The Secret to Total Control
by
Phil Kaplan
I admit,
it's a bold headline.
The Secret
to Total Control.
If you know
me you know "total control," as I use the term, relates
to total control over the way your body looks, feels, and functions.
Now you
get a confused look on your face, scratch your head, and wonder,
"has Phil done a complete flip flop? Doesn't he always
say there isn't any single secret? Doesn't he always say positive
physical change requires a commitment to the synergistic combination
of the Right Nutrition, Moderate Aerobic Exercise, and a Concern
for Muscle? How can he now make the absurd statement that suggests
he's about to reveal a secret that he previously said doesn't
exist?"
OK, calm
down. I understand your concerns, and I'm about to put your
mind at ease. There isn't any single secret that in and of itself
will give you total control, but there is an approach that initiates
the manifestation of the desired change, and there is a secret
to mastering the approach. There is a key to making synergy
work and it's rarely identified as the force behind the power.
The secret lies between your ears.
We are all
made of the same stuff. You know that. Your skeleton (yeah,
I know it's kind of creepy, but you do have a living skeleton
that serves as the framework of your very own human machine)
is made of bone, and bone, in all human beings, contains calcium,
magnesium, potassium, amino acids, and living tissue constantly
being maintained and repaired. So regardless of what elements
of your personality and your preferences make you unique, at
a foundational "what we're made of" level, you're
identical to your neighbor, your best friend's sister, and your
favorite celebrity. I know, I know, it's hard to believe the
man or woman in your life is made of the same materila as Tom
Cruise or Paris Hilton, but it's true. It's absolutely true.
If
you were only a skeleton you couldn't do a whole lot, as bone
doesn't have contractile ability. Bone is simply the structure.
What moves bone is muscle, and the greater your control over
your muscular ability, the greater your control over the way
your body moves and functions. When comparing individuals, some
have more well defined muscles than others, some have greaster
volume of muscle mass than others, and some even have longer
muscles with greater performance capacity than others, but we
all use muscle to move bone. We all articulate (no, there's
nothing perverse about that - you won't go blind if you articulate)
around joints. We all have the same number of muscles to perform
the magic of human movement.
So what
does this exploration of muscle and bone have to do with a secret?
Hang in there.
The skeletal
system moved by muscle serves as framework, but it also serves
as a protective structure. Your rib cage protects the vital
cardiorespiratory organs in your thoracic cavity. Your vertebrae
protect the spinal cord. Your skull protects . . . . mission
control. Ah, there's that word.
Control.
Yes, inside
the hard shell skull is gray matter, living tissue composed
of tiny cells and a complete communication network. Inside the
skull lies the brain, and brain is the functional manifestation
of the mind. Think of the mind as the pilot.
If
you ever feel as if you're being whipped through life, getting
hit with unexpected waves and obstacles at every turn, envision
yourself on water skis or a wakeboard. Your mind is the driver
of the boat. The secret to Total Control rests in the driver's
seat. You simply use your skill and balance to follow to the
best of your ability.
Programming
your mind is the secret. As commonplace as that may sound, it
can lead to a transformational realization. If you want to gain
control over the way your body looks, feels, and functions,
and if you realize that you, as every other person, have a control
center that determines where you wind up as you progress through
the rivers and canals of life, then you must align the driver
with the goal. If the goal is to live in a lean, toned body,
your mind must accept and believe that it is possible to do
so.
If you fail
to grab ahold of your own mind, if you allow it to form its
own programs, there are enough distractions in the 21st century
to shut down any hope of achieving the physical outcome you
seek. That's the bad news. The good news is, once you realize
how you've been affected by the words "can't" and
"don't" (I can't workout because I don't have time),
it's relatively simple to change your programming and almost
instantly notice some very different results in your life.
What's Polluting
You?
Many
times I've shared my theory of misinformation.
When someone
fails to achieve the fitness or weight loss result they're looking
for, it's always because they have some bad information in their
heads. Now I'd like to take it a step further.
Misinformation
is the result of brain pollution. When you put lots of trash
into the brain, it has trouble distinguishing between your trash
and your valuables. Unless it senses a direct conflict, it will
grab onto whatever thought or belief seems the most readily
available or the simplest to adopt.
If you've
been on a diet, and you lost weight, but after going on the
inevitable post-diet binge you gained all the weight back, it's
easy for the brain to grab onto a flawed theory and cement it
as a belief.
"I
don't have willpower."
When that
single thought becomes an instilled belief, it precludes and
prevents any lasting thoughts of success with any type of program
that requires the power of will. You now have an excuse readily
available. Your failure has nothing to do with the approach,
but it's simply rationalized by the acceptance of a missing
component of compliance, namely . . . willpower.
All
three of these, or any one, have the ability to sap your power.
If you honestly believe you have to trade your enjoyment of
food for the body you want, and if you believe this deprivation
must continue for eternity, you're not about to take on the
mission of learning to eat better, let alone implement supportive
eating into your life.
If you believe
you have to find a fat burning supplement that works, you become
prey for all of the supplement sellers, filling your body with
addictive stimulants hoping for a result that will never emerge.
If you believe
you need "a special program," unless you have a "special
goal" (like running across the country, getting fatter,
or raising sled dogs and competing in the Iditarod), your goals
probably include fat loss, some body composition changes, fitting
better in clothing, and perhaps a heightened sense of energy.
I don't want to burst your "I'm special" bubble, but
if your goals revolve around looking and feeling better, and
you're built upon a framework of bone with gray matter inside
your skull, then a program that "works" for mankind
(or womankind) will work for you.
I've seen
such amazing transformations in appearance and ability I put
little outside of the realm of possibility. Unless, however
I can help someone who's stuck identify those beliefs and thoughts
that prevent success, that person, regardless of initial motivation,
will fall short of a sense of true achievement.
Here are
some accuracies that, once they're instilled as beliefs, once
they're programmed into your conscious and subconscious thought
patterns, instantly raise the bar setting your potentail at
a new high.
