Play Mind Games to Train Your Mind

I've been playing mind games to properly train my mind for over three decades. It has proven to be my greatest ally in becoming successful. Mind games are little things you say over and over again until these phrases become permanently entrenched in your mind and become part of your life. Silly as it may sound, they are the main ingredients to help you accomplish your goals. They may sound crazy and ridiculous, but it works! People often ask me what my secret formula is for acquiring discipline and accomplishing so much in life. I tell them that I talk to my mind and it talks to me all day long. Yes, its only one voice, and no I'm not schizophrenic!

It's so much more than training my mind to guide me when I need it the most. These little phrases are automatically and subconsciously played back in my mind at appropriate times repeatedly. The appropriate time is when you need that little extra push to help you accomplish the priorities for any given day. My mind doesn't speak to me in a soft gentle voice. It's more like a drill sergeant's voice never letting up and continuously bombarding me 24/7. The Sergeant is relentless - he never tires. My mind is no different. It never eases up or gives me a break. It's unyielding to guarantee my success.

Most Frequently Used Excuses
How many times a week do you use excuses as a reason for not completing a goal on schedule or not keeping a commitment? Below I've documented some of the most frequently used excuses people use everyday. More importantly, I've documented the mind games I would use to train my mind to combat these excuses. The solution isn't rocket science. It's really quite simple and may even seem corny, but there is a method to my madness, trust me! The solution is playing a mind game to train the mind to permanently erase excuses from your vocabulary.

Solutions For Those Excuses
I Have A Cold So I'll Take It Easy Today
We've all been there. When you're feeling ill and your energy level is running on empty, it's easy to keep telling yourself repeatedly that you should probably take it easy. Just about everyone else around you is telling you to take it easy too. After a while your mind starts coddling you and automatically tells your body to take it easy. You've trained your mind to react negatively by having it focus on your symptoms. This will rapidly accelerate your symptoms, so enjoy the ride because you're going down!

The average person gets two colds a year. As you know, a cold can last anywhere from a day to several weeks depending on the virus and severity. I've had my share of colds, especially being a parent with children. They just love bringing home the newest bug from school and sharing it equally among family members.

It's OK to take it easy when you're sick. As long as you don't have a fever, there is no reason to stay home from work or take a day off from exercise. You won't have as much energy as you normally would anyway. You're probably a bit uncomfortable with a few aches and pains, but so what? It won't harm you. It's important to apply some common sense and consider the health of your coworkers too. There's nothing worse than the person who comes to work when they are extremely ill. They are totally unproductive but manage to infect the entire office as well as their families.

Why sit around doing nothing, complaining, and feeling sorry for yourself? No one has the luxury to sit around and do nothing. You're probably already doing the work of two people due to corporate layoffs, or because you have children and both parents are working. It's almost impossible to have extra hours for relaxation or personal downtime built into your busy schedule.

Playing The Mind Game
Get up and exercise a little, clean the house, or take a long walk. Just use some common sense and do things in moderation and don't over exert yourself. The point is to keep busy. Then cool down a bit and take a shower or a relaxing warm bath. You'll feel so much better both mentally and physically. Use your favorite remedies, i.e., chicken soup, hot tea, or cold medicine and get on with your day. Get up and stop wasting time hosting your own pity party. Make each minute of your life count.

When you catch a cold tell yourself that you're not sick repeatedly time and again. Reiterate in your mind that it's probably just a 24-hour bug. Regardless, the more you accomplish today the better off you'll be tomorrow. When tomorrow comes it's more of the same, except now it's a 48-hour bug. You get the idea. Think positively. Don't wimp out here! Tell yourself it's only temporary and you'll feel better tomorrow. Give your body what it needs to kick this cold's ass! Take care of it and it will take care of you. Those days when you're coughing, congested, and your throat is scratchy - push yourself that much harder to make things happen. Sure it may take more effort than usual but your body is busy fighting its own battle, so your mind must compensate. Don't just sit around doing nothing and become a couch potato.

When I have those same nagging symptoms people will ask me whether or not I am sick. My response has always been: Nope! The point is not to let people feel sorry for you. If they start pampering you then you'll start babying yourself. Don't go there - stay mentally tough! Always challenge yourself to push that much harder when you're feeling down. You'll be rewarded by significantly reducing your 'down time' and feeling better sooner

I Can't Save Money And My Spending Habits Are Out Of Control. You're not alone. Many people live their life from paycheck to paycheck. They struggle to keep up and never get ahead of the game. Their credit cards are usually maxed out and they pay only the minimum amount each month. They get so deep into debt that it's very difficult to get their heads above water. It's very important to work on and keep up with your fiscal fitness.

Playing The Mind Game
The answer is really quite simple. Saving money has to be a goal. It can't be an afterthought. Unfortunately millions of people consider saving money an afterthought. They wait until they're in their twenties, thirties, or even forties before they start thinking about saving money. This is a huge mistake that will be regretted for many years to come. They need to start learning about managing finances in their teens. A solid foundation on the value of money should be started as soon as kids can grasp the concept. What kids don't know about money can hurt them. The more they know, the more likely it is that they will become financially responsible adults. Who doesn't want a big savings account? Then all the more reason it needs to be a goal as early as possible. You must put future needs before present wants. Beginning is the hardest part. Once you begin, you'll never want to stop. Making your own security blanket goes a long way towards lowering stress that can be a deterrent to completing even the easiest goals.

If your goal is to save $100.00 every month, then why not make a check out to your savings account just as if you were making a check out to pay your monthly bills? If you pay 10 bills a month, what's one more? If $100.00 is too much, then be more conservative and go $50.00 or even $20.00 - whatever it takes and whatever is comfortable for you. It's important to make it a conservative amount or you will fail in your efforts to save money. If you're short on any given month, then you won't write this 11th check. In your mind you need to tell yourself that it's just like any other bill and you're paying it on the 1st of each month. Remember to always pay yourself first and saving money will never be a problem. It must be a priority, plain and simple.

The savings account has to be out of sight and out of mind just like a safety deposit box would be. Don't open up another checking account, as you'll have a tendency to go to it when things get a bit tight. It has to be a savings account. I had my regular checking account in one bank near my home and my savings in another several miles away. Do not have easy access to your savings account!

The money in this savings account needs to be used to accomplish one of your goals whether it's a car, boat, home, or a vacation fund. Whatever you use it for, make sure it's for a significant goal and not for just a new watch, outfit or an impulse buy. It's best if it's used for a goal that is something you need, but if it's for something that is just a want, be sure its something that is well worth your efforts. Case in point; if you're saving for a vacation make it to someplace that you've always dreamed about so it will be one that you'll never forget. Saving for a trip to Las Vegas and then gambling all your hard-earned money away is not a goal I'd recommend for someone who is struggling to save their money.

In several months you may want to increase the amount you save but you can never decrease it. That would mean your established goal would not be met. In other words, you've failed to acquire discipline! Once again it's important to stay very conservative in the beginning. In 1967 I started with a minimum of $5.00 a week and gradually increased it on a consistent basis.

I'm Always Late For Appointments.
This has got to be one of the most common problems people have all over the world. Reasons are endless but the most common one is traffic. This is especially true if you live in a large metropolitan city. As I travel all over the world I see that traffic is definitely a problem, but being late for an appointment is no excuse.

Playing The Mind Game
Here's a very simple mind game I play: Tell yourself there will always be traffic or an accident and allocate your time accordingly. If you tell yourself to leave early then it won't be an issue. If the commute to your appointment without traffic is 30 minutes then leave one hour earlier. If you always double your commute time your odds of being late are slim to none. If you are chronically late and mind games don't work for you then it's time to take it up a notch. Set all your clocks and watches 10-15 minutes fast and never be late again.

Before you leave your house bring along reading material or your laptop computer just in case you do get there early. There's no way you can sit there in the car 15-30 minutes early ahead of your scheduled appointment and do nothing.

I'm A Businessman And Travel 80% of The Time - I Don't Have The Time To Exercise And Eat Right.
This excuse doesn't fly (pun intended) with me at all. I travel every week of the year. I'm always in an airport and on the go. It's astonishing to see how many young executives in their twenties, thirties, and forties that are so out of shape. I hear the same old excuses:
• I'm always tired when I arrive at my destination
• I get into my hotel at an unreasonable hour
• I'm too busy - need to get some work done on my computer when I get to the hotel room
• I'm too lazy right now - there's a three-hour time difference - it must be jet lag - I'll feel better tomorrow

The list goes on and on. What irks me is watching these out of shape excuse ridden executives walk through the airport with their luggage on wheels. Many of them even have their smaller briefcases on wheels. To make matters worse they take this luggage and stand on the automated walkways.

There are so many ways and opportunities to exercise before you even get on that plane. It would be wise to make it a goal since you know you're going to be sitting for several hours. And let's not forget about all that rich food you'll probably be eating.

Some of the biggest excuses I've ever heard were from these executives that complained how tired they were after traveling overseas. I'll have to admit it is an exhausting trip. So why not sleep a few hours on the plane?

I travel from Los Angeles to Singapore frequently. I would depart Los Angeles around noon on Saturday and arrive in Singapore around midnight on Sunday. I can understand being tired, but so what? I've never heard of someone dying from being tired. My mind would tell my body that I was tired just about every minute of the day if I allowed it to. My body does get tired and I need rest just like anyone else (just not as much). When you fly overseas it's almost impossible to sleep more than a few hours due to the time difference. Singapore is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles. So why not get out of bed, turn the TV off and go to the hotel gym and exercise for 30 minutes? Most of the good hotels have gyms open 24 hours a day. Once you complete your fitness routine you'll feel a hundred times better. What's 30 minutes? It's really not about being tired, it's just being lazy. Start walking through airports instead of using automated walkways. Forget the escalator; walk up the stairs to get your legs moving. Every little bit helps when you have a long flight to take. These little things add up. Stop being so lazy!

Playing The Mind Game
I kept telling myself that I was getting fatter and lazier each time I got on an airplane. Before you go on a long flight remind yourself that you are going to be sitting for hours stuffing your face with rich food and most likely having a few drinks. If you exercise in preparation for travel you will feel better and be able to enjoy it knowing that you've taken care of your body. You deserve to relax, enjoy the flight and indulge in whatever the food cart brings your way. Since you already know traveling is tiresome in itself you must take advantage of every opportunity to stretch your legs, get your blood circulating and keep your mind busy according to your destination time if you can. Everyone knows how a heavy meal alone can induce instantaneous napping. It's asking for trouble to combine inactivity with rich food and then add a new timetable on top of it. Oh yeah, you're going to be feeling like crap for days. That's a shame since traveling can be much more rewarding if you are in good physical condition.

Another motivating factor for me is when people asked "How do you stay in such good shape when you travel so much?" You never tire of getting compliments about your health because you know how much discipline it requires to be in good shape. The fact that people notice and acknowledge the difficulty in spite of my hectic traveling schedule shows that not only do they admire my commitment, but they realize that it's not easy by any means. More importantly, it proves that it can be done if you play mind games to keep your health a constant priority even in the face of adversity.

I'm Too Fat - I Can't Stick To My Diet.
It's not about maintaining a diet. Diets don't work for a prolonged period of time. You need to change your eating habits. Eating right should be a way of life. In my opinion health should be one of your priorities. That means eating right, consistently exercising and maintaining the proper body weight.

Playing The Mind Game
I always imagine what I would look like if I didn't eat right. When you are tempted to eat something that's not healthy remember how terrible you always feel afterwards. Your mind knows what's best for your body. You've just chosen to ignore it. So next time you eat that super-sized double cheeseburger meal you better check that mental snapshot. Focus on that mental picture and remember that you really are what you eat!

I Can't Motivate Myself to Consistently Exercise.
"I need a personal trainer to push me every day". During my travels I visit dozens of new gyms each year. It's mind boggling to see the dependency people have on personal trainers. There are so many people out there that will not exercise on their own. The reasons vary from being lazy, lack of drive or expertise, or solely as a status symbol, which is big in Los Angeles where I live.

I'm not condemning fitness experts. They need to make a living as well. Unfortunately, they often times feed off these individuals who cannot motivate themselves. Lack of motivation is probably the number one reason people use them. It's sad but true.

If it's your first time exercising and you're not comfortable learning on your own, then I would recommend hiring a fitness consultant or personal trainer for a few weeks. Most of them have the knowledge and expertise to show you the proper routines. It's important that you don't let the training sessions go for more than a month. The sooner you become self-reliant, the better. Motivate yourself instead of being dependent on someone else. Periodic (i.e., quarterly) checkups to gauge progress or lack there of is acceptable only if you feel it's absolutely necessary.

If exercise is going to be part of your daily routine, then it has to be included in your plan as a priority with specific goals and milestones. Once health and fitness become a priority and you've learned the routine ask yourself the following question: Why would I waste my hard earned money on a trainer and be dependent on this individual indefinitely? After all, don't I have something more important to spend my money on?

As most of you fitness freaks already know, it's extremely hard to exercise consistently. Some days it's a real struggle and it's easy to find excuses. There's always time to exercise. This is an excuse that is affecting your health and quality of life. Here are some other excuses:
• I'm too busy
• I'll do it tomorrow
• When I was younger I was very consistent
• Before I got married I used to be in great shape
• I don't know the routine - I don't know where to begin...

I put this excuse last for a reason. Whether you're the CEO of a busy household or a corporation, there's always time to exercise. Make the time.

Playing The Mind Game
I played some mind games as I was training my mind to overcome some of those weak moments we all have. These are the actual phrases I used:
• If I don't exercise today I'll look like millions of other overweight Americans.
• If I don't exercise today I'll look like crap the rest of my life.
• If I don't exercise today I'll become lazy and complacent.

These mind games seem crazy but they were mighty effective. I started using some of these in my teens and the rest of them in my twenties. Now I'm 55 years old and I no longer need them. Exercise has become a way of life and I couldn't imagine my life without it.