Its bizarre how the mind works isn’t it, Inspiration for this post came whilst lying in bed in the wee hours on Saturday night feeling terribly ill. As I lay there thoughts came and went, and I started thinking about the last 8 months and all I have achieved and what I’ve done to get to where I am today.
Understanding the Psychology behind body change is an increasing interest of mine, it’s so unique to each & everyone. What works for one person may not work for another? What makes one person succeed yet another cave in at the first opportunity? It is all down to our own unique personal perception of our world, based on nurtured traits, experiences and so on.
When I think bout my own journey I now know I used skills and applied strategies that I used as part of my sales & marketing job. Spending nearly 10yrs in this role prior to becoming a trainer, certainly taught me alot. Those that have a similar kind of role will know what I’m on with here – SWOT analysis anyone? These reports, although felt daunting at first was actually a fav of mine once i got stuck in. I used SWOT reports to analyze the potential within the territory I covered & potential business opportunities within it. Whilst I lay there, I had a light bulb moment, thinking ok – what if people wanting to change their body applied a ‘business like strategy’ to getting that body? A plan and guide that showed you all your strengths, but also all the potential obstacles that could get your way. If you knew the potential obstacles, then you could plan to avoid or manage them right?
I realize this is what I have been doing all along; unawares, this is one of my own secrets to success & how I have got to what I have achieved to date.
I have a new Body-SWOT that will see my body change even more in 2013 …
So I continued thinking how I could use my own experience to help you get your dream body, so the mind chatter continued. Mind chatter is something we ALL do often mindlessly unawares; it goes on even when you are busy doing other things. Ever been in any of these situations – lay awake at night mulling and stressing over work stuff = mind chatter. Walk into a new work or social situation for the first time clocking peeps & doing a mini run down of your situation in your head = Mind chatter. During a conversation whilst listening you are having another little conversation in your head, ‘I’m enjoying this’, ‘this conversation is boring’, ‘I love hanging with you’, ‘I do not agree with that’ etc. All this is Mind chatter!
Mind chatter when used appropriately can be a really positive thing. On the other hand people spent hours & hours on negative non-productive mind chatter so one good skill is to start being aware of your thoughts and notice when it is unproductive.
So how would you apply positive mind chatter & develop a Body SWOT to then create your own personal hot body business plan!
Ok so here is what you do, Initially make a few notes on the following, don’t write an essay just jot down things that will help you put the ‘Body SWOT’ together later.
Honestly ask yourself these questions in relation to what you want to look like and achieve?
We are going to look at the 4 W’s – Who, Why, What, When… The sorts of questions you need to be asking yourself are:
WHO
Who is responsible for the body I have today?
Who wants me to change my body?
Who is going to get me a younger looking toned body?
WHY
Why do I want this?
Why haven’t I got this body already?
As a starting point, this is very much about accountability, taking ownership of how you look today & where you want to go with your body. It is your starting point. This therefore means you have to accept & own your mistakes, errors & pitfalls all as important as the goal itself. It forms part of the plan in getting it right this time. It will help you, if you are aware of your ‘fall off the wagon’ triggers, or potential obstacles then you can have a plan to prevent them right!
WHAT
What do I think of myself, positives & negatives?
What do I want to achieve out of this?
What will happen when I do?
What Difference will this make to my life?
What things will help or hinder me in making this a success?
WHEN
When can I start?
When is ideal to plan my meals?
When can I exercise in the day – days – dedicated time?
Right, lets really get down to Body-business now & put together your Body SWOT. If you are unfamiliar with this acronym it stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
If you have never done this before you will now have a further understanding of yourself, and using these brief notes, now ask yourself:
What are my strengths? What is going to support me in getting to my body goal?
What are your weaknesses? What is going to hinder your progress? Therefore, What support or action do you personally need to make getting this hot body a success?
What life opportunities are/would be there for you along the way or when you achieve your new sexy looking figure?
Are there any personal threats? This could be people or situation related. E.g. Work or Family commitments mean your exercise time could be limited or on set days only. This could be someone that might ‘threaten’ you achieving your goals. An example of this could be friends who “expect” you to get drunk every weekend or to eat foods that will not support your goal. It may be you need to plan to spend less time with these people just whilst you get started on your plan and start gathering momentum.
You could set it out like the example below –
An example of how you can lay out your Body-SWOT
Using the Body SWOT you can now put a plan of action together of how you are going to achieve your new body. Hiring a trainer to take you through this plan, educate you, and be a constant support & guide throughout is a great idea, and research shows that those that have this support are hugely more successful in the long run than those that don’t, so do not underestimate the value of having those in your corner that can ‘hold your hand’ when you need.
Making notes on the all of the above will be time very well spent, you will not only see in back and white why you have your body you have, what hasn’t worked in past, what is going to support & hinder you but also enables you to put a realistic plan together based on facts that are personal to you and your life. Depending on the type of person you are, you can make this note form or write it in detail, do whatever works best for you!.
Having a picture of your desired look is always a great idea – this could even be of you at a time you were happy with your body!
A little word of caution for you too and I’m going to be brutally honest with you. Often people expect too much to soon and this can be a real emotional problem that can hinder progress and frustration kicks in because people are often not realistic – so please lets get real here.
Firstly, You have to accept that you got to this stage because of errors you have made with your past exercise, nutrition, and daily behaviours, a hard pill to swallow but its fact. In order to never ever have to diet again you will be making changes that will become your new norm, you will enjoy your food, and eat plenty of it but you will learn to use food as a tool to get a healthy younger body! This will include treats of course but its about being smart with your meals. Getting your new sexy toned body is not going to be easy, it will not change overnight, you will not look how you want after 1,2,3, or even 4 weeks. Depending on how out of shape you are & the goal you have in mind it will take time, it will require work, and time & yes you may have days when you can’t be arsed, feel “meh”, attend social events & want to allow more treats in!! Yet I promise you this, if you give yourself a realistic time frame, remain consistent with your nutrition, put 100% effort into your training, keep pushing towards each and every day & remain focused you WILL get that sexy toned younger looking body you want, and reach your goal. When you do my goodness you are going to feel so proud of yourself, your family & friends will be amazed, feel proud and admire you. You will be an inspiration to others for sure. It will give you a new lease of life, open new ‘life doors’ create new opportunities & you will feel confident & happy with your body it will actually change your life!
How awesome does that sound… So the only question remains now is when can you start?
If you would like some support putting together a Body-Plan, getting started and achieving Fat Loss 4 Life please get in touch – contactme@martisusanne.com
Marti Susanne 
Very interesting way to apply a strategy for improvment in an area I wouldnt of thought of doing it and I have been around and applied many a swot analysis and the 4 whys tools.
Kev.
So happy to have found your blog!!
Pleased you find it a good read x 🙂