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Home :: Motivation
What Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Branson and Lee Iacocca can teach
you about building a leaner, stronger, healthier body...
The year is 1965.
It's a frosty morning along the old Czechoslovakian Border, just after
five am. Two young Austrian soldiers are exercising in the trenches, the
steam from their bodies rising into the icy cold air. Both are exhausted
from a 15-hour working day. Yet somehow, they are still able to find the
time and energy to wake up before their colleagues and train with weights
before they start another physically demanding day of maneuvers.
Can you imagine any more difficult circumstances in which to exercise?
Despite these obstacles, Arnold Schwarzenegger describes his time in
the Austrian army as a period when he made much of his best early progress.
What was it about Arnold that gave him such a passion for exercise? How
was he able to achieve so much success, not just in bodybuilding, but
as a businessman, actor and (maybe) a politician?
Values
Examine the traits of any successful person, and you'll notice
they all share certain qualities. Characteristics such as commitment,
courage, honesty, discipline and energy figure highly in the success stories
of people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Branson and Lee Iacocca.
These characteristics, known as values, are a key driving force in human
behavior. Simply becoming aware of your values and how they influence
your behaviour is a vital step towards a leaner, stronger, healthier
body.
It doesn't matter if you've got the most effective nutrition and training
program in the world. Without enough "mental" training, your
efforts are guaranteed to end in frustration. The truth is, people who
succeed in changing the way they look and feel are able to do so because
they place a higher value on changing than people who fail. But
more about that later.
First, can I ask you a question?
Did you know that 5 out of every 10 people starting an exercise program
give up after six months [5]? It's true!
Most point to a lack of time as the main reason for their inability to
maintain a regular exercise routine. Yet studies show that regular exercisers
encounter the same barriers -- lack of time, laziness and work commitments
-- as those who give up [7]. The difference is that people making a commitment
to exercise realise they will never find the time for anything. They have
to make it. Their values literally pull them in the direction of their
goals.
What are values, and why are they important?
Before I go on, let me explain what I mean by the term value.
A value is an emotional state or feeling you want to experience on a
regular basis. When you value something, it means you place a great deal
of importance on it. Simply put, values are a set of personal standards.
For example, one of your highest values might be honesty. If, for any
reason, you weren't honest with someone (including yourself), you would
feel a certain degree of emotional pain. Any time we violate our own
set of standards, we experience pain.
Think about it. Haven't you felt even a small amount of emotional
"discomfort" when you've promised to go to the gym, and then didn't bother?
Core values and mean values
In essence, there are two different kinds of values -- core values and
means values. Core values are the feelings you and I want to experience
on a regular basis. Examples of these are happiness, confidence, achievement,
discipline or integrity. A means value is just a way to trigger a core
value.
For example, you might decide that money is the most important value
in your life. But money is not a core value, it's only a means to an end;
a way to trigger a series of emotional states that make you feel good.
Money might be important because it gives you feelings of security, confidence
or freedom -- it's not the end in itself.
Your values continually influence the way you think, feel, and most importantly,
the way you behave. They affect every decision you've ever made, and every
decision you will ever make -- they're even influencing your decision
right now to continue reading! Despite the power our values have,
the scary part is that most of us don't even know what they are! I'll
tell you exactly how to discover what your values are in just a moment.
First, here's something you probably didn't know.
Among certain populations in the United States, almost 50% of women are
clinically obese [4]. Obesity and its related complications contribute
8% of all illness costs (around $60 billion a year) [2]. Scientists are
becoming increasingly concerned about this obesity epidemic spreading
throughout the world. And there's no sign that things are getting any
better.
In Britain, the prevalence of serious obesity doubled in the decade between
1980 and 1991 [1]. Attempting to determine why everyone has gained so
much weight over recent decades, scientists have argued whether obesity
is down to overeating or a lack of physical activity [6]. However, the
"gluttony or sloth" debate misses the point. Obesity is a symptom
of a problem -- it's not the problem itself. Rather, the problem lies
in the values people consider important.
Values play a key role in shaping your nutrition and exercise habits
If you could take a peek at the personal standards of anyone who is overweight,
you would find values such as comfort, relaxation or security high on
the list. Conversely, people who lose weight and keep it off permanently
are more likely to value health, energy and vitality. These radical differences
in values explain why different people act in different ways. More important,
they also help to explain why we can experience internal conflicts.
For example, you might identify comfort as one of your highest values.
And let's face it, we all enjoy feeling comfortable from time to time!
But if you place an equally high value on the emotional state of discipline,
it's easy to understand how these values can pull you in opposite directions.
Let me explain what I mean.
Imagine sitting in your favorite armchair -- feeling relaxed and comfortable.
Problem is, you're supposed to be at the gym. Exercising would allow you
to meet your need to feel disciplined, but you also want to feel the emotional
state of comfort. The result? You spend the rest of the evening agonizing
over what to do, and end up feeling uncomfortable and undisciplined!
Do you see how values that are out of alignment can create these kind
of internal conflicts?
Conflicts in values aren't just internal. In his book, The Education
of a Bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger describes how an external
conflict in values led to the breakdown of one of his early relationships,
"Gradually a conflict grew up in our relationship. Basically it
came down to this: she was a well balanced woman who wanted an ordinary,
solid life, and I was not a well-balanced man and hated the very idea
of ordinary life.for me, life is continuously being hungry. The meaning
of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go
up, to achieve, to conquer."
For Arnold, the values of achievement and success were far more important
than living an ordinary life. When you look back over Arnold's career
so far, you can see how those values have driven him to succeed in so
many different fields.
Your decisions are led by your values
Remember, your values control the way you make decisions. They act like
powerful magnets, attracting you in the direction of a certain course
of action. The problem is, most of us never consciously decide what our
values are! Rather, they become established over the course of a lifetime
in response to behaviors we were either punished or rewarded for.
If as a child, you were constantly rewarded for being honest, it's likely
that you place a high value on the emotional states of honesty and integrity.
As a result, honesty is probably high on your list of values. On the other
hand, if you've had experiences where you felt like your honesty was punished,
then it's probably a value you don't place a great deal of importance
on.
Of course, this is not meant to imply that you and I are simply
the result of what we were punished or rewarded for. The most important
part in shaping our character is not what happens to us, but how we respond
to what happens. But we do need to accept there are a large number of
environmental factors that can influence our behavior. If you're
not aware of what these factors are and how they affect you, then it's
easy to feel like your life is out of control without really understanding
why.
We all use general words to describe values -- commitment, honesty, or
happiness. These words will mean different things to different people.
Simply becoming clear on what your values are can give you a valuable
insight into why you behave in a certain way.
But more important, if you want to make any kind of change in your life
-- whether it's losing 60lb of fat, building 20lb of muscle, or knocking
six minutes off your next race time -- it's vital to understand the specific
criteria attached to each value. In other words, you need to know which
behaviors lead to which values. These are known as rules.
What are rules, and why are they important?
Rules are a series of criteria attached to a value. Rules describe the
behaviors you need to demonstrate in order to experience any emotional
state. In short, your rules let you know what you need to do in order
to feel a certain way. For instance, if I were to ask if you were committed
to an exercise program, your answer would be based upon the rules you
have for commitment.
To find out what those rules are, I'd ask, "What has to happen for
you to feel committed?" You might reply with, "I'm committed because
I work out every day." For somebody else, commitment might involve
working out three days each week. The point here is that everybody's rules
are different. Needless to say, problems can arise when we have rules
that are extremely difficult to meet.
The truth is, few of us have consciously decided what our rules are.
As a result, many people find it difficult to consistently experience
the emotional states they consider important. Your rules for feeling successful
might be that you must exercise seven days each week, you must eat less
than forty grams of fat per day, you must have less than eight percent
body fat, and you must always begin your workout at precisely seven am.
Let's face it -- the chances of meeting those rules on a consistent basis
are pretty limited.
Because of these "impossible" rules, you rarely get to feel successful
on a regular basis. For example, I recently received a phone call from
a friend who was calling me to complain about her "slow" rate of weight
loss. "I trained six days last week" she complained, "and I
only lost a pound and a half". I explained that losing a pound and
a half in a week -- especially when you've been dieting for some time
-- is pretty good. Yet my friend still wasn't satisfied with her
weight loss.
Why you should ignore the scales
It wasn't until later in the conversation I learned that her "rule" for
feeling satisfied with her rate of weight loss was to lose two pounds
in weight. Because this rule hadn't been met, she was feeling frustrated.
Here's the problem -- whenever your rules are outside your control, you
are delegating responsibility for how you feel to someone or something
else. Sure, you could argue that your rate of weight loss is under
your control. But there are so many external factors affecting your weight,
such as changes in fluid levels, carbohydrate intake -- even the accuracy
of the scales. If your rules for success depend on what the scales say,
you're setting yourself up to fail.
Rather than focus on the outcome, focus on the process. Instead
of thinking about the amount of weight you want to lose, focus on what
you need to do to lose the weight. Set up the rules of the game so you
can win. Here's an example of some rules that might be a little more appropriate...
"I feel satisfied with my progress when I eat a serving of carbohydrate
and protein at each meal, exercise five times each week, and drink at
least two liters of water each day."
Assuming that you stick to these rules (even if you lose only one pound
in weight) you have still done everything you set out to do -- you have
every right to feel satisfied. That's not to say you should lower your
standards.
But if you keep beating yourself up mentally, even though you've been
doing the things you planned to do, the chances are you're not going to
stick with your nutrition and training program very long. Instead, treat
every experience as feedback rather than failure -- an opportunity to
learn from what you've done, change your approach, and try again.
How are rules formed?
Your rules were formed in much the same way as your values; in response
to a system of punishment and reward. When your brain decided on the "right"
rules and values, it was the right thing to do at the time. We all make
the best decisions we can, given the information and resources available.
However, what may have been appropriate in the past might not be so useful
in your present circumstances.
If you built a raft in order to cross a river, would you then carry that
raft with you everywhere you went? Sure, some rules can serve a valuable
purpose at certain times in your life. Once their purpose has been met,
it's easy to carry them with us, even though they no longer meet the needs
of the current situation.
Here's the key -- your values and rules are at the heart of how you think
and feel each moment you're alive. Simply becoming aware of what they
are makes it far more likely that you will make a success of your nutrition
and training program.
Here's what to do...
Step 1
Firstly, establish what your current values are. Ask yourself the question,
"What is important to me about life?" I know -- that sounds like
a really "heavy" question. But go ahead and answer it anyway. Write down
all of the thoughts that come to mind on a piece of paper. Don't judge
or edit. Just write it all down.
Remember you are looking for core values rather than means values. Core
values will be things like satisfaction, self respect, achievement, courage
or discipline. Aim for a list of five words that represent your most important
core values. Go on...do it now.
Step 2
Now you can begin to list your values in order of importance. If you
had to remove one of these values, which one would it be? Underline that
word, and write the number five next to it. Repeat the process for each
word until you are left with your single most important value.
You should end up with a list of five values, each with a number next
to it. Your completed list is known as a values hierarchy. Once you see
what your values are, it becomes a lot easier to understand why you act
in the way you do.
Step 3
Now here's where things get really exciting! To really accelerate your
progress, simply ask yourself, "What do my values need to be in order
to achieve the goals I've set for myself?" What sort of emotional
states will you need to experience on a regular basis? Once you've decided
on these values, the next step is to rank them in order of importance.
In order to build the body you want, what is the most important value
you will need to live by? What is the highest personal standard you will
need to make a commitment to? Happiness? Discipline? Health? Remember
that you are in control. You're making the choices. You have the freedom
to arrange your values any way you want.
Step 4
Once you have your new values hierarchy, the next step is to decide on
the rules; the specific set of behaviors and actions you will need to
demonstrate in order to meet a certain value. Once again, remember that
you are in control; you're making the decisions. You might decide that
the only rule you need to feel happy is that you have to get out of the
bed in the morning! You have the freedom to choose.
Anthony Robbins, in his best-selling book, Awaken the Giant Within,
lists three questions to ask yourself when you're setting your rules.
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Is it impossible to meet? If your rules are too complex or
excessively strict, the chances are slim that you will meet them on
a consistent basis.
-
Is it in your control? Rules must be in your control. If you
delegate control of your emotional state to someone or something outside
your control, then you are setting yourself up for failure. For example,
one of your rules for achievement might be that you need other people
to approve of what you do. Unfortunately, a rule of this type is totally
out of your control. Instead, you might decide that your new rule
for achievement is to simply improve on what you have done before.
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Do your rules give you lots of ways to feel good, and only a few
ways to feel bad? Make sure your rules make it easy to feel good,
and difficult to feel bad.
A good friend of mine used to have a real problem feeling any real sense
of satisfaction. In order to feel satisfied with anything he had done,
it had to be "the best". He was constantly looking for the "best" way
to train, and wasted months trying every new training or nutrition program
that came along.
Because he never stayed with one program long enough to make progress,
he was never in the kind of shape his efforts deserved. However, once
he changed the emphasis of this rule from "best" to "better", he was able
to get the results he wanted AND feel satisfied on a far more consistent
basis. As long as what he was doing was better than it was before,
it didn't matter that things weren't perfect.
By the end of this process, your goal is to have a values hierarchy and
a list of criteria for each value. For example, you might decide that
courage is a value you'll need to create the kind of body you want. Your
set of rules could look something like this
I feel courage whenever
-
I take action to achieve my goals
-
I make a decision in harmony with my own standards
-
I feel anxious about an event or situation, but take action regardless
Once you have this new set of values and rules, make a commitment to
living them on a daily basis.
References
1. Bennett, N., Dodd, T., Flatley, J., Freeth, S., & Bolling, K. (1995).
Health survey for England 1993. London: HMSO
2. Colditz, G. (1992). Economic costs of obesity. American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition, 55, 503-575
3. Dishman, R.K. (1991). Increasing and maintaining exercise and physical
activity. Behaviour Therapy, 22, 345-378
4. Kuczmarski, R.J., Flegal, K.M., Campbell, S.M., & Johnson, C.L. (1994).
Increasing prevalence of overweight among US adults: the National Health
and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1960 to 1991. Journal of the American
Medical Association, 272, 205-211
5. Leith, L.M. (1992). Behaviour modification and exercise adherence:
a literature review. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 15, 60-74
6. Prentice, A.M., & Jebb, S.A. (1995). Obesity in Britain: gluttony
or sloth? British Medical Journal, 311, 437-439
7. Rhodes, R.E., Martin, A.D., Taunton, J.E., Rhodes, E.C., Donnelly,
M., & Elliot, J. (1999). Factors associated with exercise adherence among
older adults. Sports Medicine, 28, 397-411
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