Positive Thinking, Positive Habits and Positive Change

Seeing the Giants, a wild card team, win the Super Bowl is a perfect example of the power of positive thinking as they denied the New England Patriots the chance to complete a perfect season. As Eli Manning said, “There’s something about this team. The way we win games, and performed in the playoffs in the stretch. We had total confidence in ourselves. The players believed in each other.”

Seeing Kevin Everett, who on September 9th, 2007 lay on the 20 yard line unable to move and who was subsequently told that he would probably be a quadriplegic, walking and hearing him in his interviews is more proof of the extraordinary power of positive thinking, and in his case, the power of prayer. His belief system kept him going and as he said about his rehab, he put in “five hours of rehab every day to learn how to make his muscles respond to his thoughts”. Positive thinking and positive habits can yield positive change in your life, too. Perhaps not in the miraculous way that Kevin changed his life, but rather in a way that will be equally miraculous to you.

In an article in the New York Times on October 4, 2007, Sarah Tuff describes how Matt Fitzgerald in his new book, Brain Training for Runners has taken Dr. Timothy Noakes “central governor model” to the next level and uses it extensively with the runners that he coaches. If we can tap into it, the central governor concept could be used by all of us to create and control positive thoughts and positive actions.

In his book, Change Your Heart, Change Your Life, Dr. Gary Smalley tells us that what you think all day is what you will believe. If can fill your day with positive thoughts, then, those thoughts will become what you believe. Those positive thoughts will lead to positive habits and then to positive change.

The Day After The Super Bowl

Carl Daikeler has an interesting theory, presented here, that people are now waiting until after the Super Bowl to start their resolutions, given the drop in people actually starting their resolutions on New Year’s Day. Let’s see what the CEO has to say:

Running a weight loss and fitness company for almost ten years now, you get to see trends. One thing the industry generally takes for granted is that New Year’s is the day people kick off their new diets, and focus on losing the weight they’ve gained since Halloween launched the “60 day season of consumption”.

Year after year, though, I have seen a reduction in that spike of demand on Jan 1st. In fact, I believe this year we will see clear indication that there is a new official start date for the diet season; Monday, Feb 4th… the day after the Super Bowl.

In my house, consumption on Super Bowl Sunday can be as fabulously obscene as Thanksgiving. In terms of the saturated fat, sugar (from soda and alcohol) and the sheer duration of the media marathon, I would argue that throughout the country, the four hour event can be the largest day of consuming empty calories of the year. Americans double their average daily snack food consumption on Super Bowl Sunday, according to the Snack Food Association. 7-Eleven claims a 20% increase in sales of antacid the day after the Super Bowl.

Which is why many people now don’t get serious about losing the winter weight until the day after the big game.

That’s not bad news - it’s just our current reality. So, it’s an opportunity to get ready to do things right this year, with that reality in mind.

You now have 30 days to prepare, and then join us for what we have dubbed: February 4th - National “Before” Day!

February 4th - Carl Daikeler Invites You to National “Before Day”

It is named as such because, this year, that Monday is about starting your weight loss cycle the right way - with the kind of accountability that we know leads to real success. The “Before photo” gives you instant accountability. (If you want to drive to a new destination, the directions you get depend on where you start. You can’t get THERE, until you know where HERE is. That’s why the before photo and measurements are so important. Please trust me on this!)

It will be easy to blow off any weight loss program, unless you have a photo of yourself in a swimsuit to show you your reality. Until you know what your waistline measurement is (measuring it two or three times, because you just can’t believe the number) you won’t truly be motivated to stay with the program. This is when you realize, your jeans actually haven’t been shrinking, you have been expanding into them.

Then the goal is simple: Commit to exercise at least 20 times in 30 days, and control your portions, and you will see results in your photo and measurements when you retake them around March 6th (Day 30!).

You can even add a layer of motivation on top of that “before” photo by considering it the first step of your entry into the Million Dollar Body Game. We have over 90 contestants who won up to $10,000 each last year as they submitted their photos and stories to qualify for the grand prize, $250,000 to be awarded this March in a huge event in Anaheim, CA.

This year it’s your turn. Upload your “before” photo, and update your “after” every thirty days. be determined to win. Enter your results every month. You never know what the competition will be like that month, and you just might win for showing incredible persistence and getting those results. THAT’S MOTIVATION!

Our coaches will be repeating this theme for the next 30 days, lining up friends and family to kick-off their new programs the day after the biggest kick off of the year, Super Bowl Sunday.

So go ahead and enjoy the playoffs… in the meantime, here’s what you need to do to get prepared for National “Before Photo” Day,2008:

1. Pick the program that you will start on Monday the 4th, and join the Million Dollar Body Club.

2. Note the food that you intend to get rid of AFTER the Super Bowl. No turning back. Feb 4th, the junk goes out the door.

3. Make your 30 day plan: (a) Set up your workout space, (b) plan your workout calendar in WOWY for the first month, and (c) invite people to workout with you so you stay accountable to them.

4. If you really want to make a go of it, sign up as a coach. The point to coaching is not that you are a fitness expert, but that you understand that being accountable to people is how you stay with a program. You could sign up people at your Super Bowl party and make that pre-weight loss event! The bottom line is, our coaches are the glue that helps people who want the convenience of working out at home get better results than the loners who trek to the gym when it’s convenient.

Those, of course, are my recommendations. For you, February 4th National “Before Photo” Day might just mean you stop overeating, and start walking once a day. However you make it work, I hope you kick it off right, by taking your “Before photo” and measurements, and getting serious about getting fit and healthy in 2008.

Follow these instructions, and by summer, you’ll have an “After Photo” that will blow you away!

posted by Carl Daikeler

Week Six Articles

Ironically the theme this week is positive thinking and given the Giants shocking upset victory over the New England Patriots, it is a well timed subject. As Eli Manning said, “There’s something about this team. The way we win games, and performed in the playoffs in the stretch. We had total confidence in ourselves. The players believed in each other.”

This week’s articles are:

Climbing Out Of Your Comfort Zone
Mental Toughness
The Power of Positive Habits
Lasting Change - Removing The Roadblocks
How To Cope With An Unsupportive Husband (Spouse)