I am really excited to share a really cool experience that recently happened to me, which demonstrates the critically important role that our mindset plays in achieving our goals.

It’s obvious to everyone in the gym that I spend just as much or more time strengthening my mental muscles as I do my arms, chest, and legs. I walk into the gym with intense focus, which increases with every second during my workout. Nothing can bring me out of this focus. I walk through the door with great intention and purpose.

Each rep of each set brings me one step closer to achieving my goals. I have a very clear image of the physique that I am about to sculpt, I know what needs to be done in order to achieve that image, and I’m willing to pay that price and put in the hard work to make that vision become a reality for me.

How am I able to create such a clear image in my mind of what I envision my body to look like? Simple… I’ve been creating vision boards for years, which include cut outs of physiques that I desire to transform my body into. You may have seen some of my previous videos dating all the way back to 2006 when I first began to use vision boards. Actually I prefer not to use a vision board… I actually bombard my entire life with images of the goals that I want to achieve. I have them posted on my desk, in my car, on my fridge, on my alarm clock, on my wall next to my bed, and around my bathroom mirror.

A little less than a year ago I posted pictures of physiques that I aspired to become more like, along with some life goals that I wanted to achieve this year. One of those goals was to purchase a pop-up camper. Our family loves camping and the great outdoors. We had been borrowing a relatives pop-up camper for the past 7 years and we began thinking about how great it would be to own a pop-up camper of our very own.

I did a Google search for images of pop-up campers and printed up the first one that I came across. I clipped it out and put it on my desk along with the pictures of the other goals that I wished to achieve this year. I had no idea what brand, size, or style of pop-up camper that I wanted to have, I just knew that I wanted one.

A couple months later Angie decided to take over my home office and I began working more often at a local Internet Cafe to get out of the house. During this process Angie took down the pictures of my goals and put them away in a desk drawer. Those images were still playing in my head, but I wasn’t looking at them any longer.

This week Angie and I invested in a pop-up camper of our very own. As we were finalizing the deal in the sales managers office I noticed that he had a vision board up in his office. That sparked a great conversation and then I realized, “Oh my gosh… I had cut out a picture of a pop-up camper and here we were buying one.”

Upon returning home I immediately dug through my drawers to find the picture of the pop-up camper. To my amazement (Not really, because I know that this mindset stuff really works), the picture of the pop-up camper was the exact make and model that we ended up purchasing.

WOW!!!

Out of all the makes and models out there that we could have chosen, we picked the one that I posted up on my desk nearly a year ago and had actually forgotten about (but not really). Those few months that I had the picture up on my desk had ingrained that image in my mind. I still knew that we wanted a pop-up camper even though the image wasn’t up on my desk and I wasn’t just hoping or wishing for it. I was taking the necessary actions to make that goal a reality for us.

The Lesson

Have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and remind yourself of that vision as often as you possibly can and do what it takes to make your goal a reality. I attached some very powerful emotions to this goal as well. We love camping and I kept playing our wonderful experiences over and over in my mind and pictured them in our very own pop-up camper.

Without having that vision or target, my mind would not have had any direction to aim for.

My first influence on the power of the mind came from Arnold Schwarzenegger and his book “Education of a Bodybuilder“. I recently came across a video of Arnold where he speaks about the mind being more important than the body when it comes to transforming your body…

Arnold talks about visualization as “The mind creating the body.” He states the important role that the body and training plays, but he points out how it’s the mind that helps you push out those few extra reps and motivates you to do whatever it takes in order to become the best that you can be.

I love how Arnold refers to mindset as “Developing the hunger” by setting goals, seeing that goal become a reality through visualization, and actually believing that you can achieve the outcome that you desire.

It was great to hear Arnold touch on the topic of failure and if we want to succeed we need to, “Be willing to fail.” Are you willing to set a goal, fully understanding that you will have some failures during your journey of achieving that goal? Failure is an important part of your success and should be embraced rather than feared.

Arnold mentioned that “Every day is a learning experience.” I believe that’s a great way to approach life. What have you learned about yourself today? What have you learned that can help you become the best that you can be? What have you learned that can help others become the best that they can be? What have you learned about your mindset that has influenced your actions?

I totally agree with Arnold. The mind is more important than the body. That’s why our Fat Loss Quickie home workout and nutrition program also includes two motivational audios each week and eleven motivational films to help you harness the power of your mind, stick with the program and make your goals become a reality.

No workout or diet program is complete without a mindset component. Especially if you desire life long success.

What are you doing to empower your mind today?

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant