This is a guest post by Matt Joseph.
The path to every goal worth achieving is filled with obstacles. This is especially true when it comes to fitness. Whether your fitness goals be for weight loss, fat loss, muscle gain, strength gain, etc.; there are sure to be numerous obstacles that will make your journey more difficulty. By understanding the concepts of vision and power, you can actually use these obstacles to get even more out of the journey to your goals.
Visionary goals - Visualizing the end of the road and journey
I do not believe in normal, simple goals. I think they are boring and lack the fire needed to drive you to great achievement. Instead, I believe in setting, what I call, "visionary goals".
A visionary goal takes your basic goal and turns it into something very real. It is something you can see and feel. You can see how your life will improve once you have achieved this visionary goal.
A visionary goal requires passion and purpose. You have to know what you really want your life to be like in order to completely set your goal. You have to know how you want to look, how you want to feel, what things you want to be able to do, and how you would like to improve your relationship with others.
If your goal is some kind of body transformation, picture yourself with your new body. Imagine how great you will feel. Imagine how your day-to-day life will improve. Visualize yourself in a situation where you will be proud to show off your new body, perhaps a situation that made you uncomfortable in the past.
This is a visionary goal.
Be as vivid as possible with your vision, for it will be the driving force that will get you through the tough times en route to your ultimate destination.
Seeing the Whole Path
While, it's important to see what your ultimate destination looks like, it is also important to see the entire path. You must be fully prepared for what lies ahead of you before you set out on your journey.
Acknowledge that there will be obstacles. There will be days when you will not feel like working out. There will be days when you will not feel like sticking to your diet. There will be situations that will tempt you to cheat on whatever it is you should be doing.
Be prepared for these situations in advance. Develop a gameplan in your mind for how you will handle them. Have a mental response prepared for as many potential excuses as you can imagine yourself using.
Then realize that there will always be more excuses available to you and that these excuses are the true test of your strength in character.
The Need for Power and How to Get More
Power is essential to our survival and satisfaction as humans. We are constantly craving power in one form or another. This power does not have to be political or in the form of status. True power is anything that satisfies your will.
Power can be control, but does not have to be control of others. Rather, it is normally control of your situation. The more you are in control of whatever it is you are doing in life, the more power you will have. Moreover, when you are doing what you want with your life, and you have control of this, you will have ultimate power.
We all want power even when we feel we are being selfless. Pure acts of selflessness give us power. If our will is to help others, then we get power from satisfying this will through the act of helping others. This power is not really any different from the power a politician gets from achieving his desired position in office. Think: to each, his own.
Unmasking True Desires
In order to discover what will give you power, you must unmask your true desires. Far too many people hide their true desires for one reason or another. Perhaps they dismiss these desires as irrational. Perhaps they are embarrassed of what others think of their desires. Maybe they are afraid of what will happen if they do not realize these desires.
Whatever the reason, hiding your true desires will cause you great frustration. This frustration is due to the stifling of your ultimate power.
There is no reason to believe your desires are irrational, for they are YOUR desires. They are what YOU want and there is a reason you want them. You want them because they are your true desires, and they will give you the power you need to satisfy your will to maximize your happiness.
Do not worry about what others think of your true desires, for these desires do nothing for the powers of others. They are all about you and your will to succeed and find happiness in life. What others think of this is irrelevant.
What happens if you fail to realize these desires ultimately will be better than what you have now. Now you have nothing, but by going on a journey toward your true desires you will find answers. You will open new doors and find new opportunities. You will unmask even more desires and build a better life for yourself.
Merging Desire and Power
Desire and power will always be linked. They form an unbreakable bond. In order to gain power, you must set about realizing your desires. In order for these desires to be true, they must give you power.
Each step that you take along the journey toward your desires--remember those visionary goals--builds your power. Each step you take backward causes you to lose power.
In order to create a great force that will drive you to your goals, you must utilize the power you already have and merge it with your will. Utilize your experience and your mental fortitude to take that next step toward the great life you imagine.
Recognizing the Power in Obstacles
Think back now to those obstacles that you are to be aware of as roadblocks on the journey to your goals. These obstacles have their own power, and it is crucial to your success that you recognize this power.
The power of an obstacle is in its ability to prevent you from taking that next step toward your goals. Each time a certain obstacle succeeds in this task, it gains power and becomes more difficult for you to overcome.
For example, suppose that one day you decide to skip your workout because you are tired from working so hard at your job. You want some time to relax. In this case, the obstacle is your perceived tiredness. By achieving its goal of preventing you from working out, this obstacle gains power. As a result, the next time this obstacle comes up, it will will be even more difficult to overcome.
Using Obstacles to Build More Power for Yourself
The good news is that there is a great benefit in the power of obstacles that few people are aware of. This great benefit lies in your ability to take this power to build your own.
Going back to the tiredness example, suppose you actually choose to fight off this obstacle and work out despite the fact that you feel tired. Not only will you take that next step toward your goals, you will also show yourself that you can conquer this potential excuse. Thus, the next time an obstacle like this comes up, you will already know that you can defeat it.
This is power.
If your desire for more power is not strong enough--i.e. if you are not utilizing your true will--the obstacles will defeat you.
However, if your desire/power unity is stronger that the power of the obstacle, you will be able to overcome said obstacle. And this will satisfy your will for more power.
What This Added Power Means for Your Life
Each obstacle that you overcome on the journey to your goals is an achievement of power. In fact, every step you take toward these goals will build your power.
This power can also be thought of as personal growth.
This personal growth allows you to understand more about yourself. It opens new doors and new possibilities for great achievement. It unmasks abilities that you did not know you possessed. It allows you to see life from a higher vantage-point.
You can derive as much, if not more, satisfaction during the process of the journey to your goals as you will from reaching these goals themselves.
Reaching your goals will drive you to even bigger goals, for it is human nature to always desire more power.
But remember, all the power you gain from your journey will add value to your life.
This is the beauty of personal achievement.
About the Author: Matt Joseph is a Fitness Professional and former personal trainer. In 2010, he created the Healthy Body Revolution. The concept of the revolution is to create a movement toward making healthy living a priority. Matt's specialty is in creating a powerful mindset to achieve great fitness success. For more, please visit his Fitness Blog.
