“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.”

—Chinese proverb

Many people who fail to lose weight or overcome a bad habit don’t fail because they lack commitment. This is a big piece of the puzzle that every successful self-changer must solve: Failure doesn’t always mean you haven’t made an effort. Sometimes failure is a result of trying too hard.

Trying too hard to break a bad habit is almost always self-defeating. When your thoughts are focused on the problem, it’s only a matter of time before your willpower crumbles.

Tension and negative energy build up when you force yourself to dwell on negative thoughts. Most dieters and smokers have gone through the familiar cycle of trying as hard as they can, lapsing into the same old routines sooner or later, and finally giving up with less hope than ever that they will one day be able to break their self-destructive habits.

The only way to defeat bad habits is to keep your focus on the new lifestyle you plan to enjoy once the habit no longer controls you.

Picture this scenario: A man casually jogs thirteen miles (yes, a half marathon) in a little over five hours, barely the pace that would be set by an energetic walker. It’s no wonder: Our man stopped for a beer and a cigarette halfway through his run.

At first glance, this hardly fits the picture of a committed lifestyle changer. But wait: This is no ordinary man. We’re face to face with a living legend: 101-year-old Buster Martin.

As he told ABC News, “You are never too old to do what you enjoy.”

There’s a lesson to be learned from Buster Martin, and it’s not that you should stop for a beer and a cigarette the next time you run thirteen miles. The important thing to grasp is this: Buster keeps his focus on the benefits of joyful living.

Buster Martin does what he enjoys. He came out of retirement at the age of ninety-nine to go back to work part time. And his running benefits others as well as his own cardiovascular system. He plans to run the 2008 London Marathon—all twenty-six miles. His sponsorship money will go to charity.

Buster’s formula for abundant living is a simple one: Never believe that you’re too old to do what you enjoy, and do it for the benefit of others. This is the attitude that drives all lifelong achievers.

To be a lifelong achiever like 101-year-old Buster Martin, take an attitude check today. Make a commitment to what Emmet Fox called the “seven-day mental diet.”

It works like this: For one week, you must not allow your mind to dwell on any negative thoughts.

As soon as a thought like “I can’t” enters your mind, immediately shift your mode of thinking. Instead of telling yourself you can’t, start thinking about what you need to do to accomplish it. If it isn’t important, strike it off your list and forget about it.

By: Aaron Stafford, MS.

“If you don’t get what you want, it is a sign either that you did not seriously want it, or that you tried to bargain over the price.”

—Rudyard Kipling

People make sacrifices every day for things that won’t make a difference ten years or ten days from now. They sacrifice the extra hour of sleep their bodies need in exchange for late night television. But most people are reluctant to make sacrifices to get what they really want.

At seventeen, Dori knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to be free. Growing up in Castro’s Cuba, she had always heard stories about people sailing to a new life across the waters. Her older brother had already made the trip. She dreamed of a better life somewhere, anywhere but Cuba.

One night she got in a boat with her fiancé and five friends. The Gulf currents carried them into Mexican territorial waters. After five days at sea, they were rescued by the Mexican Coast Guard just as a February squall threatened to capsize their boat.

Dori and her fiancé are in the United States today. As political refugees, they await the outcome of their request for U.S. residency.

“Dori,” I asked, “If you knew what you would have to go through, would you get in the boat again? Would you do it all over again in spite of the storms, sharks, and uncertainty?”

Her pupils grew to twice their normal size. “No, I don’t think I would,” she said. “I didn’t think it would be so scary.”

As Dori’s answer reveals, even good changes can be frightening. The pull of the familiar is often stronger than the attraction of the unknown, so most people play it safe. “Why sacrifice if I already have enough to get by?” they say.

In The Millionaire Mind, Dr. Thomas Stanley surveyed over seven hundred first-generation millionaires to discover the secret of their success. He asked them to rate thirty success factors. A high IQ (#21) and a degree from a top university (#23) ranked among the least important factors.

Two factors tied for first place: honesty and self-discipline. The secret of success is no secret at all: If you want to be successful, tell the truth and be willing to make sacrifices for what you really want.

Take a moment today to think about your direction in life. What’s keeping you from accomplishing your dreams? According to seven hundred and thirty-three U.S. millionaires, your lack of education isn’t the problem. Identify an area where you can make a bigger sacrifice to achieve a goal. Then go for it.

Whenever I think of Dori, I always remember the look in her eyes when I asked if she would get in the boat again. Though she didn’t want to think about it, I have a feeling that she is prepared to make even bigger sacrifices to build the life she dreams of.

She only has a high school degree, but that won’t stop her.

To learn more on how to live a happier and healthier life go to www.think-and-grow-thin-weightloss.com

By Aaron Stafford, MS. 

“It is in men, as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of.”

—Jonathan Swift

You’ve probably heard the story about the frog and the cooking pot. It goes like this: Throw a live frog into a pot of steaming water and it will jump right out. But drop a frog into a pot of cool H2O, let it cook over a slow flame, and guess what happens? The frog will stay there until it boils to death.

We don’t have to think very hard to discover the moral of the story: Most human beings would rather stay stuck in their circumstances, no matter how hot it gets, than face the terrifying uncertainty that comes with jumping into a new environment.

Of course, human beings aren’t frogs, except in fairy tales. But even in real life, there are times when people act more like the frog in the pot than they would like to admit. And they don’t know what to do about it.

No, human beings aren’t frogs: I’ve never met a man that didn’t want to improve his life in some way. I’ve never met a woman who didn’t want her dreams to come true.

Then why do so many people stay stuck in bad habits, slowly stewing to death? Why do intelligent people let bad choices destroy their opportunity to live happier and healthier lives?

The answer is simple and complex at the same time. Therapists know that programs are not the key to beating addictions. Studies show that about half of the people who seek professional help for an addiction drop out after the first two or three sessions.

External changes like going on a diet, starting an exercise program, and eliminating sources of temptation only work for a short time. Sooner or later, most people fall back into old habits.

Success only comes when we replace bad habits with healthy new habits. The key to lasting success is total lifestyle change. But we already know this. We’ve been hearing it for years.

That brings us back to Square 1: Why do most people fail to accomplish their goals? 

 Here’s some food for thought: For every smoker that kicks the habit thanks to a program, there are twenty persons that quit smoking on their own. 

Q: What’s going on?

A: Success is all in the mind. Literally.   

Research shows that people have a greater probability of breaking a bad habit when they take responsibility for changing the way they think about themselves.

To be successful, we need a good reason to change and information to help us get started. Whether you’re trying to give up cigarettes or high-calorie meals, the first step is the same: Make change the #1 priority in your life.

That’s the only step you need to take today. But you need to take it now, not tomorrow or next week.

That brings us to the simple part. The first step toward a happier and healthier life is to grasp the truth that only you have the power to do anything about it.

With this simple truth in mind, it’s time to discover your vein of gold.

To learn more on how to discover your vien of gold visit www.think-and-grow-thin-weightloss.com

http://www.think-and-grow-thin-weightloss.com/losing_weight_created_by_your_thoughts.html

• Do you have more healthy or unhealthy thoughts about food?

• Do you give heartfelt thanks, or criticize and complain about your situation?

• Do you give yourself positive reinforcement, or do you talk negatively and beat yourself up throughout the day?

• Do you have more positive or negative thoughts before, during, and after exercise?

Read the rest of this article at http://www.think-and-grow-thin-weightloss.com/losing_weight_created_by_your_thoughts.html