The agent of change is your mind

Surely I'm a babe in the woods here but the idea that your mind has the power to determine your success over that of your body struck me like a bolt of lightning the moment I woke this morning. Now my brain is scrambling in a dozen directions to understand the implications of what I think is a revolutionary concept, if for no one else but me. The taste of this revelation is sweet and promising, and I hope I can find a way to nurture it into something I can use.

Before I shut off my reading lamp and went to sleep last night, I perused a few pages of a book I'd previously read, Champions Body-for-Life by Art Carey. It's a transformational diet and exercise guide I loosely followed nine years ago, and as I've recently experienced a dramatic loss of weight by following another program, I've been thinking about my plan to exercise, tone up, and get more active once I reach my target weight in a couple months.

In chapter 3, titled Think Like a Champion, I read:

Body-for-LIFE is a catchy title, but it's also a misnomer. It's time for us to come clean: It's not about your body; it's about your mind. The Challenge is really a test of your mental toughness and psychological fortitude. In the end, your body will change, but the agent of change is your mind.

Your mind expresses itself through the body, which is capable of the awesome and miraculous when fueled by belief. Your new outer muscle is a token of inner muscle. Your splendid physique is a trophy signifying willpower, determination, persistence, tenacity - in short, strength of character. 

A later passage suggests that physical talent and skill matter less than the mental toughness and psychological stamina athletes possess when competing with one another. Immediately, I thought of my friend Deby who recently completed a sprint triathlon with her teenage son. Although a sprint triathlon is an abbreviated version of the real thing, I have no doubt the 3 mile run, 11 mile bike, and 350 yard swim required a measure of mental determination alongside the physical stamina Deby developed in training. A lapsed but newly aspiring runner myself, I admire and aspire to be such an example of physical and mental discipline.

As my aha moment continues to blossom, I doubt this idea of the mind leading the body is limited to such grand, euphoric moments as when one crosses the finishing line. I can think of a thousand smaller instances where I've historically allowed my body to determine my actions rather than choosing a course consistent with my values. "I don't feel like making my bed this morning because I'm still too tired." "I know this food is unhealthy, but I'm in foul mood, and I need it to relax." "Going for a run requires too much energy." The list goes on.

Like most people, I suppose, my goals and aspirations often leave me feeling overwhelmed and helpless at all the things I think I need to change in my life. It's just too easy to frequently conclude, "I can't." Of course the poison of this thought to you is that it relieves you of your responsibility and creates a false sense of peace. "Yep, I can't do it, so, end of discussion." How much more powerful would we be if we could rid ourselves of such fatalism?

I've recently started to accept that I'm a slow learner, so I'm certain my ramblings here are sophomoric and incomplete at best. At least I can claim this revelation isn't completely new to me. Exactly one year ago, I was faced with the task of packing my things and preparing to return home from a year of teaching in South Korea. It sounds like a simple proposal, but I was overwhelmed by the scope and volume of what I had to do to get to the point of walking on a plane with a carry on and a laptop bag, even four weeks out.

My saving grace was a mantra that came to my mind which I repeated endlessly in my head as I went about the tasks of doing, cleaning, packing, shipping, discarding, and planning a hundred thousand things, plus saying my good-byes: create it with your mind, create it with your mind, create it with your mind. Over and over it cycled through my mind as I worked. It inspired me to visualize the end result of my current task and then make it happen. In significant ways, once I'd determined what I wanted and that I actually wanted it, the work was done. My body was the servant of my mind, and I made it on that plane with my sanity intact seemingly as though by magic.

For a while I was able to continue to draw on that mantra, but its efficacy has faded as my attention has been distracted. My body transformation over the past four months has renewed my belief in my ability to do what I once thought impossible, and it's clear it started in my mind, and it continues to be driven by my mind. As I near another major point of transition, I'm excited and hopeful for the possibility of an even greater transformation.