Believe It and See It

As is often the case at the beginning of the year people make all kinds of resolutions.  Most revolve around getting into better shape physically.  The gyms are full of people in January, all looking to transform themselves into a paragon of fitness.  By February, most have decided that the shape they are already in (usually something resembling a pear) is fine and they stop going.  Why is this?  I think people are genuine in their desire to get into shape.  Who doesn’t want to look and feel better?  I think this failure to follow through is due to a lack of mental preparedness.  People start out with the desire to change their bodies without making the change in their heads first.

Before people begin to change anything they need to have a plan.  My plans for 2013 are big.  I envision great things for myself and my family.  Will all of these things come to pass?  Maybe not.  But at least I have an end goal in mind.  Too often people are of the “I’ll believe it when I see it”, kind of attitude.  Let’s think about this for a minute.  Do you feel the heat from a fire before it’s lit? No.  Until the fire is lit there is no heat.  You can’t have the end result without the prep work.  What about building a house?  Do builders just pick up some wood and nails and start building?  There is always a plan. A vision of what is to come.  Can you imagine what kind of monstrosities we would live in if builders just started banging away willy-nilly?  The true statement would be more like “I’ll believe it and then I will see it.”

My plan for 2013 is already underway.  It’s still early days, but I am starting to see movement (small right now) toward my goals.  I don’t see them yet, but I believe they will come. So in the interests of helping out those 2 or 3 of you who read this, I will share an outline for developing a plan of your own.  And the greatest thing about this?  It’s never too late to start!

Step 1:  Get A Dream and Dream Big

Dreams fuel your emotions.  Emotions will spur you on to some sort of action.  Maybe it is the dream of seeing the look on your kid’s faces when you tell them you are going to Disney World (having the money on hand for such a thing before you go of course).  Or the look on your spouse’s face when you go on a surprise second honeymoon.  You also need to dream bigger than you currently are.  As soon as you settle for less, you end up with less than you settled for.

Step 2:  Submit to Reality

Anything worth having will take hard work and time.  Whatever your dream is, it WILL NOT happen overnight.  Think long term.  Getting fit will not happen in a week.  Perhaps not even in a month.  (In my case maybe not in a year!) But accept that you have time to get things done.  Take some sort of action in the direction you want to go.  Doing nothing ensures you stay where you are.

Step 3:  Work Hard

There is no way around this.  You have to work to get what you want.  Don’t accept excuses because as soon as you do, it is all over.  Keep at it.

Step 4:  Believe!

You need to believe that whatever it is you are working for will happen.  This step is often the hardest.  The human mind is a strange thing.  Too often we have a difficult time believing in something that we haven’t seen or experienced.  Henry Ford once said “If you believe you can, or you believe you can’t -- you’re right.”  Sometimes we need to borrow someone else’s belief until we develop our own.  Find a partner to work with.  Join a group of like-minded individuals.  Visualize yourself in the position you are dreaming about.  Use your imagination.  Whatever it takes.  If you can’t picture yourself there it won’t happen.

So make this plan your own.  Get a dream and work for it.  You won’t be disappointed!