Hot Wings & Other Things

I have been reading about the power of setting goals in Tom Venuto’s The Body Fat Solution. The unconscious (sub-conscious) mind is fascinating. Our brains are like a goal-seeking supercomputers. Like a computer, we can program and re-program our brains. Because of this, our minds work like a guidance system - like a torpedo that hones in on its target.  A torpedo locks on to its target and the “servo-mechanism” recognizes if it is off course and constantly corrects it to guide it back to its target. Now, what if you were a torpedo launcher and your mission was to enter the right coordinates into the guidance system? If you launched the torpedo without programming the coordinates, what would happen? It would surely go in any number of directions or hit something it wasn’t supposed to.

As Tom says:

“Firing a torpedo with no target would be ludicrous, but that’s exactly what you’re doing every day if you don’t program your mind with goals. Goals are your personal life targets, and that includes your ideal body and ideal weight… First you must choose a target and second, you must program that target into your mental computer.”

The real secret to being successful lies in understanding the unconscious mind and in using it to your advantage.

Experts generally agree that 95-99% of your behavior is unconsciously chosen. It also happens faster than your conscious mind can think. The unconscious mind excels at routine tasks and does them automatically with little conscious thought. The really cool thing, is that anything can be given to the unconscious mind with enough practice and repetition. Think about it - have you ever been driving a familiar route, and upon reaching your destination, you can’t remember half the drive? Who was driving? You were - but the path was so familiar that your unconscious mind took over as your guidance system. When you first learned how to drive, you had to think about every little thing.

Further, your unconscious mind has an “important list”. Anything that is considered unimportant is deleted. When your thoughts are on something in particular a lot - and especially when it is written down - you’re telling your mind that whatever that is, is important. That’s when the real magic happens. Suddenly, your brain brings everything related to that particular thing to your attention. You see things you think you didn’t before. Sort of like when you are looking for a new car and you have a particular one in mind. Suddenly, you are noticing that car on the road all the time. They were always on the road, but now you notice them easily, as if your brain is pointing them out to you.

So, when you want “X” and it becomes your dominating thought, it goes high on the importance list, your attention shifts and your behavior changes. It works both ways, though! As Tom points out - if your dominating thoughts are that you “just can’t lose weight”, “I’m fat”, “I have a slow metabolism”, “I can’t stop eating junk food”, “nothing works for me”.. and the like, then that is what is on your important list and that is what you will achieve. Like a computer, whatever you put in is what you will get out. The unconscious mind works toward what you think about most - whether you consciously think about it or not - and whether you like it or not! The unconscious mind doesn’t compare and evaluate with the conscious mind - it just does what it is told - like a computer.

I don’t know about you, but I have started a diet many, many times - only to lose out to negative thinking and not understand why I couldn’t “stay on plan”. So then the excuses came - I must have a slow metabolism, I just like the taste of food, etc. etc. ETC.! Phooey - I thought negative things and my mind carried out those negative thoughts. That’s why I failed in the past.

Goal setting is not a one-time thing - it is a daily habit & a discipline. Tom says you need to read (preferrably write as well) your goals every morning and every evening. That will keep them on your “important list” in your unconscious mind - and your focus will remain on reaching your goals. It’s not “willpower” that will get you there - it’s “brain power”. How often do we set New Year’s Resolutions only to completely forget them a week or two later? Or never start to achieve them at all? It is because while we may write then down ONE time, we never return to them and our unconscious mind deletes them as unimportant.

If you think this was interesting, you really, really should read Tom’s book mentioned way up there. It is an eye-opener on this mental game of weight loss. Honestly, the concept of losing weight is a no-brainer - eat less, exercise more. Take less calories in than you burn. It’s the mental part that is the kicker.

IMPORTANT:  My blog has moved to a new location. Please leave a comment on this article in the new wordpress blog located here. If you leave one below I will likely not see it!

Posted on September 9th, 2009 by hotwings
Filed under: Mental Mania