On Motivation and the Masters Series

The first two titles of the Power 90 Masters Series are now available at Beachbody!

The first 2 titles are "Core Cardio" and "Plyo-Legs". And they have been designed to help people reach the next level after completing Power 90. And for those who want a comfortable bridge from phase 3-4 of Power 90 to the big mama, P90X, the Power 90 Masters series will take you there, gracefully, so you keep your momentum and stay motivated.

Speaking of motivation, the other day I was talking to two buddies, who were remarking how a mutual friend seemed forever frustrated by her weight.

One said "She needs to just resign herself that she's a big girl."

The other said "She's not getting younger. She says she wants to meet men. But it's not happening. She doesn't need to resign herself. She needs to do something."

To which the first replied "What she needs is for you to get off her back about it. She knows what she needs. The bottom line is, she needs to decide to be happy, no matter what, and then do what she needs to be healthy."

Interesting conversation to witness, especially as I see people who have amazing results with their first Power 90 round, then they struggle to keep that motivation through to the next phase of their fitness or weight loss when the mirror is telling them they look great.

The bottom line is, motivation changes. Some days it will be the desire to look great on a vacation, to impress someone at a reunion, or to be fit for a sports activity. But hopefully, ultimately, a person will find traction with a more substantial goal that makes exercise and portion control a habit in their lives.

For long term consistency, you just don't want to be pressing "play" to satisfy a demand of your ego. You don't want to be eating healthy because of how you might get down another dress size. You don't want to be looking in the mirror thinking, "If I just got that body part into shape, I'd be happy." That's a cycle you can never win. Because you will find that despite wins along the way, you will never be perfect enough, or thin enough, or as attractive as you want. Your ego will always find something to criticize when that's the way you train your mind to motivate you to take action. I think that kind of motivation is fine to drive flights of intensity, but in general, you need something more substantial if you want to maintain your results.

You want get traction into how the benefits of this lifestyle really can IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE. The most inspiring testimonials we've interviewed all have that theme; When you're fit, you can do more. When you are fit participate with people. When you are fit you struggle less with survival, and get on with living. When you eat right your body works better. When you eat right you have more energy. It all serves your moods, your patience, your zest, your outlook.

THAT'S THE TRACTION which we need to get to, to really get the benefits of these programs. And that does not happen by accident!

One of my favorite books is Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich." The philosophy of that book does not just apply to wealth creation, as he explains. It applies to anything you want to achieve. You need to make a habit of focusing your mind. That's where traction comes from. It is not by accident. It is by deliberate, conscious choice where people decide that, in this case, a healthy lifestyle is not optional.

My point is, focus your mind not on the ego benefits, but the short and long term health benefits of this lifestyle. Those benefits are for real and will never change. Of course, your ego will argue with you along the way that those benfits are not worth the effort. This is what I hear my mind say all the time when it's late and time to push play; "No no... let's just watch some TV. Hey look, the phone. Call Pizza Hut!" But if I want to create and maintain a success mentality, I need to control my mind to get traction on living this lifestyle.

I felt it was appropriate to reemphasize this as we look forward to the Hawaii trip as well. Many people from past trips have been so motivated for that trip that they peak, and then when that motivation is gone the day after the trip, they slide back into old habits. They let it all go. And then just a few months later, they disappear from the community in their self-imposed shame that their success celebration might have been a hoax on themselves. The weight came back. But I don't want to see that happen this year. (It's the main reason that each year we consider terminating that trip.)

Frankly, that's what the whole point of the "90 Day in-home boot camp" was in the first place. Getting people with no plan to change things, to commit to something for 90 days. "I can do anything for 90 days" is something we hear all the time. But we also hoped that people would take that 90 day success and find the momentum and will to keep at it. And more and more, we are hearing people say "I will now do this for the rest of my life."

I hope that's true, and I hope it is for you too.

This lifestyle is a conscious decision, and sometimes that requires discipline and focused thought. That's the traction that will give you the energy and power to get the most out of life. Yes, the ego will enjoy the change in appearance, but you can't let the ego run the show. The real motivation has to come from a healthier place. And if you make that part of the work, you might actually enjoy the workouts more too.