Why You Need To Stop Being Such A Grump

When you take a photo, something kind of strange happens. Whatever you focus on through the viewfinder of your camera is what ends up developing. Except it’s not really that strange, is it? In fact, it’s exactly what you’d expect. And you’d be pretty surprised (not to mention annoyed) if your flicks came back with completely unwanted images.

So why are you surprised when life serves up the same old junk? I’d say it’s time to stop being such a grouch and pay attention to what you focus on. Have you ever noticed how some people are just lucky? The seem to continually get what they want and swan around in a good mood most, if not all, of the time. This is no coincidence. I guarantee that if you were to interview such a person about their expectations toward different elements of their life they’d be positively expectant in 9 out of 10 cases. This is the kind of person who, even when something does go wrong, manages to find the silver lining.

How about you? What do you expect in your life in the coming weeks, months and years?

Yesterday I filled out a wealth survey for a financial planner who I’m considering working with. Talk about baring your soul. While most of the questions were about facts and figures, some were more philosophical. For example, one related to my expectations about retirement andnd whether I expected to:

• Live it up, doing whatever I want whenever I please
• Struggle to make ends meet
• Budget carefully and enjoy the occasional indulgence

Similar questions were asked about how quickly I expected to pay off my home loan. And it got me thinking – I must have personally trained close to 500 people individually over the past 10 years, and dealt with many more in groups/classes/workshops etc. And although I’ve always provided each person with the same exercise/nutrition knowledge as the next, based on my own learning and development, there’s a vast difference in the results achieved between different clients. Off the top of my head I can think of at least a handful of people who flat out told me they never expected to lose weight, or more than a little weight. Even though that’s what they wanted. They just didn’t think it was possible. And I’m willing to bet there’s more who think that way and just haven’t been so blunt about it.

Guess what? Those people never changed. Not one iota.

I’ve seen the same principle apply in the Personal Training business. The trainer’s who expect it to be tough and continually moan about how hard it is to find clients are always struggling. Those who assume their success – although they may have some ups and downs – always come out on top.

It’s time to take a look at your own life and your own mindset. Where are you headed? What assumptions have you made about your health and fitness? Your weight? Your ability to have a happy and fulfilling relationship? How about your career and finances? If your life were a photo reel, would you develop those images?

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