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How do bodybuilders develop the extraordinary mind-set it takes to become champions? How do they get the confidence they so badly need to work persistently toward their goals? How do they develop that certainty long before there are any concrete reasons for them to feel that way? More important, how can you acquire the mental strength to become more successful in your training or in other areas of your life?
Those who are successful in their bodybuilding efforts-or in any aspect of life, for that matter-have the unique ability to create a clear vision of what they hope to accomplish. It's as if they can experience success with all of their senses long before it becomes reality. Those who are really advanced can almost see, hear and feel it-and sometimes even smell and taste it.
I want to help you create a clear vision of your own bodybuilding destiny. By doing that, you'll give yourself the same mental advantage that many successful people have already discovered. If you determine exactly what you need to do to consider yourself successful, you'll be pulled toward your goals with passion and more consistency.
Ask Enough of Yourself
Many people are afraid to dream. Even if they can envision any degree of success, they often settle for far less than what they're truly capable of achieving. I'm quite familiar with that shortcoming because I'm occasionally guilty of falling short myself.
Be sure you ask enough from yourself. In the 'banquet of life" there's no chance for second helpings. You only get one chance-so you better be sure to get enough.
Most people settle for less because of a lack of confidence. You must develop your own sense of confidence. No one can do that for you. You must also stop waiting for circumstances to look promising for success before you allow yourself to dream.
Creating-and writing down-the vision of what you want to accomplish will help you develop a winning mind-set. Reviewing your mission, identity, values, core beliefs, strategic plans, short-term goals, long-term goals and past accomplishments can help you develop confidence.
What Does Success Mean to You?
How can you possibly become happy with or fulfilled by your bodybuilding efforts if you don't know exactly what it'll take to feel that way? Will you feel successful when you see your abs for the first time? Will it take winning your class at a local bodybuilding show or winning the Mr. Olympia? Many bodybuilders are destined to experience failure because they don't have a clear-cut definition of what success means to them.
Setting Yourself Up to Win
Think big, by all means, but make sure you take the time to plan carefully. Creating an achievable vision for yourself while providing the most fulfillment along the way is critical. In other words, you must set yourself up to win.
Here are a few tips that can give you the best chance to create an achievable and compelling bodybuilding future:
1. Establish meaningful long-term goals. Set your sights on goals that are ambitious, meaningful (according to your definition) and focused on the long term. Postpartum syndrome is an emotional state that many mothers experience soon after giving birth. For nine months they eagerly anticipate the birth of their child, only to fall into depression after giving birth. Once the big event has come and gone, they feel as though something is missing from their lives. What's missing is the all-encompassing anticipation and the vision of other big events in the future.
Many bodybuilders, including myself in the past, go through what I call post contest syndrome. After many weeks of dedication, hard work and anticipation, the contest is suddenly over. Often we feel down because it seems as though there's something important missing from our lives. Now, you may never wish to be in a bodybuilding show, but we all have "contests" to prepare for.
Whether your goal is to look great in a bathing suit, to feel better about yourself or just to Jose a few pounds of bodyfat, you do have short-term goals. It's important to look beyond your next contest or short-term goal to make sure your training has a purpose.
2. Set new and more ambitious goals-even before you reach the smaller goals. The best way to avoid post contest syndrome is to immediately set your sights on a new and exciting goal.
3. Look for win-win situations. Make certain your plan is designed to help as many people as possible. Your success will be more gratifying if you also help others succeed along the way.
4. Develop your character along with your physique. Think of Lee Labrada, former Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, Ron Coleman of Florida and Jim Quinn.What do all of those bodybuilders have in common? They're all respected for the quality of their character as much as for the quality of their physique. Your character will be remembered far longer than anything you can accomplish on a bodybuilding stage.
Keep Yourself on Track Despite Life's Challenges
Many people start to work toward their goals, but when an obstacle or challenge gets in their way, they stop. They get themselves motivated to try again-until the next challenge comes along. They start, stop, start, stop, start, stop-and wonder why they're not getting closer to their dreams.
I often get letters from bodybuilders who feel they have the genetic potential to build a great physique. They're eager to become successful in the sport but complain of suffering from the emotional ups and downs.
Let me let you in on a little secret. How you handle the emotional ups and downs is everything in bodybuilding, as well as in most endeavors. There have been many bodybuilders who have accomplished nothing with their awesome genetics. You probably see them come and go in your gym all the time.
When you see a champion grace the pages of all the muscle magazine out there, you should, I think, be more impressed with the way he's handled the emotional ups and downs on his way to the top than by his physique. I can almost guarantee that those champions created a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve years ago.
Every road to success has its challenges. You can bet on it. Creating a clear vision of what you hope to accomplish from your bodybuilding efforts will help you work through those challenges.
Competitive bodybuilding, or simply living a healthy lifestyle, requires hard work and discipline. When you focus on your training, you'll undoubtedly put less priority on other, pleasurable aspects of life. The sacrifice required to reach your ultimate goals is usually what causes internal conflicts. How you handle those conflicts is usually what will make or break you.
This is where developing your vision becomes helpful. Instead of focusing on what you don't have in life, you can use your vision to focus on what you really want to have.
Short-term Pain Can Help You Reach Your Ultimate Goals
I know from personal experience that it's difficult to envision a bright future when things just aren't going very well. It seems that all you accomplish by dreaming about better days ahead is reminding yourself of how bad things are now. Instead of making yourself feel better, you only seem to be causing yourself more pain.
Don't fall into that trap. Short-term pain can actually end up being good for you-if used to your advantage. It can create a fire within that makes you determined to never feel that way again. Short-term pain can be your best friend in the long run.
Those who are successful in their bodybuilding efforts-or in any aspect of life, for that matter-have the unique ability to create a clear vision of what they hope to accomplish. It's as if they can experience success with all of their senses long before it becomes reality. Those who are really advanced can almost see, hear and feel it-and sometimes even smell and taste it.
I want to help you create a clear vision of your own bodybuilding destiny. By doing that, you'll give yourself the same mental advantage that many successful people have already discovered. If you determine exactly what you need to do to consider yourself successful, you'll be pulled toward your goals with passion and more consistency.
Ask Enough of Yourself
Many people are afraid to dream. Even if they can envision any degree of success, they often settle for far less than what they're truly capable of achieving. I'm quite familiar with that shortcoming because I'm occasionally guilty of falling short myself.
Be sure you ask enough from yourself. In the 'banquet of life" there's no chance for second helpings. You only get one chance-so you better be sure to get enough.
Most people settle for less because of a lack of confidence. You must develop your own sense of confidence. No one can do that for you. You must also stop waiting for circumstances to look promising for success before you allow yourself to dream.
Creating-and writing down-the vision of what you want to accomplish will help you develop a winning mind-set. Reviewing your mission, identity, values, core beliefs, strategic plans, short-term goals, long-term goals and past accomplishments can help you develop confidence.
What Does Success Mean to You?
How can you possibly become happy with or fulfilled by your bodybuilding efforts if you don't know exactly what it'll take to feel that way? Will you feel successful when you see your abs for the first time? Will it take winning your class at a local bodybuilding show or winning the Mr. Olympia? Many bodybuilders are destined to experience failure because they don't have a clear-cut definition of what success means to them.
Setting Yourself Up to Win
Think big, by all means, but make sure you take the time to plan carefully. Creating an achievable vision for yourself while providing the most fulfillment along the way is critical. In other words, you must set yourself up to win.
Here are a few tips that can give you the best chance to create an achievable and compelling bodybuilding future:
1. Establish meaningful long-term goals. Set your sights on goals that are ambitious, meaningful (according to your definition) and focused on the long term. Postpartum syndrome is an emotional state that many mothers experience soon after giving birth. For nine months they eagerly anticipate the birth of their child, only to fall into depression after giving birth. Once the big event has come and gone, they feel as though something is missing from their lives. What's missing is the all-encompassing anticipation and the vision of other big events in the future.
Many bodybuilders, including myself in the past, go through what I call post contest syndrome. After many weeks of dedication, hard work and anticipation, the contest is suddenly over. Often we feel down because it seems as though there's something important missing from our lives. Now, you may never wish to be in a bodybuilding show, but we all have "contests" to prepare for.
Whether your goal is to look great in a bathing suit, to feel better about yourself or just to Jose a few pounds of bodyfat, you do have short-term goals. It's important to look beyond your next contest or short-term goal to make sure your training has a purpose.
2. Set new and more ambitious goals-even before you reach the smaller goals. The best way to avoid post contest syndrome is to immediately set your sights on a new and exciting goal.
3. Look for win-win situations. Make certain your plan is designed to help as many people as possible. Your success will be more gratifying if you also help others succeed along the way.
4. Develop your character along with your physique. Think of Lee Labrada, former Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates, Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, Ron Coleman of Florida and Jim Quinn.What do all of those bodybuilders have in common? They're all respected for the quality of their character as much as for the quality of their physique. Your character will be remembered far longer than anything you can accomplish on a bodybuilding stage.
Keep Yourself on Track Despite Life's Challenges
Many people start to work toward their goals, but when an obstacle or challenge gets in their way, they stop. They get themselves motivated to try again-until the next challenge comes along. They start, stop, start, stop, start, stop-and wonder why they're not getting closer to their dreams.
I often get letters from bodybuilders who feel they have the genetic potential to build a great physique. They're eager to become successful in the sport but complain of suffering from the emotional ups and downs.
Let me let you in on a little secret. How you handle the emotional ups and downs is everything in bodybuilding, as well as in most endeavors. There have been many bodybuilders who have accomplished nothing with their awesome genetics. You probably see them come and go in your gym all the time.
When you see a champion grace the pages of all the muscle magazine out there, you should, I think, be more impressed with the way he's handled the emotional ups and downs on his way to the top than by his physique. I can almost guarantee that those champions created a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve years ago.
Every road to success has its challenges. You can bet on it. Creating a clear vision of what you hope to accomplish from your bodybuilding efforts will help you work through those challenges.
Competitive bodybuilding, or simply living a healthy lifestyle, requires hard work and discipline. When you focus on your training, you'll undoubtedly put less priority on other, pleasurable aspects of life. The sacrifice required to reach your ultimate goals is usually what causes internal conflicts. How you handle those conflicts is usually what will make or break you.
This is where developing your vision becomes helpful. Instead of focusing on what you don't have in life, you can use your vision to focus on what you really want to have.
Short-term Pain Can Help You Reach Your Ultimate Goals
I know from personal experience that it's difficult to envision a bright future when things just aren't going very well. It seems that all you accomplish by dreaming about better days ahead is reminding yourself of how bad things are now. Instead of making yourself feel better, you only seem to be causing yourself more pain.
Don't fall into that trap. Short-term pain can actually end up being good for you-if used to your advantage. It can create a fire within that makes you determined to never feel that way again. Short-term pain can be your best friend in the long run.
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