Healthy Lifestyle

By Jon Benson

It’s something you absolutely need to be successful in the art of fitness for life.

Notice I didn’t just say “fitness” – anyone can get fit for a few weeks or a few months.

How about a few years?

A few decades?

Does that interest you – decades of health, energy and fitness?

The decades begin right now.

Absolute, Mind-Numbing, Earth-Shattering BELIEF

Maybe you’ve heard of the controversial movie, “The Secret.”

Have you?

A lot of people love this movie. I talk about two of the fundamental principles in the film as fact.

But is it true?

Although I think “The Secret” is a great eye-opener, it leaves a bit to be desired.

For example, inspired action.

(It’s in the movie, but most people only hear, “You can think yourself to success.”)

Another thing: Compassion.

But when it comes to the core of “The Secret,” which is an emotionally-charged, deep belief, the facts are clear.

And here are the facts:

** Will beats “skill” in 89% of the cases profiled by elite-level coaches in all major sports.

** You can believe in something that’s not ideal and succeed massively; however, you can have little faith in the ideal plan and fail miserably.

Most people are where they are today by force of belief, not genetics or luck. You can actually “generate” your own internal belief, no kidding. Yes, you!

If you fail to believe, you simply fail.

Now, I personally do not believe in failure. How’s that for practicing what I preach? But you most certainly will “fail” to see the results you desire without a firm, almost dogmatic belief in what you’re doing.

I go back to my second point of what you and everyone needs to succeed, and that’s role modeling. Role modeling is the fastest way to achieve belief.

Why is that? Simple, it’s much more difficult for your mind to say, “I cannot do that,” when you are looking at someone who is identical in dozens of ways to yourself who has.

The History of Belief

The mind craves honesty. That may be hard to believe at times (no pun intended), but it’s true. It’s hard-wired into our DNA. Without honesty, we would die.

Think about it:  our ancestors didn’t habitually deceive themselves into believing they could defeat saber tooth tigers with nothing more than a primitive spoon.

You wouldn’t be here if they did.

It’s in our natures to seek truth. Truth leads to belief, and erodes stubbornness and even pessimism over time.

I’ve often said that “cynicism is the beginning of the death of the soul.”

Are you cynical? Are you seeking truth in order to push forward?

Role modeling is my favorite way to remove doubt and cynicism, and prove to my mind that I can push through and accomplish anything I believe in. You can, too.

The Power of Belief

While I could list hundreds of examples that  would blow your mind, just one will suffice:

The Ipecac Experiment.

A New York hospital. The date, 1950. The “fear no legal team” researcher: Dr. Stewart Wolf, a highly respected physician of the day.

Here’s an excerpt of the story:

“Dr. Wolf treated women who suffered severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Wolf informed the pregnant women that he was going to alleviate nausea and vomiting and that he would give them a drug to do this.

“He emphasized and assured them that after taking this drug, their nausea and vomiting would disappear.

“Wolf gave the women syrup of ipecac, a well-known drug used in the medical profession to induce vomiting. (Note from Jon: Wikipedia defines ipecac as, “perhaps the most well known emetic,” or agent that induces the reaction of vomiting.)

“The patients faithfully followed his instructions and took the medication. In some patients this resulted in a disappearance of their nausea and vomiting!”

The researchers concluded that the women’s belief in the drug’s powers and belief and faith in what Wolf told them were so strong, their bodies literally reacted in the exact opposite of the drug’s design.

Can you imagine?

Now, if belief can do this, imagine what true belief in your fitness and nutrition plan can do for your success rate?

I’ll tell you what, it can skyrocket it through the roof!

Again, the three keys are:

** Momentum
** Role modeling
** Belief

***

Jon Benson is the creator and co-author of Fit Over 40. In his book he shares his own experiences with the Law of Attraction and how he uses it in a more “practical” way. He calls his way “core leveraging,” which he says “makes more sense and is less mysterious” than the Law of Attraction. Learn more about it here.