Cracking the body image code to help deliver permanent weight loss
If you are truly intent upon finding the best version of yourself, losing weight, and discovering your ideal health then you must start between the ears. The thoughts and beliefs that transpire and swirl around your brain are the very cords of reality that determine your actions. I want to offer you an exercise that can be life changing.
Our subconscious beliefs truly guide our actions every day. Your subconscious mind simply plays out the rules and guidelines that you have fed it over the course of your lifetime. If you hold beliefs that you are overweight and are powerless to change that, then your subconscious mind is a dutiful slave and will always agree with whatever “truth” you give it. If you don’t truly believe that you will acquire a healthy lean existence then you subconscious mind will act and eat like the bloated toad it believes itself to be. Wishes are weak. Wishes amount to nothing. Belief and faith are what move mountains. When you believe and know what awaits you then the action becomes quite simple.
So how do you really see yourself? Do you see a self-actualized individual who is in charge of their destiny? Do you see a body that you are proud of because it reflects the values that you hold dear? Or do you see a marshmallow who is pretending to be on a journey that you know is only a pipe dream that will inevitably crash and burn? If this last sentence hit home a little too hard then you need to take some immediate action. What may be true this very second does not need to be true 5 minutes from now. You can change the direction of your mind but to do so you have to search your software and check for any self-destructive programs that you have tucked away in your subconscious. We have all been given “beliefs” from people close to us such as parents, teachers, friends, church, government, scout leaders, etc. But not all of these learned lessons are constructive and some are just down right destructive. If you have beliefs (software) installed in your subconscious that says “I never follow through”, then this is a destructive “truth” that you must erase. Yes, ERASE it. Your conscious mind can replace it but you need to take some action to do so.
Here is your action step for today: “Seeing is believing”. Actually I believe that believing is believing but for the sake of illustration we are going to create a vision that will help to drive belief. You need to be able to “fast forward” and see the result of your hard work in order to drive the belief that it is worth doing. I want you to search some magazines and find a body type that closely reflects your desired outcome. You are looking for a body image that you want to look like. Find something that would motivate you and yet seems like a close realistic match to how you would appear if you could eat and exercise, as you know you should. Have two or three if you like, one in clothes and another in a swimsuit. Hey, this is your exercise, you’re in charge here. Now everyone has a digital camera these days so print out a photo of yourself onto plain paper and cut off your own head. That’s right, just decapitate yourself for the purpose of this exercise. I want you to take that beautiful picture of your face and place it over the head of the magazine picture you selected. You are going to make that body image you found, “your body”. Now stop rolling your eyes. Have I steered you wrong before? Place your head on that body and allow yourself to focus and daydream just a bit. I want you to look at this picture every single day and feed this image to your subconscious. I want you to burn this image so deeply into your brain that you can pull it up onto the movie screen in your mind at will. I want you to see and believe in this image so strongly that it’s what you see when you’re idly sitting at a red light. And I definitely want you to see this image when you are preparing meals or are tempted to purchase that chocolate bar while waiting in the checkout line. When this image becomes so real to you that your own current image surprises you when you walk past a mirror then you have got something powerful.
This is how strong your belief has to be. You can’t wish for this change. You have to believe it, feel it, know it and expect it. You have to change the subconscious mind to believe a new “truth” and you have to be responsible for planting this new truth. This is not a foo-foo magic puff ball wishy washy mumbo jumbo trick. This is flat out how your mind works and if you ignore it then you are doomed to repeat the same old mistakes. This is how you begin to change your software and as a result, change your life. To ignore the power and presence of self-limiting beliefs and behaviors is to shut your mind off to change. We all have to change. We are all evolving and growing and if not, then the only other direction is to shrink and die.
I implore you to give this exercise a try. No one has to know about it, it can be your own little secret. Once you have created the body image picture with your face on it, keep it tucked away in a safe place but close enough to you that you will see it several times a day. OK, lets all say it out load, “your underwear drawer”. Isn’t that where we all keep our “stuff”? You need to see this photo everyday and cement it into your mind. This is your new reality. If this is your new reality then it will help to drive new eating habits. The image of how we see ourselves plays a part in how we feed ourselves.
I hope you truly give this exercise a try. Taking control of your subconscious mind is the key to a self-driven, satisfying life. You paint the picture and enjoy the beauty of your own creativity.
This simple exercise is just ONE small piece involved in making true lasting change in your life. To get the rest of the puzzle then I strongly encourage you to join me in the Mind Body Mission Course. This is a workshop that we offer as an online video option for HippEvo members.
