I just couldn't pass up posting this great post by Pauline Nordin. It fits so much in line with some of my writings on the site. It's a bit wordy, but this is a good tough love read. Get to it.

Is she talking to you?

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As adults we are supposed to be held accountable for our actions. Whatever we do we know there is a consequence of the action. There are no “it just happened”, no “I couldn’t help it”, “I did not know what I was supposed to do” when it comes to you and your commitment to yourself.

Lack of consistency is what keeps you from reaching your goals. You are not consistent because you are not convinced you need to be. When you know what is right you do what is right.

To all you who let yourself go, who “cannot help it”, who have no control of your willpower or determination, do you realize you are letting it happen because you want it to happen? You cheat yourself by giving in to cakes, cookies and candy because it tastes good. You want to eat it. The cookie or chips are not being planted in your mouth, you choose to put them there. Sure, the society puts that desire in your mind, but nothing turns into reality until you make it into reality. A thought is just a thought, you can control it…

How do you reason, how do you justify being into fitness if you are not fully committed? If you have this lofty goals of achieving a “perfect body” how come you don’t stick to your goals when it gets tough? It’s always easy being right on spot and on track when the times are cool and easy. You say your coworkers tease you at your office because you bring broccoli and chicken for lunch and never say yes to a cookie, but then, how come you are still chubby after months or years of doing that? Because you cheat yourself at other times. At night. After dinner. You get the munchies. And the coworkers you have at your work place is not present and the kitchen is there. And you are bored. And “hungry”. Of course your coworkers tease you: you give them the right to do so since you obviously are a hypocrite regarding your fitness goals. You say you want to compete one day, it’s a goal, but do even YOU believe it will happen? How is that gonna happen if you can’t even trust yourself! This road is a road you travel solo on, you must be your best friend not your worst enemy.

Get your pride back. Stop excusing yourself with having a hard time at work, having issues with your family, not having enough money, stress, lack of sleep, kids, husbands, wives, mortgages, post man never on time, bad shoes, stupid neighbor, whatever, if you want a scapegoat you will find one.

If you were to stand up for a jury and say “oh I couldn’t help myself”, would you think that was ok if you actually did something that harmed someone? I hope not. Well, this time around you are hurting yourself when you cheat or let go of your principles. Get your work ethic back. Get your drive back. Can your friends count on you being there in good and for worse? Be there for yourself more than for anyone else. You gotta reestablish faith in yourself, you cannot be scared of your mind or your actions. What you gonna do: put yourself in chains and lock yourself up or put duct tape on your mouth so you cannot eat? It won’t work, one day you will break free. And that day you eat more than ever.

You must learn to see beyond the moment. There are more moments around the corner. Your feelings shall not control your actions. YOU control your actions. Emotions come and go, they try to influence you, but you can just say “I hear you and I understand the why’s and reasons” and then let it go. Let it pass.

There are no excuses. There are no cravings that are too hard to manage. It’s like practicing your pain threshold. You block it out. More and more. Until you feel no pain. It strengthens your character, it conditions you to stay focused on the goal. Practicing being ok with pain makes you sharper, it teaches you to ignore irritating attention seekers both inside and outside.

When I roll heavy barbells on my legs, put clams in my calves and traps, poke trigger points, roll on wood pins on the IT band which is filled with nerve sensors that scream PAIN PAIN PAIN, I block these sensations and let my mind go somewhere else. I focus on something else. I erase myself from the moment.

In the same way you can learn to control cravings for food that halt your progress by accepting them but not giving in to them. It’s no wrong in feeling it, It’s wrong to follow it. To get great at it takes just three things: discipline, dedication and patience. All three for no financial  cost at all. Now don’t say you cannot afford working on your perfect body…

Posted Mar 25, 2010 by Erik Ledin.
This entry is filed under Motivation and Guest Blogs.