How to access #beastmode

I’m going to be honest with you: I don’t wake up most days raring to hit my workout hard. Or hit my workout at all. The only thing I feel like doing, if I didn’t know not to ask myself, is staying in bed. This is why I’ve learned not to let myself feel at this time of the day. Or think. Instead, I shift into autopilot mode. When that alarm goes off I follow the same non-thinking routine: fully stretch out in my spot in bed while expressing my gratitude and asking for help in the day ahead. Some may call this prayer- I suggest calling it whatever you need to call it in order to understand that you have much to be grateful for and you are open to accepting help. I then shuffle with my half-shut eyes off to the kitchen for a glass of water, (which at one time was a beloved cup of coffee, but I now save it and splurge on a bulletproof coffee -made with coconut milk most days of the week, butter one or two days- for my post-workout reward as further incentive) put our pup outside, then I voyage into the garage to turn the heat on in hubby’s workshop-which doubles as our workout room- while repeating my 6 word mantra that will be repeated many times before I’m ready to hit it: “Don’t think, don’t feel, just GET.” Every time a niggling feeling of uncertainty, any stray negative thought, or the persistent prattle of the Dark Shadow Voice try to interfere with my mission, I drown out their noise by turning up my volume: “DON’T THINK, DON’T FEEL, JUST GET.”  I don’t allow the present me to have a say in the situation by thinking or feeling, but instead tap into the future me: the coach within that has its eyes on what I want MOST as opposed to what I want NOW. But since my present self longs to have its desires considered as well, and an unwillingness to do so may result in a rebellious backlash, I acknowledge and respond by making deals. Though I see working out as part of my job, regardless of whether or not I’m receiving monetary compensation from an outside source, I’ve learned to treat myself with no less consideration than I’d treat a client. Therefore, when it comes to the workout habit, I offered my present self the same deal I’ve offered anybody I ever worked out with, which is as follows: “If we get done with this workout and you wish you’d stayed in bed, you never have to do it again.” Not surprisingly, nobody, including myself, ever gets done and wishes that. This method is effective for any new habit or practice you aspire to put into place. It merely requires you to assess the goal of your future self, acknowledge the demands of your present self, and allow the coach of your inner self to cut a deal that takes all of those needs into consideration and keeps your mission in motion.

My inner coach knows all of my “selves” and understands what it takes to motivate me into action. Your inner coach knows you just as well. You simply need to tap into it and begin to utilize the empowerment that is available to you. Your future self is relying on it and your inner coach is ready to deal.