I am a person who found an entire new life in recovery and then in Christianity, and because of how those things impacted my life, three of my great “loves” are slogans that are meaningful, acronyms that are truly memorable, and short passages of wisdom that are life-changing. So, I pay a lot of attention to slogans, especially to slogans that appear in ads or promotional materials for so-called motivational programs—like Body for Life. One of those slogans that has deep significance is the one that titles this Blog. Here’s why.

In Body For Life [BFL], we are all called on to change our minds. That doesn’t mean, of course, changing our options as we commonly use it in conversation. Usually, when someone tells us, “I’ve changed my mind,” it simply means that they are no longer going to do what they said they’d do, or that they are now going to do what they said they weren’t. In BFL, changing your mind really means changing the way you think, the values you use to make your decisions, and your entire perspective on life. It also means strengthening your mind. Without mental strength, all the good intentions in the world won’t help you a darn bit.

Would an example help here? I think so, so here is a common one I see on the guestbook. Mom is worried—because she just started BFL and she is busily baking cookies and other Holiday goodies to feed to her children and other family members—and she is afraid she is going to be tempted by them! Really! This is a classic case of a person deciding to do a transformation challenge, but not really a mind change. She is absolutely oblivious of the fact that this is exactly how she became a sugar and sweets junkie herself, because her parents did the very same thing she is doing. Somehow, she allows her mind to assume that serving sweets to her own children is just fine, even though for her they are a deadly temptation, an invitation to descend back down into the uncontrollable eating problems that led her to BFL in the first place. In spite of the way she knows this works, she somehow just closes her mind and assumes that the kids will eat all this but will make up their own minds to eat healthy one day soon.

The bottom line is that a changed mindset in BFL is one which regards the way to live as beginning with the type of foods we eat. That mindset should be to eat the best foods we can, and to feed healthy foods to the kids who are too young to make good choices themselves. That mindset should also include making available some healthy choices for those who ARE old enough to choose by themselves, but who often will just eat whatever is placed in front of them.

If we don’t acquire that type of a mindset, then in reality our BFL experience is simply going to be another temporary diet and exercise program that affects only us, and a temporary effect at that. If we don’t care enough to change our entire outlook on healthy eating, it will indeed be a short time before we are again reaching into the candy dishes at work, or the pizza in the break room, or the birthday cake that someone brought home today. That’s no way to live, not for me anyway.

Now, don’t get too hung up on this example if it doesn’t apply to you or you think my theory is a bit off base. There are many other areas where you need to change your mind. Early morning cardio is a great one. I get up every morning at 5:30 to exercise, not because I want to, but because I regard that as part of my job. I never question whether I should get up and go to work—and you probably don’t either—but most of us wrestle with whether we should get up and exercise early. The mindset that “This is what I do” is not an easy one to acquire, but over time you will adapt to it, if you try.

Another area where most of us need a mind change is the universal law of reciprocation. At Christmas time we’re all sort of generous, looking for ways to bless others and help them a bit. How about making at least one day every week “Christmas day?” In other words, on Saturday, for example, live just as though it was Christmas day, joyfully, generously and extravagantly toward others!

How do you begin this “mind change?” Just like every other change—with a deep commitment in your heart. Write it down, in your journal, and make it a promise to yourself. Something like, “For the next 84 days I will furnish authorized foods only to myself and good foods to the rest of my family, except on free days.” Renew that little vow every morning by making that once again your goal for that day. A few successful checks on that goal at the end of your day, and you’ll be well on your way to truly “changing your mind.”

It Takes DRIVE to Complete a Good Challenge!
by: Michael Harris 7/14/2007
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Ready for another acronym? I think they’re helpful, really, as a way of checking our own behavior. Yesterday’s was borrowed from 12 step recovery, and is a checklist to be sure you don’t get in trouble as a result of failing to read your own needs. Today’s acronyms are actually a couple I created myself, in order to help us know where we’re going in a challenge. Here’s the first, DRIVE!

A GREAT TRANSFORMATION TAKES D.R.I.V.E.!

D is for Discipline. Guts, mastery over the flesh, refusing to hit the snooze alarm, staring down that spouse or helpmate who wants to take you out for an unauthorized meal. Without this, you’ll stand for nothing, and fall for everything!

R is for Regularity. Doing it every day, the same time, the same way. Without this, things crowd in, and results wane.

I is for Intensity. When you do it, put your all to it. Leave nothing on the table. Without this, it becomes just another dull job.

V is for Variety. Not slacking off, but changing up. 12 weeks of the same thing makes for dullness and drudge. Change up your cardio types, your exercise order and types every three to four weeks. Buy a cookbook—12 weeks of turkey breast and brown rice can make suicide sound pretty good! Without this, even if you make it, 12 weeks will seem like eternity.

E is for Excellence. Make your form, your workout journals, your attire, your appearance, and your attitude all say that you are a winner NOW! The better you look, the better you do! Without this, you’ve done the challenge for no good reason.

In the next blog, right below this, we’ll talk about the downside, D.R.I.F.T.

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Don’t Do the DRIFT!
by: Michael Harris 7/14/2007
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Above, we learned that it takes drive to do a great challenge. To review, drive stands for discipline, regularity, intensity, variety and excellence. This blog is about what happens when you lose focus, when it all starts going south on you. Here are the symptoms, which of course are parts of an acronym that describes the DRIFT that takes place.

D is for Dull. It all becomes uninteresting and one dimensional. The meals are dry and dull; the workouts are just something to get through. Skipping or cheating begins to seem like the thing to do. Your mind wanders throughout the day, especially when doing your workouts.

R is for Routine: No longer are you trying any new exercises or seeking to better any of your personal bests. The same old same old is good enough for you, and you are seriously thinking it might be time to just take a break or try something new.

I is for Impatience which rears its ugly head. You don’t know why, but the people whose support kept you going early on become the victims of your little tantrums. People at work who used to ask you for advice are beginning to mumble that they liked the “old person” a lot better. When they see the look on your face, people in the gym who used to ask you for advice just get out of your way!

F is for “Forgetfulness” that suddenly becomes a new excuse. You “forgot” to pack your meals, or to work out on the way home, or that today was NOT your free day. Funny, you don’t forget the things you really want to do—just the things you know you ought to do.

T is for Temptation that eventually does you in. Temptation to sleep in, to stop “wasting all your time exercising,” to once again begin to hoard and eat those little guilty pleasure foods, to extend free day to free weekends, and then free week, and then……….

So, how do you avoid the curse of the drift? Simple. Not easy, but simple.

1. You act your way to better thinking rather than lying around waiting for a better attitude to get you going. Right actions bring with them right attitudes. Waiting for a right attitude brings with it only more waiting, and then failure.

2. You work the universal law of reciprocation. That is, you do something to help someone who cannot possibly do you any good at all. And you tell no one. Not even the person you helped, you do it all anonymously. This simple act of kindness that no one will ever know will bring you enough joy and newfound energy that you won’t have time to start to drift!