Want to improve your happiness? Your energy levels? Your relationships? How people respond to you? How you perform in the gym? At work? This week I have a challenge for you. Try this:

Every time that you are about to complain, have a negative thought, a negative emotion, STOP. Confront that situation head on with a positive thought. A positive emotion. Save that complaint.

If your emotions were currency, you certainly wouldn’t be throwing complaints, negative self-talk, doom and gloom vibes around like they were monopoly dollars.

Your brain is an incredibly smart system. It will interpret whatever you put in to it as real or your reality. Quick, in 10 seconds look around your room right now and count how many blue things you see. Go.

Ok, how many? Now, how many red things did you see? You don’t know, because you weren’t focused on that. The same thing rings true for your emotions, self-talk, and outlook. You see what you are looking for. You feel how you are thinking or what your outlook is.

 

Are we all smiling zombies that never confront tough situations? Of course not. But you always control how you react. YOU control your outlook. YOU control what you’re going to do about it. If your boss is a jerk, don’t waste your emotionally currency worrying about that. You still have a job to do. Do it. Take pride in the fact that you are still doing magnificent work, even though you don’t love your work situation. Good for you! If you are crazy sore from a workout, don’t say to yourself, “I’m so sore I’m so sore I’m so sore” like a broken record. Your brain/body WILL hold you back when you attempt the task at hand. If you choose to workout that day, try saying this to yourself: “I can’t wait to see how I can get myself through this workout while not feeling 100%,” and take it as a challenge. Guess what? You’ll perform much better AND feel a greater sense of accomplishment for overcoming some difficult odds.

Lastly, lets just go ahead and be honest:

Would you want it to be easy? Be honest. The answer is no, you wouldn’t. Running away from easy and running towards difficult challenges is the reason why you aren’t at the YMCA anymore. It’s the reason that going for a 1 mile, half assed jog followed by 10 sit ups and 15 push ups doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s the reason you are with our family at TCF. You welcome challenges. You take on difficult situations head on…inside AND outside the gym. I see it every single day. I’ve seen it through 4 weeks of The Open. I’ve heard your stories. You are all strong, perseverant people. Now take it to the next level with this week’s challenge. Up that mental game and enjoy new levels of happiness and satisfaction not yet seen.