Choose to focus on benefits, rather than sacrifice

Everything worthwhile takes effort - having a baby comes to mind. All mothers will likely agree that childbirth has its down side, but ultimate reward makes it all worth it (yes, some women feel great while pregnant, but I wasn't one of them). Otherwise, everyone would be a single child. ;-) Think about it.

Becoming a professional musician or baseball player comes to many who played Little League and started practicing piano when they were very small. Tiger Woods was only 3 or 4-years old when his father first taught him to hold a golf club. He also showed him videos of professional golfers when he sat in his high chair eating his dinner (his dad was a little odd, I'd say). Woods started playing golf at such a young age that he literally grew up playing game. He wanted to play. His father undoubtedly drove him to work harder at it than most children would, but he had to have a strong drive of his own or he never would have made it. But what if he'd hit 6-year's old and suddenly said to himself, "I don't want to practice. I hate golf. I wanna play with my friends. I'll never be any good at his stupid game."

Maybe things would have turned out differently. The bottom line though is he did what he did because he wanted to (his parents obviously had a lot to do with it too), and reward? Today he's considered most gifted golfer of all time, and to what does he attribute his success? The practice and discipline of his mind. He learned from one of his primary coaches to harness power of his mind - using NLP and hypnosis techniques (and likely he's since started to use EFT as well). Learn to use your mind to focus on results you want - or conversely focus on avoiding what you do not want, and you'll win your prize, loving process, instead of dreading it.

How to Get Started

Starting from right now, go get a box of toothpicks or something similar. Match sticks would work too, or marbles, or pencils, small rocks or twigs from yard. Something small enough you can carry it with you. Whenever you catch yourself starting to say something negative like, "I don't want to ..., or, "I hate ...," or "I'm gonna strangle ..." Anything negative you catch yourself saying or beginning to say, whether towards yourself or someone else doesn't matter.

Start noticing how often you're feeding yourself negative energy. Then, apply STOP technique as soon as you realize you are doing it, you yell (to yourself) STOP, and immediately replace what you were saying with something else. Here's what I mean:

"I hate having to wash ... STOP ... it's nice getting a chance to stretch and bend while car gets cleaned."

Yes, it's stiff and forced, at first. Anytime you attempt to change a behavior it will feel forced. Just allow yourself to learn to change your self talk, and that early discomfort with process will pass. It will start to be fun to "catch" yourself. As soon as you start doing it, you'll realize how often you're been feeding yourself negativity, and you'll also see how easily you can change that habit.

Positive people tend to be happier people. I'm not suggesting you get a personality change, but I am suggesting, if you ultimately want to drop some weight and never see it again that you change your thinking from how much you'll have to struggle to how much better you're going to feel.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of http://www.OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com

Turn TV Time into "Get Fit" Time

You can turn your TV room into a fitness room easily. A cushy floor mat, if room isn't carpeted. A pair of dumbbells or two. Empty bleach jugs make good dumbbells, but be careful if they are only partially full of sand, dirt or water (whatever you use to fill them with something to create weight), as if weight shifts during movement you could injure yourself.

Canned food make good homemade weights. I have half pound and one pound cans, heavier can may be too difficult to hold. Go on a scouting expedition around your house and see what you find that could work as weights then store them behind couch and start using them. Twice a week or three times, consistently, and you'll start noticing a change within a short time - usually in a month or six weeks definitely.

My first exercise equipment was a pair of dumbbells, a one pound and a five pound set. You don't have to have a fully equipped home gym to exercise at home.

Push ups are an incredible exercise, men's and women's style. No special equipment needed, just get on floor and start. Standing squats (pretend you are going to sit in a chair, then stop at about or before chair level, and return to standing straight). There are even books written for exercising on commercial breaks. I put together a page with a few of books I've found which present this concept such as "The Commercial Break Workout: Trim and Tone Two Minutes at a Time" by Linda Buch and Seth Anne Snider-Copley.

Grab some Extra Minutes and Get Started

I wanted to get up an hour earlier so I could work out in mornings. When I exercise first thing, nothing else interferes. No matter what comes up, it doesn't take away from my fitness program. Unexpected calls or invitations, traffic jams, "There's no bread," yells my son who still thinks it's my job to keep pantry stocked, so I need to run to store, nothing ruins my day's plan to ride my bike or lift weights. The consistency of a regular exercise program just makes me feel good - you might find it does same for you, and if you have had a difficult time finding time - make time. Grab some extra minutes during commercials on TV, get up earlier, find whatever works for you. Write it on your calendar, make a date with yourself, and get started.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of http://www.OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com