"Part 1" Self-Image: Your New Self-Image

The part of the self-concept that affects your physical condition and ability to achieve your perfect weight is called the SELF-IMAGE. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon and author of the best seller, Psycho Cybernetics, stumbled onto the discovery of self-image with his patients. Even though he had corrected physical defects and deformities with surgery, his patients often retained their old self-image and continued to see themselves as “ugly,” “scarred,” or “deformed” even though they appeared quite beautiful by society’s standards. As a result, they continued to behave as they always had; shy, retiring, lacking in confidence. This led Dr. Maltz to the conclusion that changing the physical image was not the real key to changes in personality and behavior. There was “something else.” That something else is the self-image. When the self-image is “reconstructed,” the person changes. If the self-image stays the same, the person’s behavior stays the same.

Emerson once wrote, “Of what use to make heroic vows of amendment if the same old lawbreaker is to keep them? Jesus taught that it is folly to put new wine into old bottles or a patch of new material on an old garment. People who don’t understand self-image erroneously put all their attention on changing their eating and exercise behaviors, but the problem with this physical-only approach is that it’s not addressing the SOURCE or cause of the behavior. The source of your behavior is your mental self-image. You are more than just a body. You are a body, a mind and a spirit. You will always act - and can ONLY act - like the type of person you SEE yourself to be in your mind. If you see yourself as an overweight person, you will behave like an overweight person. If you see yourself as a lean, fit and healthy person, you will behave like a lean, fit and healthy person. An overweight person usually doesn’t work out faithfully every day, so why is it any surprise that someone with an “overweight person” self-image would skip workouts? Their brain is programmed to skip workouts. Someone with an “overweight person” self-image usually doesn’t eat healthy, low fat, low sugar, low calorie meals, so why would it be surprising that they cheat on their diet and binge on junk food? After all, their brain is programmed to eat junk food. Is this starting to make sense?

To make a lasting change, you must work on the physical AND the mental planes. Of course you have to change your lifestyle, exercise and nutrition habits, but the real secret is not trying to force new behaviors, but changing the self-image, which controls the behavior. Put your energy on a new mental picture, and the new picture will create new behaviors. Best of all, the new behaviors that spring from a positive new self-image will come without as much effort or willpower because they’re hard-wired into every cell of your body. The “unseen forces” are now working for you instead of against you.

So, let’s suppose you have the self-image of an unfit or overweight person… How the heck do you change it if it’s so deeply embedded in your mind from years of conditioning?

There are four simple steps:

STEP 1: CREATE YOUR NEW SELF IMAGE

The first step is to choose your new self-image. You could say this is goal setting, but your self-image is not as much a “goal” as it is a PICTURE IN YOUR MIND. I was on a conference call with success coach Bob Proctor recently and one of the participants said her goal was to lose weight. Bob said something to her that really struck me. He said, “Have you ever noticed how people are always losing weight and gaining it back? Well, it’s because if you lose something, your subconscious mind will immediately begin looking for it. Instead, you have to release it and be at your perfect weight. And your perfect weight is a not just a goal, it’s a picture.” So what you have to do first is decide what you would really like to look like if you could have any body you wanted. See the picture in your mind. Make it clear, vivid and dynamic. Dream. Fantasize. You’ve been endowed with an amazing creative faculty called imagination. Use it - it’s the starting point of a new self-image and all lasting changes.

Many people get scared at this step and ask only for what they think they can get, not what they really want. It’s okay if this scares you a little. In fact, if your goal isn’t scary and exciting at the same time, then you’re not thinking big enough. Don’t sell yourself short. Ask for what you really WANT. Ignore anyone who tells you to “be realistic.” Take that "lid" off your mind and DREAM! Stay tuned for step two ; Create a written description of your new image...

Click here if you want to learn more about how you can achieve the body of your dreams!

The Game of Health; Here Are The RULES! Part #2

Here is Part #2 ENJOY!

Take the first step in making a change. Even if it’s a small step, it still counts towards your overall achievement. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. It couldn’t have been said any better. Take that one step; make that decision to take control of your health.

In your past you may have not been successful with a weight loss program or any type of fitness program. Well there might be a few reasons for this. One might be the lack of knowledge, or too much of it. It may have been that you didn’t stick long enough with the program. Or you were not seeing results in the first week, which is not a good enough excuse stopping any program. Some things take time to manifest, and require some more effort. The reality is that you need to look at what you did in the past and if it didn’t give you the results you were looking for don’t worry! This web site is geared towards helping you achieve your goals. I will personally help you if you have any questions through my email.

As a child you never gave up on trying to walk. If you did you would still be crawling right now. Although your parents were there too motivate you through tough times and falling times, we too need to have someone there for us. That is why setting up a buddy program increases your chances with any program! I totally suggest finding a friend or even a personal trainer that can be there for you during the low times.

You need to give a program the time it deserves so you can see changes. We have been in the business of helping people achieve their goals and we charge big bucks for that service. We have a high success rate and the only time someone didn’t achieve their goals is because they were lying to themselves. They never did any of the recommendations in this program. The thing is you need to take the action, read through this web site and learn what we have to offer. We know this stuff works we teach it every day. This is our business. We have been helping people achieve they’re goals for many years now. Today is another day; your past results don’t dictate your future. Your present choices dictate your future. What you do today will affect your results for tomorrow, that’s why you need to get the right help right away.

Now don’t get me wrong being persistent is the key and we need to be motivated to take the initial steps for action. Unfortunately motivation can only last so long, it’s perfect to get you up and doing the things you need to get started but in most cases it wears out completely. That is why reprogramming the brain for success is very important. We need to tap into the sub conscious mind and remove negative blocks that affect our results and sabotage us!

The choices we make affect us in the long run, and so do the things we see. Sometimes we have a limited view on the things we see. We need to be more aware and at the same time cautious of what comes into contact with our minds. It is so easy to get distracted from our goals when there are thousands of messages, ads, newspapers, people’s opinions, affecting our thoughts. We may be living other people’s lives without even knowing it. We may be doing what they want instead of what we want. You may have a spouse question your actions and the fact that you are trying to make a change in your life. People without intention in most cases will try to keep you down or at least at their level because they don’t want to change. So if you change that means they have to! Most people think change is too hard and the most they can do is keep you at their level. I have to admit change can be challenging and it does take time to reprogram the mind. The trick is to stick with something. You need to devote yourself to something in order to get a result. If you keep changing your mind you will almost never get a result. If at first you say yes, then you say no, you have cancelled your ideas entirely. Stick with a decision!

If your going to play the game of health, know the rules, keep score. Know your goals and if you are getting closer to them. Have fun and enjoy the process of life and your actions toward a better body, and life. You will not only look better but you will feel better too. You will gain benefit from the inside out. Many people only think of health on the outside. On what the appearance of their bodies look like, but it’s deeper than that. The most important health is from the inside, having a healthy mind and body. This will ensure a greater life and longevity. People assume their late years are going to be full of illness, aches and pains. But it doesn’t have to be. If you take care of your body it will take care of you. Your body is like a car, if you don’t take care of it, it will surely break down. And so the body is the same, although the body is capable of doing tremendous things if you let it.

You need to play the game of life, and not get played by life. You need to take control of your action and your mind. Many people do things in their lives that don’t get them any results. You don’t need to work harder, you need to work smarter, and I know we all heard that one before. The fact is that we need to have the right information, but most importantly we need to take the right action too. Knowledge is power, up to a certain degree, but applied knowledge is the be all and end all to success. We offer the knowledge on this site; the only thing missing is applying this great information. Never wish that things were easier, wish that you were better. Wish that you were more capable of doing things with greater ease. I believe that we should always be improving; if we are not improving we are dying. We either grow, or perish! Now I know this might sound a little ruff, but it’s true our body cells die and regenerate almost all the time. We truly are amazing creatures and given the right tools we can achieve anything. I know this site is devoted to health and fitness but improving our selves is exactly what health and fitness is. It’s only normal to want more. We just need to know what we want and when we get it we need to be aware of that. Stop and enjoy our accomplishments, celebrate them. The more you keep on learning, the more you grow. What do you want to grow into, who do you want to become. What is the vision you have? Are you living the life you always dreamed of or are you living a life you never wanted?

Remember to read through this web site over a few times, you may have not seen something that was there before. Have you ever watched a movie the second time and noticed something different. Well that’s exactly how this works. So go over the web site, but I suggest you apply the things you learn.

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little bit extra.”

If you want to create a better body and even a better life you need to take full ownership of your life. Take the necessary steps to change your current situation by checking out Tom Venuto's Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle eBook!

Dean Boukaras, CPT
Build the Body of Your Dreams, Online