I tell this story often, but it bears repeating.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger first came to America he was a competitive body builder. However, his upper body dwarfed his lower body. They didn’t match.

He decided that he was going to fix the problem.

And what did he do to fix it?

He started wearing shorts more often.

Every time he looked in the mirror he was forced to remember
the promise that he made to himself. He made a promise to get his lower body
muscular development up to the same level as his upper body.

Did it work?

Well, he went on to win the Mr. Olympia title 5 years in a row. He continues to make and keep his promises. He is now the Governor of California.
That is the power of a promise.

Have you ever attempted to achieve a goal. . . and then failed to achieve it?

Of course you have.
We all have.
That is the way life works.

If life was just a linear process, a straight line from A to B, what fun would that be?

Examine the life of any successful person and I guarantee that there were a series of setbacks, followed by incremental improvement that ultimately brought that person to success.

So what is a promise, and why should you set promises instead of goals? Well, in my opinion, a promise is stronger than a goal.

Why?

Because if you set a goal and fail to achieve it, where is the tension after that? You may feel bad because you did not achieve that goal so there is no pressure to achieve after the fact.

For example, let’s say that Juanita set a goal to lose 25 pounds this year.

“Things came up” and she stopped doing the things necessary to lose 25 pounds. She probably feels bad about that, but she doesn’t feel any pressure to lose the weight now.

Now, let’s look at it from the “promise setting perspective”.

What if Mary instead made a promise to herself and to all of her family and friends that she was going to lose the 25 pounds by November 30th and to seal the deal she threw away 2/3 of her “fat clothes”.

Do you think that might put more pressure on her to get the weight off now, and not “next week?”

Do you think her family and friends might start “calling her out” if they saw her eating food that was not conducive to achieving her goal?

When she wakes up in the morning and her closet is empty might that be a good reminder that there is still much work she needs to do, now, and not next week?

This brings us back to YOU!

What promise will you set for yourself and to people who will hold you accountable that will give you the body of your dreams?

Set a promise for yourself now and hold yourself accountable to it.

Keep it at the front of your mind all day and night long by writing it down and carrying it with you.

Fall asleep at night dreaming about it and wake up hungry to go create it.

Set just ONE promise to yourself for today. Maybe like Arnold, you need to wear a pair of shorts for a while?

Photo Credit © Suprijono Suharjoto | Dreamstime.com

Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Fitness, promises, Weight Loss