Don't Let your Mind Win

 Your Mind Plays Tricks on You

    The battle between you and your mind is what determines if you will succeed or fail at your goals. When people say the only thing that is standing in your way is you, I use to think that they were full of, well you know what. I would reply to them and list a number of excuses as to why I couldn't do something, what I didn't know then is that is just your mind playing tricks on you. Whenever you get the urge to do something you might be really excited to start out. For example lets say that you want to go to the gym in the morning, so you start off really eager and go through days in a row. Then you start to get lazy, you'd rather be in bed than at the gym, so your mind starts to list excuses on why you shouldn't go to the gym. If you listen to these tricks that the mind is playing on you then you'll stay in your bed and not accomplishing your goal, but you won't feel bad about it because you "needed to sleep in." Your mind justifying your actions is what is holding you back, not because you are incapable of going to the gym in the morning, but because you fell for those evil tricks that your mind is so good at playing.

#1 Defense Against Your Mind

    Falling for the tricks the mind plays is extremely common among a lot of different people, but the best defense you can have against your mind is simply asking yourself one question. If I loved myself would I stay in bed?, If I loved myself would I skip something that could make me better? The key to overcoming your mind is asking yourself that question and always choosing love over fear like I said in the vow I shared in one of my earlier blogs. If you truly loved yourself, if you truly wanted to accomplish this goal would it be worth the risk you take by sleeping in and letting your mind win? You have control over your mind, and the more you go to the gym the less you want to sleep in, because your mind starts to compare how the gym makes your body feel compared to sleeping in. This questions can be asked in every scenario, it's not just meant for the gym. For examples say that you need to start writing more, but your mind starts to convince you that you should watch TV more. This is when you need to close your eyes and ask yourself If I loved myself would I willingly choose entertainment over creativity? There will be days where the mind wins, like I said I chose TV over writing my blog yesterday. I enjoyed it for the night, but woke up feeling guilty because helping my audience live better lives means more to me than getting a few laughs from a television series. 

Your Mind Can Win Once, But NEVER twice

    It is perfectly fine if you fall victim to the games that your mind plays on you, but you should never give in two times in a row. When you are trying to develop a good routine and break a bad one your mind will want to stick to what it is use to so naturally you will give in. This is a normal part of the process, something I didn't understand when I first started making changes. It is okay to let the mind win every once in awhile, but you start to play a dangerous game if you let your mind win more than once. Your body will start to think that you are back on the routine that you are trying to change and your mind will fight even harder to stay in that comfortable place familiarity. In order to break this shell you have to remain consistent for 66 days. You will go through phases along the way and at each phase you will fail at least once. This is your mind testing you, trying to get you to quit. Don't let it! Wake up the next day with a chip on your shoulder and look yourself in the mirror and say "You won yesterday, but you will never beat me twice in a row." Not only will you gain confidence to keep working towards your goal, but you will gain a respect of yourself for keeping your word. Remember it is okay to fail once, in fact it's natural, but don't let it happen more than that. 

Next Blog, Wednesday 02 March

    I appreciate every single one of you for following me on this journey. Once I get back from this deployment and settled I promise the content will grow even more. If you have anything you want me to share on my next blog please reach out. I hope that you were able to mind something interesting in my blog to apply in your life. I would love to hear back from you, so please feel free to email me at lawton4.cl@gmail.com. It was a pleasure talking to you today until next time 😁