If you tell yourself that you can't do something, You probably won't do it. It is not a matter of if you can or you can't, it is a matter of if you will or you won't.
In order to accomplish any goal or task you must believe in yourself or you will not get it done. You will continue sulking in your sorrow about how you "are not good enough" or how "He/She is better than you."
I remember growing up I was the most insecure kid on the planet. I didn't believe in myself or that I could make anything of myself with my life.
Excuse my french, but it is quite a shitty feeling. It leads you no where. So why do we as humans feel the need to beat themselves up and over think everything. It doesn't matter what you want if you don't believe you can attain it.
It doesn't matter your goal. In high school my goals were to be an impact player on the varsity football team, Date the girl that sat next to me in math class and never get less than a B in any class. I had a goal of going to college full time after high school, of gaining massive weight in the weight room and finding my niche, something to be known for.
Did I attain my goals? No...
Now before you think this is a sob story and me looking for a pity party.
I am bringing this up not to make you feel bad for me. But to show you that this was all on my own accord.
The moment somebody told me that I couldn't do something I believed them.
I let another person affect my enjoyment of life. I let words stop me from my capable actions.
It wasn't that I couldn't be a great football player, I didn't put in the effort to be a great football player.
Was what I became known for, what I wanted to be remembered for?
No... not at all.
Did I not excel in school because I was simply too dumb......
No, I didn't put in the effort.
The moment I realized other people can't make me do anything and the moment I realized I am responsible for the outcomes of my goals, is the moment I stopped feeling sorry for myself. It is the moment I gained my confidence.
I'll admit it wasn't an easy thing to do, It took me years to figure it out. Years of masking my insecurities and faking my confidence until I finally got it.
Over time you stop caring what others think. When your mind is controlled by negativity there is nothing else to do but change.
No where else to go, but up.
Now enough about me, my goal is not to talk about me. What I desire is to help you learn from my past mistakes.
Confidence is the not so hidden key to accomplishing every goal.
Confidence is the not so hidden key to love.
Confidence is the not so hidden key to happiness.
No matter your goal, there will be naysayers. There will be people telling you that you can't. That you are ridiculous.
If you want to lose 20 lbs people will tell you that you don't have the will power.
If you want to become a stud athlete or great musicians, there will be people to say you suck.
If you want to do some soul searching, people will tell you that your are selfish.
If you want to start a new career, people will tell you that you are too old.
Point being, People will tell you all sorts of things and the odds are it is because they have no will power, they suck, they are selfish, and they are too old.
If people tell you that you can't, don't take it personally because it is them that lack the necessary skills to do so. Not you.
The next time someone tells you that you can't do something you need to quote my favorite childhood hero....
You can do it. You can do anything you want it life and you can accomplish any goal. It doesn't matter what they think.
It is not a matter of if you can or you can't.
As long as you have the confidence, you will.
Believe in yourself.
You are beautiful.
You are strong.
You are in charge.
You are the perfect one and the only you.
Don't let people get in the way of your confidence and don't let negative thoughts stop you from believing in yourself for if you do, your life will suck.
You will be living in your own self inflicted hell.
Be happy. Be confident.
Be you.
After all if you won't, no one else will.
God loves you, Mike(y) loves you, So please, please, please LOVE YOURSELF!
As I was thinking about a past speech class while talking to my girlfriend. I recalled a speech that a classmate gave about working out. His main arguments for working out were "it makes your titties big." and "You could walk around the beach without your shirt on to show off your titties."
(Before I go anywhere, he was referring to his pectoralis major and minor when he said titties, he didn't mean it was an automatic, surgery free boob job. Also, he was referring to the fellas not the ladies)
It got me thinking. I am glad that he enjoys working out, and was advocating exercise. The problem is that he was advocating exercise for the wrong reasons, and presumably didn't do enough research before the speech.
We must get away from training for vanity.The body is beautiful, If you are physically active and fit. You need to get away from the "I must look like the guy or girl on the magazine cover or in the movies." Odds are their pictures have been altered to mirror the "perfect body". When really the perfect body, is simply the body in it's natural shape and form.
Nobody is suppose to be perfect, we all have faults and we all magnify our faults in our own thoughts. We don't need to break ourselves down. Likewise we don't need to create an ego to compensate for our insecurities either.
We must get away from working out in order to stroke our egos. Stay modest, and live our life well. It isn't necessarily about the number on the scale, or gaining or losing a couple of inches but it is about the life you lead, and the energy you put into this world.
I have realized that as much as I joke about me being on a "bulking" up phase people tend to take me serious now and then when I say it. but in all honesty I could care less if I gain another pound. I am by nature a thin frame, I am 5'8 and roughly 148 lbs on a good day. This is my natural body type, when I get below 140 lbs that is when I have to put some weight back on. But by no means do I need to be 165 solid lean muscle.
"So If you don't train for vanity, what do you train for??"
is what you must be thinking.
Well, It is simple really.
You train for vitality of life, sanity of the mind, and to increase your overall well being.
You train to feel great, to increase endorphins, to improve, and to prevent disease.
You train for the jokes and stories from your fellow trainees, for high 5's, and unity.
You train for your family, your friends, but most importantly you train for yourself.
Exercise has been proven to increase endorphins and a positive attitude.
If you are willing to give it a chance, it can take you out of depression, I know because I've experienced it.
If you are willing to give it a chance, it can remove aches and pains, I know because I've experienced it.
If you are willing to give it a chance, It can give you a body to die for, I know because I've experienced it...
(I kid I kid..I do not have the perfect body, I am far from it, But I am confident in myself, my training, my health and my life and that is much more important.)
Now I am by no means saying, for you to not want results, for you to not expect results, because if you do the necessary steps to lead a healthy lifestyle they will come naturally.
It takes consistency inside and outside of the gym. It is creating a lifestyle, and when you do it for vanity purposes, exercise and nutrition will only take you so far. You will either get frustrated, bored, tired or injured and you will give up eventually. Your results will fade.
As long as you are happy with yourself, your body, and your lifestyle. Enjoy it! but don't go looking for quick fixes if you aren't happy....There are no quick fixes. They don't exist.
This is not news, Odds are you all know this already. So stop lying to yourself, accept responsibility for your life and take action. Your life depends on it.
Delete the quick fix workout, and bland and boring nutrition plans from your memory. Your foods don't have to be boring, You could eat nutritious and tasty meals. The gym doesn't have to suck, you just can't expect magic to come from them. It takes consistency in both departments.
Learn to live the lifestyle. Learn to love the lifestyle and your life will not revolve around your results, rather your results will be a part of your life.
Don't train for vanity, Train for vitality.
With warm regards and plenty of positive energy Mike(y)
God loves you, Mike(y) loves you, so love yourself
If i could go back 5, 10, even 15 years and look down the road to the person I would, could, and will become, I may have started my journey earlier. Growing up I had an interest in sports and fitness. I had always been interested in fitness.
I could have become great, if only my mind allowed it.
As a kid I lacked coordination, size, speed, and strength, and a strong mindset. I was never the best, but I was also never the worst. I fit somewhere in the gray area.
I thought of myself as someone who gave it 100 percent to reach my goals.
I stayed after practice to work out, after all sport performance is all about your weight room strength and not skill, movement, mindset, and nutrition right???
My mindset lacked courage, integrity, and positivity.
My nutrition, well....It was the nutrition of champions
I ate probably 2 times a day, If it wasn't fast food it was some other variety of what would be classified as junk food.
My hydration, well....It was the hydration of a champions
I couldn't understand why i wasn't getting the playing time i "felt" i deserved.
It wasn't that I believed what I was doing was right, I didn't have a desire to change my ways. I enjoyed living my lifestyle, my nutrition, and being able to say I was an "athlete", but what did I do to become that athlete....not much.
I felt that since I was skinny, it was the fact that I was undersized, or maybe the coaches didn't like me, or maybe the world was conspiring to prevent me from attaining my dreams.
The world was against me. There was nothing within my power to change that.
Now that I look back, I realize that those were all excuses. I didn't want to work to be better, I expected magically to be better. I believed that I was better. Oh How wrong I was.
As I finished high school, I decided that working out never did anything for me, I weighed the same through my 4 years of high school, even though I trained consistently. I never attained the muscle man physique that I expected. All I gained through it was the endorphins and skill of working out. I didn't necessarily understand what I was doing, but thanks to numerous weight lifting classes and summer lifting programs I did have a passion and understanding of working out.....
Then something changed in me.
I began to enjoy a new culture and nutrition program towards the end of my high school career....
Partying
As I started partying, I began to lose focus in the gym.
I didn't care anymore. My idea was to screw my dreams of being an athlete, forget working out and just live life "care free".
after all, I am naturally thin anyways...
Did I finally understand life? Was it about partying, living with no goals, and not caring about school or work?
I never attained my dreams before, I never became the stud athlete I hoped to be, I never got straight A's, and I never was the coolest kid in school. I never got really "buff" from working out.
Life must be about the whole "screw the world, I am going to have as much stupid unremembered fun as possible."..right??
Oh how wrong I was.
Now being where I am at in my life, Working in the Health and fitness field I understand. I was so far off it is almost unfathomable.
I was within inches of losing my life. Within inches of forgetting my passion forever.
I was blessed by God to be sent to Visalia, CA.
It wasn't a sudden change from my partying ways though.
I had still maintained my same lifestyle while living here. Partying, working, and staying in school to get health benefits from my dads work. I got fired from a job for something I did not do and actually tried to prevent. I lost all motivation to do anything.
I damn near lost my life. My pride was damaged and I felt ashamed. I moved in with an aunt and uncle, and that is when IT happened. My journey in the fitness industry had began, even though I didn't notice.....
I started working out regularly at a gym named California Fitness Academy. After all like I said before fitness was a passion of my past. I enjoyed the psychological rewards of exercising, and at this time in my life I needed it most. I was depressed, lost, and so confused about my purpose in life. I needed to do something...anything.
I worked out continuous for a good 6-8 months and through doing so my future boss and current cousin offered me an internship, non paying but something else to occupy my time and my mind. I began sitting in the gym as much as I could, learning the trade. I was blessed to help with the COS softball team, and various other clients. I was given material to learn and new workouts to try.
I had found passion again. I began to think more positive, talk to more people, and learn more, and more, and more.
The passion was here, all that was left was to fuel my desire.
I had passion to do something again, but the desire to do my best still wasn't there.
I acted like I was doing everything I could, and was frustrated because I wasn't as smart as I felt that I should be.
then something changed...
I was offered a position, Trainer Mikey...has a nice ring to it huh?
Then the desire flowed. It was no longer something to do. It was no longer something to occupy my mind.
I became my passion.
As I continue to work through the weeks I aim to improve every day, for I know my best 3 years ago is weak compared to my best today. The hope is one day not be the best, for that is a relative term, but what I do want to be is GREAT
I know what I expect out of life, I know what it takes to get there, and I no longer make excuses. I will work my ass off to achieve my dreams. The passion the drives this action, is not material items. The passion that drives this action is not my image. The passion that drives this action, is not superficial. The passion that drives this action comes from within.
The passion that drives this action is DESIRE. Desire to be a great family man, a great boyfriend(husband someday), a great trainer. Desire to save lives, to relieve pain, to change thoughts, to give health. Desire to dream, give dreams, support dreams, make dreams possible. Desire to heal, love, and give tears...tears of joy.
I have a desire to do many things.
because once again, i found my passion, and what is desire?
The passion that drives the action.
Life is not about being somebody you think you should be, but If you allow yourself you can be great at anything.
It just depends on what you are willing to put into it.
If I would have had the mindset and knowledge I have now, I could have been a great athlete, student etc.
But if I had the mindset and knowledge I have now, I may not be here right now.
I do not regret my earlier years for they helped me grow, but I will take my future into my own hands.
The past is unchangeable, but the future is not yet set.
Find your desire, Hone your passion.
We can all be great, but do you truly want to work for greatness?
Are you willing to give your time, energy, social life and money to improve?
Are you willing to write out your goals and dreams?
Are you willing to be rejected?
Are you willing it fail?
You need to understand there is both pain and failure in success, If you don't feel pain, If you don't fail, If you don't feel uncomfortable then there is no growth.
To succeed we need to grow.
No one is entitled to anything in this world....You must work your butt off to truly be happy. You must know pain before you really get to enjoy pleasure.....
If you expect it, it most likely will not come. You need to desire it.
and what is desire?
The passion that drives the action.
Thank you... God loves you, mike(y) loves you, so love yourself.
