"Hey, Me! Quiet....I can't hear myself"

It's 4 a.m. in the morning - the alarm clock goes off.

"I don't want to go to the gym"

...and the reality at that moment is - I am not getting up and going to the gym.

My mind kicks in again - "you will get up and go to the gym. That other voice was lying. After you are done at the gym, you will feel great just like all of the other mornings that you didn't want to go and then you went."

...and a new reality is created - as I go to the gym.

Isn't it amazing - something as intangible and nebulous as a thought can create an entire new reality in just one second.

Why did I go to the gym? - is it self discipline? Maybe. Is it accountability because I know my gym buddy will be at the gym? Maybe. We aren't quite there yet though.

There is a school of thought that says - sometimes we Act (A) our way into Feeling (F) when we do things that we don't feel like doing but do them anyway.

There is another school of thought that says - we Feel (F) our way into Acting (A). This often applies to when we do things that we feel like doing but that we really shouldn't (Hello.....HappyHour and that one too many cocktail).

So is it:

A leads to F
or
F leads to A

To which I answer - "yes."

But there is something missing from both equations - and that is T.....Thought.

Let's go back to my gym example - my initial thought was that I wasn't going to the gym. The next thought was that I was going...though I still didn't feel like it. At this point, we would be at:

T leads to A which leads to F
(with F being the good Feeling after going to the gym)

I had an additional thought as I got my sweat clothes on- and this made me actually start looking forward to the post workout feeling I would get. I was actually now Feeling like going to the gym. So our equation has now shifted:

T led to F which led to A

Action is the desired outcome - and it doesn't really matter whether it comes before or after the Feeling...as long as it comes.

But what is the constant? - it's Thought (T) which controls everything. It is the quiet conversation that goes on in your brain. Do you see how important the thought process is...

....it is everything!

But stop right now - and answer this: do you ever mentally step back and eavesdrop on yourself? Do you listen to the conversation? Is there one going on? Do you even know if there is?

Here would be a great example of one to listen to - you wake up in the morning, "gotta have my coffee. I am no good without my coffee." Does it end right there?

Now, I am not going to question that you have a caffience addiction - which, for some odd reason, we seem to find socially acceptable and that the tremendously smart people at Starbucks figured out long ago and capitalize on the lack of conversation going on upstairs in your head. Addictions are another subject but, prior to leaving, I will leave you with the thought: what if caffience addiction was socially viewed the same as cocaine, pot, porn, or tobacco addiction? Would you still be "no good without your coffee" long term?

So, there you sit - "I'm no good without my coffee?" Does another voice come in and say, "who told you that? There are a lot of people that never drink a drop of caffiene in the morning. Do you really think that you were born with this physiological need that makes you deficient without caffiene?"

I'm guessing that conversation isn't happening......or isn't being heard - and I would ask, "why?"

Hey, if you like coffee and don't want to end your addiction - it's your life and Starbucks will gladly exploit you until the day you die. All I am asking is that you ask the question.......and then step back and watch your mind go back and forth. Eavesdrop on yourself....on some of your beliefs......the self limiting beliefs.....the ones that keep you from getting from where you are to where you know you should be.

But this isn't just about the gym or caffiene - it's about you getting to wherever you want to get. If you want to do something different...be something more....you will end up changing. The question is how fast do you want to get there?

Yes....change requires pain - I didn't like going to the gym. You don't like skipping your coffee. Neither of us wants to take the time to take that class that may make the difference to prepare (a.k.a. Change) us for the opportunity that waits ahead. Maybe you don't even know what the change ahead is....

...but one thing is for certain - if you can change your thoughts quickly, you will be able to change more quickly. To change your thoughts, you have to know what they are. You have to listen to what is going on upstairs. It governs everything that you do.

Part 2 tomorrow