Arnold Schwarzenegger is a prime example of success:
He’s not only a seven-times Mister Olympia, but also a successful actor and politician.
This takes an insane amount of work.
So how is it possible that he was able to do all this, without burning out?
The reality is that often, it’s NOT the work itself that’s draining.
Think about it:
Have you ever had something to do that you dreaded, but turned out to be easy?
And after you’ve done it, you wondered why it seemed to be such a big deal at first.
This is something I see all the time with people who hop on a call with me:
First, they dread starting to work out.
Once they get started, however, it turns out to be much easier than expected.
And after a few coaching sessions, they’re in flow.
In this newsletter, you will discover what actually causes you to dread the work, and what you can do about it.
This is vital because otherwise, it will be close to impossible to reach your goals.
It’s about the energy
One of my coaches has a saying:
“It’s not the task that burns you out, it’s the energy around that task that burns you out!”
What does this mean?
In this context, “energy” is your thoughts and emotions.
What you think and how you feel around work is what really determines how hard it will be.
Let’s take my client Kathrin as an example:
In her early life, she used to hate sports.
Now, in her 50s, she competes in powerlifting, on an international level.
She’s in the best shape of her life and fitter than most people in their 20s.
But here’s the remarkable thing:
I never have to “motivate” or push her to do her workouts.
I have to encourage her to take the breaks that are necessary for her to reach her goals!
That’s how much she loves to train.
So how did that switch happen?
Let’s go back to Arnold Schwarzenegger:
In a famous speech, he said the following:
“I always smiled, no matter how hard I worked. I knew that every rep I did brought me closer to turning my vision into reality.”
Think about it:
He saw every rep as a step towards his goal!
And that’s why he looked forward to the work.
Here’s the problem:
Most don’t know the true value of working out and perceive it as something they “have” to do.
It used to be like that for Kathrin:
In school, sports was something she “had” to do.
And that’s why she hated it, even long after she left school.
She didn’t really see a purpose in it (read THIS article to learn about the power of purpose).
Now, she’s focused on what working out gives her:
She feels great in her body and has the energy and confidence to take on new challenges in her job.
Further, she met a community of like-minded people and her journey inspired her daughter to work out too.
Everything improved for her through one simple habit!
How couldn’t she feel excited about training, seeing all these benefits?
Discipline is easy if you have a worthy and inspiring goal
That’s why you show up at your job or business, despite feeling tired and exhausted.
You know the value of your effort.
You need an inspiring goal that you look forward to actualizing and keep your attention on it.
Let’s say you want to get lean:
How specifically do you want to look like?
How will it make you feel?
And how will it affect other areas of your life?
For example, you might feel more confident and energized.
As an entrepreneur, more energy and confidence leads to more sales and finishing your days earlier.
You’ll have more money and more time for yourself and your family.
Your relationships and mental health will improve.
Realizing that and focusing on it will make you look forward to working out - just like Kathrin or Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Let’s put this into a strategy!
The first step is to create a worthy goal of yours:
I can’t stress how important this is.
Without knowing the true worth of your effort, you won’t do it!
Get clear on these questions:
What do you want to look like?
How do you want to feel?
How will it affect other areas of your life?
I go deeper into effective goal-setting in THIS article.
Your vision is your north star.
Look up to it when you feel discouraged.
Secondly, recognize that it’s your interpretations that cause work to feel heavy!
Think about a task you expected to be taxing, but turned out to be easy.
For example, I used to be terrified to do phone calls when I started my business.
I’d procrastinate for weeks and it would drain me.
Not because it’s that hard to do a call, but due to all the stories in my head:
“What if I say the wrong thing?”
“What if they say no?”
“What if I sound stupid?”
I was afraid of being judged – which is an interpretation – and that’s what made it hard.
The third step is to choose different interpretations:
You now have the awareness that interpretations make it hard, not the task itself.
The good thing is you can choose your interpretations!
Come up with 5 to 10 different interpretations.
This will help you to recognize that it’s not really about your task ahead.
You will also recognize that some of them actually produce fuel for your goal.
Let’s apply this to the phone call.
Instead of making up all sorts of stories about why it’ll be hard, I can look at the positives:
“I get to connect with new people, great!”
“They might say yes!”
“I might get a new client through that call!”
The task stays the same, but I’ll feel much lighter by looking at it like that, right?
Fourth, don’t engage in negative thoughts:
If doubts pop up, don’t fight them.
You’ll feel worse and more negative thoughts will pop up.
Instead, dismiss those thoughts:
Be aware that they’re only interpretations, not reality.
Move your attention back to your desired outcome.
Alex Hormozi talks about how he just stays “So what?” and goes back to his day.
He doesn’t feed the negative interpretations.
If you fight negative thoughts, you’ll just get more of them.
Don’t engage in them and move on.
The fifth step is to keep your attention on your goal:
You’ve probably heard the saying “You are where your attention is”.
Most focus on what they don’t want and thus get more of that.
Stay out of discouraging thoughts by using the technique in step four.
Eliminate distractions as much as you can.
Keep your attention on your worthy goal, like Arnold Schwarzenegger did.
He certainly had doubts and felt exhausted at times, but he chose to focus on his vision.
And that’s how he turned it into reality.
Recap:
Your thoughts and emotions around work are more draining than the task itself.
If you dread something, recognize the interpretations that come up and notice that you have power over them.
Find new interpretations that are more beneficial for you.
If negative thoughts pop up, don’t engage in them.
Dismiss them.
Focus on your worthy goal, and stay in flow, without getting entangled in doubts.
If you want even more in-depth strategies to reach your goals, without sacrificing your enjoyment, click the link to hop on a 30-minute call with me.