By Daniel Chidiac
“An active mind cannot exist in an inactive body.” ~General George S. Patton
“Losing weight,” has a negative notion around it. It builds a constant
fear. As long as you think of wanting to lose weight, that’s all you will
ever want to keep doing. We are inundated with marketing campaigns that
shove such an ideal right in our face. We all know that fear is the
number-one seller, and what better way to instill it than on appearance.
In the instance of having a “losing weight” mindset, we surround ourselves
with the words “lose, lose, and lose.” We get into the belief of losing
and never seem to be winning, hence why most are never satisfied. The
obsession with losing weight becomes a never-ending story.
Many of the “desirable” people shown in magazines are malnourished,
airbrushed, or take extreme health risks in the hope of getting work.
Having been in the clothing industry, personal training, and now in
coaching, has given me a fair insight into models and other media-related
personnel. I have met extraordinarily good-looking people and high-profile
models throughout my life, yet some of them have the biggest insecurities
with the way they look. Believe it or not, some are also the unhappiest
and most unfulfilled individuals I have ever met. Don’t get me
wrong—looking good is great—however you will never think you look good
unless you feel great about your choice of lifestyle. You go from being
happy one day to being upset the next because you want to lose a little
more weight off your right butt cheek, or your left arm is smaller than
the other, and this craziness continues on forever. In so many cases, it
consumes someone’s whole life to the point where they forget how to live!
Full Focus on Feeling (FFF) is the key to success in any aspect. We have
to shift our mindset to being healthy and fit. It’s about the feeling, not
the visual appearance to others. Everyone has different opinions, so you
are going to be pretty unsatisfied if you are just doing it for that
reason. When you start getting a little wrinkly, or your body doesn’t seem
to keep in shape as well as when you were younger, are you going to hate
yourself? That’s why this world is filled with appearance challenges,
because we believe that feeling great starts with outward appearance. Your
body should be loved for the highly technical machine it is. It deserves
respect for housing the only thing that is ever permanent: your soul.
Feeling great is the secret to everlasting happiness. When we exercise, we
must amplify the importance of how it’s making us feel, because that’s
what keeps us motivated. Reverse “looking good, then feeling good” to
“feeling good, then looking good” because that’s the truth in remaining
happy.
Bathroom scales should be smashed with a baseball bat—not the basis of
your success. If you are training, you will be building muscle, which
weighs more than fat. The scales can definitely mess with your mind, so I
advise to just get rid of them. You are not going to see results overnight
if you go for looks, but you will immediately notice results when going
for the feeling.
A body builder I knew had an amazing physique, but all I would hear him do
was complain about his body. To him, there was always something wrong with
it, and his appearance soon became an obsession. It took control over
every area of his life. He saw his relationship diminish, finances go
down, and his emotional state hit its lowest point ever.
We are all imperfect if you wish to look at it that way, but I like to see
it as we are all perfect. Our imperfections make us perfect. If we were
all the same, this world would be pretty boring. We all have different
perceptions of what we find appealing, but the point of feeling great
makes you appealing to everyone. Your glow is contagious, and you will
notice that when you go for the feeling, the physical shape comes rapidly
along with it. I have personally trained hundreds of clients, and the ones
who go for the looks to make them happy never last, or are constantly
unfulfilled. Those who go for the feeling acknowledge that being healthy
and fit is a lifestyle to drive them to their peak, and help them attain
that balance for a great life.
Losing weight is an activity that drives us mad; thriving to be healthy
and fit is a lifestyle that lasts forever.
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Excerpt from “Who Says You Can’t? YOU DO” by Daniel Chidiac. Being
released early 2012.
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