BUT THEN I GOT TO THINKING… which means trouble.  What is the fine line between making things last and making them last forever?   Why does that line always seem so close together when we don’t even realize it is.  Take for example, the Grandparents with the furniture that no one would ever want if their life depended upon it.  It’s 50 years old and still in good shape, but honestly no one wants 50 year old furniture.  What about the cups in your house?   How old or long do they last?  We used to have some seriously old cups, coffee mugs, etc.  But they worked so why get rid of them?

I threw away everything not too long ago.  No, really – everything.  Old coffee mugs, old socks, old placemats, old cups, old pillows.  Old wasn’t even that old really.  t thought I would need to replace them, but actually I didn’t.  It’s been months and I haven’t missed one thing.  Keeping your old stuff around?  Why?  Free yourself with the simple things and there’s a chance you might just catch a bigger glimpse of what it’s like freeing up more than just a cup.  It’s the smallest glance into “starting fresh” and “thinking differently”.  Actually,it seemed like a new way of thinking about how I act instead of just acting how I think.

They make one cup of coffee with no clean-up, improved taste, and no mess.  Not to mention that your guests and others can pick their flavors, their sizes, and their “timing” for a fresh cup of coffee, tea, or even hot chocolate?   Just curious if there are really people out there that don’t know about this.

Sometimes change is important.  I’m sure a few people will still stick to the old way and make the pot of coffee.  That’s okay.  But if you didn’t know there was a better way – this is it.  It makes me wonder what else I do regularly where there is a better way to do it.  I guess I’ll have to keep my eyes open.  Better yet, I really have to listen to what others say.  I often put up an invisible defense (I often don’t realize I’m doing it in the moment) when they explain some new cool thing because there’s is ALWAYS something new and cool.  But some of the new can really make a difference and give me time back, provide more convenience, or just plain do something I might need or want that I didn’t know existed.

Weight Loss is not fun when people tell you it’s not fast.  So this post is not cool or something you can’t wait to tell other people about.  But what it does contain is one persons success and ongoing success for nearly a year and a half and still going from looking at it from a different perspective.  That success continues to translate in multiple areas of my life and that’s when it gets bigger and even more meaningful.

I kept it simple.  I’m sorry it’s not more glamorous.  What I know is that it was life changing one small step at a time.  I’m also not talking about the “biggest loser” stuff here.  Just something that I hope others could benefit from…

So I posted something about Mind Control just a while back.  The short version is that I set out to prove I could overcome things in my own head which would be helpful to me.  This required a few things:

1. Challenge my own thinking.
2. Come up with achievable goals and start working towards it (getting there fast wasn’t important).
3. Be persistent and improve.  Fail and be okay with it (occasionally).

I also wanted to ask one question and revisit it occasionally.  When it comes to my goals, is what I’m doing today:

1. helping,
2. hindering, or
3. neither – status quo

This was SUPER important because it makes a big difference in your effort… eventually.  You can start anywhere, but at some point you have to cross barriers and that requires a different set of motivation.  I hope to cover that some other time.

I started small with short distances running and it was not fun at all.  But instead of focusing on the physical, I focused on the mental.  Why did I hate running?  Why did I want to stop?  I stopped many times, but restarted again after a rest.  I kept telling myself I loved it hoping I would believe it eventually. I struggled, but I kept going in small increments over time.  At times, my knees hurt, my head hurt, my body ached, and especially my mind fought me. I focused on the mental and not the physical which was harder and took more persistence.  Eventually a half mile run became a mile.  I want to say it was awesome, but it was hard getting there. It only got easier later on.  But I kept it simple and I kept doing it.  I wasn’t running a marathon nor was I training for one.  I was simply getting out there and doing it even when I didn’t want to.

Short story long… half mile became a mile became became 3-4 miles every day I can make the time which is at least 3 days per week.  This took MONTHS and tons of mental motivation that I thought I had before I started.  I NEVER set out to run miles.  I set out to exercise more than I had before because I knew I was getting worse and needed to do more to at least “maintain”.

At first, I wanted quick results because TV and ads told me I had to have that.  Instead I decided that small was better than extreme and maybe it would pay off.  It did and here are the bullet point things I learned:

• Start small.  Doing something is better than nothing.
• Push yourself. Set goals that are barely above your last accomplishment. Push your limits just a little bit.  Don’t compete or compare with others – that’s a trap.
• Fail, but be okay with it and use it to motivate yourself.  I never set out to eat only healthy foods.  But over time I wanted to because of all my hard work.  I think I even like veggies now.
• Be persistent.  Do it even when you don’t want to, just to ensure you are making progress.  Walk up your steps a few times extra just because you know you normally wouldn’t and then do it again.
• Little things don’t pay off fast but can pay off.  I started by eating at home a little more versus eating out, and eventually started using smaller plates instead of the big ones to limit food.  I started parking one row back in the parking lot versus way far away.  Buy a bigger house (budget allowing) so you walk more.  Choose a salad for one meal a week in place of that burger or pizza you normally can’t resist.

I have a lot more to say, but not enough time to say it.  I just want to express that these small things changed my life a year and a half ago.  I’m happier, more motivated, and feel like anything is possible. Oh, and I’ve lost over 20 pounds.  I probably only had 40 pounds to lose, but it seemed like 1,000 when I started.  Hey, it’s not the fastest way to lose weight – but it works.  And it’s keeping it off because I only change little things at a time that slowly are becoming habits.

Believe it or not.  I didn’t type this to impress you with weight loss.  This WHOLE thing becomes about mental exercises which have the most potential.  I’ve been realizing the mental seems to be where the real battle always is.  We want or we desire or we hope, but do we act?  When you start small and succeed, you have confidence to try again.  Sometimes more ambitious.  Sometimes not, but at least you keep doing.  Your weight will change, your life will change, your story will change too.  Final thoughts:

• Getting somewhere is better than nowhere.
• Small wins can equal big ones with persistence.
• We have more ability in just trying, doing, and/or acting versus hoping, waiting, and planning.

I stopped for a second to contemplate this. My own experience shows that people can get credit for what they do well, but more often are remembered for what they didn’t do right. Perfection is a pretty tough pursuit.

Sound harsh? Do you feel you get noticed for what was done right? Or do you get more attention for what hasn’t gone well? Ever feel invisible for doing your job with no problems, but as soon as something goes wrong you are on the hot seat?

Challenges in life and business are responded to in a number of different ways. What if people remembered how you learned from your mistakes? That might be refreshing on a resume.

I have a philosophy that I’ve always used: “I learn from my mistakes and rarely make the same mistake twice. Unfortunately though, I’ll probably make every mistake once.” I’ve always thought that gave me a good edge in business and life. Occasionally, the mistakes aren’t obvious though and my philosophy relies on information and especially feedback.

Steve Jobs once said “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”. Interpreted another way as: ‘learn from your mistakes, admit it/them and do it quickly’. Someone’s got to care about you caring, right? Can you can care so much you rarely make mistakes?

Somehow I’ve ended this whole thing with more questions then I started with. Do you know someone who cares so much about what they do, you can count on them doing it well OR trying so hard that even with some bumps along the road they will still do a great job? Let those people know you noticed how much they care. They will appreciate it.

As I listened to what he said, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try the same principle when college started back up.  A few weeks passed and I almost forgot what he said.  I walked into my Political Science class and my thoughts turned to the negative.  But then a small glimmer of hope came over me when I remembered that brief conversation at the lake that Summer.  So I wrestled around in my head on how that class would be helpful.  I thought about our country’s political system and the things I didn’t understand.  In the end, I persuaded myself to be interested in the class.  Well you might be able to guess what happened next… I made an “A” in the class and found it to be one of my favorite classes.  I was so surprised by what happened, I made the decision to apply the same principle for every class I took from there on out.  In just a few short months, school was exciting again and learning was fulfilling.  I managed to change my thinking.

Fast forward to a family and kids when I’m trying to teach the same principle.  Sentences like “I hate spanish class” or “I don’t like homework” are spoken.  I have to explain to them that what they say/think has a major impact on how well they do in those areas.  If you don’t like homework, you can easily procrastinate or forget an assignment.  But if you are excited to do homework – you’ll find you do it faster and make less mistakes.  Think bad about something or even someone, and you’ll find you act differently based upon that.

Now, I definitely don’t want to make it seem like this is easy.  It’s definitely not and it takes practice.  I still find myself struggling with it.  Take for example… running.  I caught myself telling someone about 11 months ago how much I hate running.  Yes, I used the ‘hate’ word in the sentence.  I didn’t even catch it at first, but eventually I started thinking about it.  Was I still applying the same principle in my life that I was trying to teach to my kids?   So I started running and telling myself I liked it.  The first few runs were the most challenging.  Part of me wanted to punch the other part that wanted me to keep going.  I kept telling myself things like “your body loves this” while my body was obviously telling me it wasn’t.  But my mind control prevailed and now running is one of my favorite exercises that I perform on a regular basis.  I feel great and have been losing about a pound a month.

Do you struggle with something and constantly think negatively about it?  Maybe it’s a job, a person, or something you avoid doing even though you know it would be good for you.  Pause for just a moment and imagine what it would be like if you could overcome your own thoughts and work through it.  Imagine for a moment that you could change your thinking.  What possibilities would that open up?  What fears could you overcome?  What would you rise up to do knowing you could talk yourself into doing it?

So if you are wondering if mind control can work… I’m living proof that it can.  It takes practice, determination, and repeated attempts.  I haven’t tried controlling other people’s minds yet because I’m still working on my own.  But maybe if I can master my own – I’ll see what some of the other possibilities are.