How would you like to know the one attitude that will determine success or failure with body transformation, or practically anything in your life? Would that help you in your journey?
The great philosopher William James once found himself at a crossroads in his life, having been the least talented of his siblings, William found himself feeling like he was totally worthless. At one point, after medical school, he was working in an insane assylm and began to questioning if he had more in common with the doctors of the patients. He even found himself contemplating suicide, but before making any rash decisions he made a choice that would change his life forever, he decided to run an experiment in his life…for one year, he would act as though he had total control over his life despite, as he writes, having no evidence to support such an assertion. That year changed the course of his life and he went on to become one of the greatest philosophers of the 19th and 20th century.
This philosophy of living that James stumbled upon those many years ago is often the determining factor of success with everything, especially your capacity to burn fat and transform your body…that success will be determined by how in control you feel in your life?
IF you blame your husband or wife for your bad diet because they keep bringing home fired chicken and pizza, then you are asserting that you have no control of your life. But you do! If your workout partner bails on you, it’s easy to blame them for your lack of motivation, but you can still go to the gym…
Look, one year is a long time, so how about if for the rest of the day, just one day, we act as though we are 100% responsible for everything in our life! We act as though everything in our life is totally under our control! If someone drops a stapler on our foot, we say “Shoot, I’ll be more careful next time.” If our friend at work stabs us in the back, instead of screaming bloody murder, say “hmm…I’ll be more careful about who I choose to call friend.” If someone rear ends us in the parking lot, get their insurance information, and then say to yourself, “I will be more alert to my surroundings next time.”
I realize that this is tough, but let me tell you, feeling like the victim NEVER empowers us. This isn’t about blaming ourselves, its about claiming responsibility which simply means…Ability to Respond. No matter what happens to you, no matter who may be to blame for a circumstance, you have total control over the ability to respond…so for one day, today, claim responsibility for your entire life!