You Are What You Think-Sometimes

by Bill Crimi

     There are many books, articles, tapes, etc. which touch upon the power of the mind and its ability to transform us into what we strongly desire. Great men and woman of every description can be found throughout history proclaiming to have achieved great feats, by believing in the possibilities. Often, they report having mastered the art of positive thinking, and have ‘seen’ themselves in a position of accomplishment, long before they actually arrived at their goal…You can too…You can change, by changing the way you think.

     In the health and fitness community, our ultimate goals are somewhat varied. Some of us may want to develop a huge, powerful, physique bulging with rippling, vascular mounds of muscle. Others may be seeking a more tamed, athletic look, pleased enough to look and feel fit. Then, there are some who desire power…great strength with the ability to move and lift eye-popping weight, and less concerned by esthetic, proportions. Whatever your goal, learn to harness the power of your mind to achieve it. Paint a clear, decisive image of yourself having obtained what you want in your mind. Plant it there and visit it every day. Know in your heart and soul that what it is you desire…is as possible for you to obtain, as it is for anyone else you may have been aspiring to be like.

     Gandhi, the great transformer of India once said, “We are products of our thoughts. What we think, we become.” How many times have you heard similar statements like, “What you can conceive, you can achieve…” and after hearing these up-lifting words, knowing that they are true…you soon forget the message. I have heard so many lifters for instance say that as they approach the weight, they have already, in their mind, seen themselves lifting the weight. They preach that even a fraction of self-doubt will usually kill a potential, record breaking lift. Successful power-lifters practice positive thinking all the time. They make it a part of their existence, their life force, their heart and mindset. At least the best-of-the-best do…

     Great achievers in sports, business, science, the arts and life in general can be found, all pointing to the importance of believing in self, as a key to unlocking the door to success. They say that action itself is not enough; neither is determination, or a plan. Though all these things contribute to success, the ones who know…those that have arrived all claim that self-doubt, not believing in the possibilities, will more than likely kill the effort. Anything short of positive thinking, is just riding on luck. Maybe you’ll get what you want, but not very likely. Certainly makes sense to me. Not hard to understand at all. How about you?

     Sometimes we tend to either, accept BS with ease, or over analyze, with both hindering our success. Advertisers know this. They know that most of us will accept BS and get us to buy a worthless product as long as they package it right, use the right tantalizing images and words to fool us. On the other hand, when we over analyze something as simplistic as the benefit of not drinking soda (for instance) we not only waste our money by buying soft drinks, we hinder our health as well. With these thoughts in mind, it is easy for the average person to discard mind-power as BS. It is easy for the small minded to over analyze the benefits of positive thinking. But, chances are…you are not average if this article caught your eye, and you have read it this far. You are most likely a seeker…one with expansive possibilities…one who ultimately will rise above the average Joe.

     Now, let’s get back to the root of this article. You are what you think (sometimes) The reason I included the word (sometimes) is because I’m very much aware that we can at times become delusional. Some people are delusional all the time. You know the type; the little, pretty boy in the gym who can’t take his eyes off himself in the mirror. He stands there smiling at himself, flexing and flaring his small, skinny body obviously seeing something quite different in his reflection than those around him. He’s usually a bit cocky, and struts around the gym floor as if he’s a star of some sort. Usually, the only person you’ll ever see hanging with him is some poor, simple-minded, introverted soul who is clueless. The rest of us just shake our heads at the sight with a bit of sympathy, and try to avoid any interaction with the nut.

      I’ve been around a long time. In and out of many gyms in my life, and would be hard pressed to think of a single gym I’ve ever spent time in, where there was not at least ‘one’ basket case…usually there are a few, but that’s food for another article. My point here is to touch upon the real benefits of thinking in a new way about yourself, and your abilities, especially if your present way of thinking has not given you satisfactory results. Lets face it…most people seem to think pretty much the same. Our eyes and ears are intoned to accept, willingly or not, that which we have been repeatedly exposed to. We are all brain-washed to some extent. The more we discard false, negative, notions about our abilities, the more space we free up in our mind and life to replace with positive ideas and experiences.

     If you are searching for a new way, because the old way rarely seems to work out in your favor, than I encourage you to explore a new way of thinking. Continue to read books and articles about the power of the mind, and your ability to change. Self-help gurus write and speak endlessly on this phenomenon of human potential, yet few ever come to fully grasp and utilize such power. At times, it takes just the right person, saying something in just the right way for us to fully understand what we might have heard and missed in the past. It’s like that ‘ah-hah moment’ we hear about from others in self-fulfillment circles…This writing is not a tutorial on the subject of mind-power, it is merely a rehash of encouragement; a reminder of your personal possibilities…a reminder that we are what we think. It’s along the same vein as, “we are what we eat” eat crap, and you’ll look like crap, right? So, what’s difficult in not understanding that crappy thoughts form crappy results?

     Look…I’m over sixty years of age. I’ve been a winner and I’ve been a loser at things in life. Whenever I have lost at something worth gaining, it was due mostly to my own mind-set at the time. In some way shape or form, I lost, at least in part because I allowed hindering thoughts to cloud my mind. When I have succeeded, much of the success resulted from strong, self-assured thinking. I’m no different from the average person when I am thinking average thoughts…but, I am an exception to the rule when my mind is focused, clear and in order. When it comes to working out for instance, I have strayed from the gym for years at a time, regressing back to a weak frame of mind and body. If I allowed myself to believe I could not come back at my age, improve my health, make size and strength gains, then I would never have walked back into a gym. I would not have transformed 14 inch arms into 18 inch arms at sixty years of age. I would not be squatting with up to 400 lbs across my shoulders, and I would not be able to perform partial dead-lifts of over 550 pounds…but, I do. If I achieved these things at my age, you can too, with right thinking.

     One test I did recently to test the power of the mind, was on the power rack. With dead-lifts, on days when I would do partials and lock-outs, my best had been up till then about 455 lb partials. (below the knee start) I had been bothered by thoughts that I should have been able to go higher by now, and recognized that I approached my top weight with a little apprehension…on some days; I couldn’t even do a single with less than 400 lbs.

     On this ‘test’ day, I relaxed my mind. Instead of fearing the weight, I envisioned myself easily lifting the bar. I committed my thinking to ‘knowing’ that I could lift whatever I chose to put on the bar. I didn’t count the plates, I just kept adding a little at a time. After reaching what seemed like a top single for the day, I then began to count the weight…it was 555 lbs (a hundred lbs more than my past best) This is similar to a test I have performed on others years ago, when I was a trainer. Usually I would do it with the bench press for those who told me they were stuck at the same weight for months. I would load the weight for them without them knowing how much was on the bar. Between lifts, I would have them just sit up on the bench and face away, so that they could not see how much I was adding each set. Without exception, every person I ever performed this exercise with managed a single with up to 30 lbs more than, their sticking point.

     In closing, I want to wish you success with your health and fitness goals. If you feel yourself slipping back into negative thinking, don’t accept it. Something triggered the regression…and as long as you have that negative thinking pull at you, it will keep robbing you of your energy, power and potential. Find a way to re-focus. If it is an injury to your body, baby the body part till it heals…it will. If it is an injury to your mind…change you’re thinking…and the mind will heal spontaneously.