Yup, you've been working out off and on for a while now. In fact, some of your workouts are so intense that they should be chronicled alongside some of the greats. But wait a minute, what's happening now? You're not moving forward, you're eating more crap food, missing workouts and you don't seem to care at all. Oh sure, you care enough to feel guilty about it, but you don't care enough to DO something about it. Sad but true, you have lost your focus!
Where do you go from here? Sometimes loss of focus can lead to days, weeks and even months of inactivity or even worse, total loss of what you once achieved. The key is to NOT settle into the lost focus factor. The key is to unleash what you once had. The key is to find your passion again!
First let me say, we're not talking about just physical or mental burnout. In many instances this can be the case and so you may need total rest and time away from the gym and even the "healthy" eating for just a bit.
How can find your focus when all things seem to be lost? What's actually happening is this: your feelings are using YOU, and you're not USING your feelings. You have let your emotions take the steering wheel. They are now driving the car of mind and body. It's time to take the wheel back. It's time to put passion in play.
When things get cloudy for me I don't like it at all. In fact, I'm at a level with my body and training where I KNOW BETTER than to sit on the lost "feelings". Hear me out on this because I know this always gets people perturbed but it's true: your feelings can be your greatest asset or your fiercest enemy. I don't care if you believe that or not. If I had the time, maybe just 5 minutes with you, I could prove it to you time and time again. Sometimes you just need to DO IT!
However, you can NOT disconnect from your emotions--at least not during a time of lost focus. This only makes it worse unless you can fake it until you make it (I'll explain that shortly).
This is the model I follow. Use it and you will WIN over the emotionally-driven quagmire of lost focus.
1. Ask yourself WHY!
Once you realize that it is not physical or mental burnout, you must immediately ask yourself the "why" question. Why are you doing this? Do you want to lose the muscle, body or success you've obtained thus far? Are you really going to be happy watching others get what YOU want and what you have always wanted? Think about it and all the reasons why you want to reach your goals and about all the great benefits once you get there. Don't just gloss through the questions. Once I ask myself these questions, I begin to breathe again. I begin to SEE again. The dead bones come alive...again!
2. Ask yourself WHERE!
Where have you been and where do you want to go? Look at your past. Has it really brought you all the fulfillment you deserve and have ached for? Think on the times when you were most unsatisfied with your body and health. Do you want to go back there and live in that again? Consider your future and where you want to go? How would your life change for the better if you reach your goals and dreams? What does your body look like? How does it feel to live in a vivacious, energetic and healthy body? See your time with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers as being completely different as you now OWN more confidence.
3. Ask yourself WHAT and Answer the Question with Action!
The question is not something you ponder for too long. Basically, ask yourself, what must I do to get myself up out of this so I regain my focus. If you've asked the abovementioned questions, your passion is beginning to come back. You can feel the fire once again beginning to percolate. But at this point you must help LEAD the feelings. Don't let them LEAD you. This can be achieved by just getting active. Don't cancel the workout--go do it. If a voice in your head tells you to click on the TV instead, tell that voice to get out of your life. You should not be waiting around wondering how you "feel" or if your passion is coming back. By this point, it is coming back EVEN IF you don't FEEL it. Get up and get busy.
This is how I put it to all my clients. Let your MOTION dictate your E-MOTION and not the other way around. Fake it until you make it. Once you begin to move, your emotions will quite often follow. Remember, however, we should not disconnect from the emotions at this point. Continue to ask the right questions so that the passion grows and doesn't get lost.
What can drive the passion? What can help to stir it up even greater as you begin to move forward and regain your focus? One word...VISION!
The big problem with losing your focus is that you also lose hope. Once we lose hope, we lose the passion and the purpose from which our dreams flow. Here is where vision comes in.
Vision ignites passion! Vision ignites passion! Say it with me again: Vision ignites passion!
I can't say it enough.
Vision has the power to instill the passion that drives the necessary change you want. The vision you create in your heart and mind must be very explicit.
Envision your body exactly as you would want it to be. See your legs, abs, chest and arms with crystal clear images in your mind. Envision how family, friends and others will react to your new body and health when you walk in the room.
Let your WANT drive your VISION. You already KNOW what you want. So now, SEE IT!
I use visualization while on the treadmill, while meditating before bed and then once again when I awake. I use it all day long.
Are you ready to regain your focus through the passion you already have hidden and buried?
Let's do it!
