Attitude: The Forgotten PowerWritten by Aaron Potts
What would you consider is your most valuable tool for staying in shape? Is it your treadmill? What about your weight set? Is it your arsenal of low-fat cookbooks, and low-carb diet snacks? What about your collection of workout videos?Would you consider it a revelation that your most lethal weapon in battle of bulge is your Attitude? Think about it. What good is your treadmill if you don't have energy to get on it, or can't get up motivation to crank up speed, or elevation? How useful are your dumbbells if you can't push yourself to use them in most effective manner? How good is a nutrition program that you can't stick to? How much fat loss will you get out of your workout videos if you just can't seem to get as motivated as that bouncy cheerleader who is urging you to jump higher, or that buff macho man who keeps saying, "C'mon, just one more rep!"? No, none of those tools is going to get you very far unless your HEAD is in right place. As you read this article, you have probably already been exposed to more nutrition and exercise information than you could possibly ever need to actually stay in shape. You've probably read, listened to, or watched answers to your fitness issues enough times to win next Mr. or Mrs. Neighborhood fitness competition a dozen times over! Yet, you are still not where you want to be. Why? Attitude. Seeing Your Goal Do you have a clear vision in your head of where you want to be, or what you want to accomplish when you are at a peak level of fitness? I don't mean just some vague idea - I'm talking about an actual burning mental image of a six-pack set of abs, or a nice set of curves, or a clear picture of you crossing finish line in first place, or taking home that trophy. If you don't have that, you are already just spinning your wheels. How can you expect to get somewhere if you don't know where that "somewhere" is? Many people start out very motivated to get in shape, or to compete for that prize, but their motivation lacks focus - laser-targeted precision that will guide them down right path. The term "as crow flies" comes to mind. If you could leave your house and drive in an exact straight line to your destination, don't you think that you would get there a lot faster? What if you could just fly through stop lights and intersections, disregard all posted speed limits, and go exactly in a straight line to every destination? You sure would get there a lot faster! Exercise, physical fitness, and nutrition are no different. If you don't have a clearly mapped out and measurable road map to your success, then you will stray, and that will cost you time at very least - and at most, it will cost you precious amounts of self-confidence! Take some time to think about WHERE you want to be, HOW you are going to get there, and most importantly, WHY you want to be there. Take time to do that, and I think you'll see that your previous path may have been road blocked by a few too many trips to Starbucks for a Caramel Frappuccino. Not that anyone writing a fitness article such as this would know anything about that... Believing In Your Ability Okay, so you've got yourself a good mental picture. You have your road map in front of you, your path is straight and true, and you are ready to get started. What comes next? Belief.
| | DONT WE ALLWritten by Daniel nzenwata
One evening I was leaning on bonnet of a BMW car parked in front of a fast food joint. I had just come out of this particular one, my friends and I had gone to eat inside.I had come out first and was waiting for them to join me so that we could go back to home.It had been a very tiring day for me ,all I wanted was to go home, take a shower and rest my back on softness of my bed. On impulse I turned to look over my shoulder, coming my way from across parking lot was what society and I would consider a bum. From looks of him, obvious was stated; he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times in a day when you feel generous but there are other times when you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of "Don't want to be bothered" time for me. "I hope he doesn't ask me for money," I whispered half aloud to myself. And He didn't.Maybe he had heard me and maybe not. He came and sat on curb in front of parking garage, I looked at him closely, and from his appearance he didn't look like someone who had money to even afford a bus ride to God knows where he had come from. He kept starring at car, his eyes moving to and fro, like he was relishing thought of owning one. After a few minutes he finally spoke. "That's a very nice car," he said. Although he was ragged, he had an air of dignity woven around him. And this revelation startled me.I said, "Thanks," and continued looking towards door, anxiously waiting for my friends to come out so that I could be rid of him. He sat there quietly as if reading my thoughts and waiting for me to ask him to go away, yet I remained silent, waiting for usually plea for money to come. The expected plea never came. As silence between us widened something inside said, 'ask him if he needs any help.' I was sure that he would say yes, but I held true to inner voice. "Do you need any help?" I eventually asked him. He answered me in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. Most times, we often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it often from those of higher learning and accomplishments. Today I was thought a lesson. A lesson I am hoping someone else would learn too. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand, but it never came. Rather he spoke three words that shook my body from my head to my toes.
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