Today I’m in 40 degrees Celcius weather. Yesterday was
the same.
I went to a hot pot restaurant last night to eat ‘lamb’ –
laced with a ton of hot peppers – and it was not only 40
degrees outside – it was hotter inside.
Shortly after arriving the power went out. No lights. No
air conditioning. Just the pot in the middle of the table with
the burning flame.
The waitresses stood around our table fanning everyone,
trying to keep them cool and happy. I told them I didn’t
need the fan as I enjoyed the challenging atmosphere.
It gave me something cool to write about.
Took me back 100 years.
Candlelight only. Can barely see – and while all this is
happening I will not allow myself to think the thought,
‘It’s HOT.’
A funny thing happened at this meal. I never got hot and
I sweat with extreme ease.
The others were sweating up a storm, and for
them this is not normal – but look how much energy they
were putting into making sure everyone else knew how
hot it was – and how hot they were.
Now, I’m not saying it wasn’t hot in the room. It just wasn’t hot
for me because I kept thinking COOL thoughts. This may
sound strange, but you can change your physical reaction
to hot and cold if you’ll implement Furey’s Rule.
What is Furey’s Rule? Quite simple: No whining about the
weather – or anything else.
It’s a rugged rule to live by. I find myself failing more often than
I’d like – but having this rule to live up to – even for myself, has
helped me immeasureably.
But in this situation, there’s nothing I or anyone else (other than
the electricians) could do about the power outage. So no whining
about the lights going out. Or the lack of cool air. Toughen up
by eliminating the undesireable thought.
And stop making the weather wrong. It doesn’t care. It’s going to
continue being hot no matter what – until it decides not to. So what
on earth am I doing to improve my life by thinking about what I
cannot control externally? I’m better off focusing on what I CAN
control internally – and that is how I think and feel.
Near the conclusion of the meal, after the air conditioner went back on,
along with the lights, I felt disappointed. I remarked that the meal I
had just eaten was the BEST ever in China. I truly enjoyed it. The
challenge of not saying, “It’s hot” made the meal a goal in and of
itself – and I enjoyed a journey while eating while the others had
a far less enjoyable time.
What does this have to do with fitness, exercise, your health?
Great question – and an easy one to answer.
When you train, never say, ‘This is hard.’ Or ‘I can’t do this.’ Or
‘I’m a klutz.’ Or anything else. Simply train. Do your exercises.
Focus on your breathing. Imagine the body you want to have –
and think ONLY of those things that you want.
Delete the negative thought of ‘hard’ or ‘difficult.’ No matter how
hard it is – never tell yourself it’s hard. Never give in to the idea
that success is painful – or that achievement has to be difficult.
Even if it is – I assure you that you’re making it even more so if
your thinking isn’t on what you want.
With my book, Combat Conditioning – you’ll have all the tools that will
help you focus on getting the body you want. Now it’s a matter of being
decisive about what you’re going to allow yourself to think WHILE you
train. Believe me, it will make a difference in how smooth the workout
goes – as well as how quickly you begin to see and fee results.
Go to http://www.mattfurey.com/conditioning_book.html and order
your copy of Combat Conditioning NOW.
Kick butt – take names,
P.S. In a day or so – maybe sooner – I’m going to tell you about the
Chinese lady I met who dropped 45 pounds using my program after
having her second child. She wasn’t getting anywhere until she
followed the Fure-cat’s program. Stay tuned.