Believe in Yourself

This is a guest post by my friend Jon Luciano. We crossed paths via Twitter when I saw a tweet by Jon that started our friendship off through some encouragement and a common goal. Since then, Jon and I have continued to support each other through the trials and tribulations of our journeys. Please check out the post below, and be sure to visit his blog at extreme-workout.com and follow him on Twitter at @jonluciano. Oh, and by the way, though he is a HUGE Broncos fan, this is NOT his car... Regardless of what @freitag might say...  :)

Losing weight is tough and certainly presents a number of challenges. There are challenges around every corner along the weight loss journey. Before you embark on the journey you are faced with a challenge….starting! The first step is always the most difficult. It is also the most rewarding. I would bet that if a bunch of people who have lost weight were polled and asked when they took the first step to their new life, every one of them could tell you the exact date. I know I can: February 24, 2010.

The challenges that you will face in your quest to lose weight can be overwhelming. They could cause you to quit the quest. They may have already made you quit a number of times. I quit a bunch of times before I overcame the obstacles that prevented me from having the healthy life that I wanted.

Facing and overcoming challenges and obstacles is not an easy task. It takes a lot of strength to look it in the eye and defeat whatever is preventing you from reaching your goals. You have the only tool you will ever need….belief in yourself. Once you believe in yourself, all challenges fall in defeat. You must believe that you will lose weight at all cost and with any sacrifice. You must believe that you and you alone, have the capacity to life the life you want. You must believe that you can do it.

You cannot start a diet or lifestyle change by telling yourself “I think I might be able todo this 4 days a week.” You cannot tell yourself “I don’t have enough time to workout.”You cannot tell yourself “I have tried to lose weight before and it’s just too hard for me to stick to it.” If you tell yourself anything with the word “can’t” in the sentence, you have already allowed defeat to enter into your psyche.

You’ve got to believe in yourself. This is easier said than done and it takes time to build that belief. Each challenge adversity you face and defeat, you build a little bit more confidence and belief in yourself. It can take some time to get there, but starting with the belief that you can do it is the greatest tool in losing weight.

It’s nice to have the belief and support of others, but that’s not going to actually make you go to the gym or eat the right foods. The belief in yourself is what will push you tokeep going and not give up. Believe in yourself, even when others tell you that you can’t lose weight or that they don’t believe you will because you have tried before and failed.

The belief in yourself is a powerful tool and will motivate and inspire you to reach any goal you set your mind to. You are the only person in the world that you need to believe in to live the life you want.