000's have yielded an increase of just ...
What Happened to Good Old Fashioned Hard Work
I've always been a fan of hard work. Hard work has helped me achieve many things in my life, and there is no greater satisfaction than achieving a goal that was challenging. A feeling that ...
Cereal For Dinner: Is that "Normal"
What's for dinner tonight? I bet it's not Raisin Bran or Grape Nuts, but why not? Research shows that whole-grain cereal is an excellent source of vitamins and fiber, and is low in calories ...
|
|
| |
|
