DO WHAT YOU KNOW: BEAT YOUR SUBCONCIOUS MIND

After the last post Sam did on our subconscious mind and how it can hold us back I thought it would be really cool to do a special Do What You Know post to follow up on it. Sam’s insight hit really close to home for me because it was the same major discussion I had with my older brother – someone I’ve been training since mid-April. So I’ve included a direct response from him about how he experienced all the things Sam talked about and what that meant to him on this journey.

But before that, let me give you some background…

I remember countless discussions with him where it seemed like there was this larger force holding him back – it wasn’t that he didn’t want it, but it just seemed like there was always this doubting quiet voice in the background. When there was no reason for him to doubt his ability to progress, he would come to me feeling like he was stuck; like his body had hit a plateau and there was an insurmountable obstacle blocking us from reaching our next goal. We’d talk and figure some things out and move on, but what was exciting to see was the transformation he made as he continued on his journey. The more aware he became of his subconscious mind, the more power he had over it. And that’s the whole meaning to take away from that post.

We’ve all experienced this in one way or another – it might not be fitness related, but at some point, we’ve doubted ourselves. We’ve held ourselves back. We’ve talked ourselves down. Or worse, we may have talked ourselves out of an amazing opportunity without even realizing why we were sabotaging our own happiness and progress.

I saw this in my older brother, one of the most talented and bright individuals I have ever met. Here was a brilliant guy – graduated valedictorian with a cumulative 4.0 from the University of Utah – who for some reason, didn’t truly believe he could be fit. It didn’t make any sense. How could someone who could show that much dedication to academics not believe they could truly be fit? How could they not believe they had all the ability in the world to transform? We both knew he had the dedication to do anything he set his mind to, but yet, he still doubted.

And then something switched. Something just clicked and he experienced a desire level change and his subconscious mind, that negative beast in the back of our skull, it moved out of the driver’s seat. This didn’t happen over night – it definitely took time and continued focus, determination and progress. But that a-ha moment came when he realized he was in control and although there may be fear and doubt and sabotage going on in our subconscious beliefs, he could chip away at it.

He’s made tremendous progress, loosing 60lbs since April, and I have no doubt in my mind we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg for him. It’s so awesome to hear him talk about his long term goals like the only thing keeping him from them is time. Instead of him saying “I wish I could get to….” It’s now “When I get to…” It’s a very powerful thing to witness and it has helped me in my journey as well.

I’m extremely proud of him and I’m excited to share his own words with you guys. Check out his response to Sam’s post below – It’s long, but I think it can be a benefit to all of us to hear from someone who has experienced this level of a conscious shift in their own life.

Keep working hard and keep doing what you know,

Nico

1. & 2.) Pain/Pleasure. This was a very hard thing to mentally overcome early on in my program. Of course it was initially hard to get up at 5am and make myself go to the gym before work, and to endure the muscle fatigue and discomfort. Of course it was hard to eat 6 meals a day, which had been prepared specifically to control, portion size, total calories and nutritional composition.

But most of all it was hard to watch my buddies at work go out for lunch every day. What made it hard was learning to accept these short-term sacrifices for long-term goals. A very powerful part of my subconscious associated this “sacrifice” with an “injustice.” I felt like I was being wronged simply because I was passing up on food. I felt like I deserved to eat whatever I wanted and that anything which limited this end (including myself) was unfair.

Ultimately, I think this is because the rewards of my choices took time, but the choices were made instantaneously; sure I could be thin EVENTUALLY, but for the moment I had to do something painful. But slowly, as I made more and more of these small choices I started to see the results: my clothes were looser, I had MORE energy (not less as many people like to believe), and I noticed, for the first time in my life, that I was not sick after I ate.

This last point is worth stressing because it seems so strange, but I was so conditioned to the consequences of poor nutrition that I did not realize that every time I ate I was lethargic and uncomfortable. As I started to eat consistently healthy meals for weeks at a time I began to notice that after I ate I was not uncomfortable, and that I had energy from the food.

Similarly, as I settled into a regular exercise program my body began to like the rigorous activity; I craved that post-workout ache in my muscles, which got harder and harder to satisfy as my body became stronger. I started to feel comfortable in my body: my flexibility and mobility increased in ways I didn’t think possible (another example of how conditioned I had become to being obese). And old food cravings changed: I didn’t even want fatty or sugary foods, and when I did have them they did not satisfy me like they once had. My tastes had fundamentally changed, as had my portion size; I couldn’t eat large meals all at once anymore. I remember how I used to pile food onto my plate and wonder if people who ate smaller portions were just extreme examples of Spartan-like disciplined of if they were “freaks” of nature who did not NEED as much food as I did. Little did I realize that my needs had been conditioned into me over a long period of time and that it was something I could change. All the things I had once associated with pleasure and pain had reversed; proof that they were the products of conditioning and not the broad universals I had once mistakenly assumed they were.

3. & 4.) Beliefs/Values. I had been on more diets than I can remember. I had paid thousands for personal trainers, dieticians, diet foods, pills, etc. Yet nothing had worked. Similarly, I had looked in the mirror thousands of times and been unhappy with what I saw. Then, one evening while living in Virginia, I looked in the mirror and I saw something differently. I say differently and not different for a reason: obviously I was still the same person I had been before looking in the mirror, but I finally saw myself differently, and I did not like it. I had allowed myself to get to 320 pounds, and if you had asked me if I was happy and healthy I would have looked you straight in the eyes and said yes. Worse still, I would have believed it!! I am not sure what finally clicked inside of me, and which gave me access to this different way of seeing myself, but once I did I was able to commit to my transformation in a way that had previously been impossible.

While the trainers and dieticians had helped me understand WHAT I had to do and HOW to do it, I was finally willing to do the work myself, and to hold myself accountable for the results. This doesn’t mean I didn’t find strength in the support of other people; it just means that I laid their support ON TOP of my own foundation. In the past, I used others as a substitute for self-discipline and I was able to convince myself that I was “pulling a fast one” on them when I deviated from my diet or my workouts; I was cheating someone else. Now, when I am pushing through the last few reps of a set or when I am tempted to eat something off my diet, I realize that I if I give in to those old voices I am ultimately cheating or hurting myself. Owning that responsibility has been very important to my success and it is the only tangible form of my commitment to myself.

5.) Success Barriers. That night in Virginia was not an end in-and-of-itself. It is not as though I had this one defining moment and everything else fell into place. Instead, it was a pivotal moment in my life; it marked the end of one phase and the beginning of another. But this new phase has been one of continued effort and hard work. If anyone reads this and thinks to him or herself that it won’t be a long hard road, they are doomed for failure. But just knowing that it will be hard shouldn’t detract them from starting their own transformation, because with the hard work will come immense rewards. The voices of doubt in your head never go away, but they do get muted, and they must start to compete with other more hopeful and inspiring voices. If you would have told me a year ago that I would have been able to carry a 60lb pack for 50 miles in 3 days to the highest peak in Utah I would not have believed you. But I did, and that accomplishment fuels the better parts of your subconscious. It gives you something to point to as a reference for continued commitment to yourself and your goals.

Before

After