Believe

If you believe it, you can achieve it!

Belief is the power of your brain to manipulate the world!

As an adolescent, I dabbled in body building. I weighed a whopping 112 pounds soaking wet. The boyfriend who got me into the sport decided that the following day's workout would include squats. Well . . . ew! He said I had been doing good and tomorrow I'd be shooting for 180 pounds. Mind you, I was only 19 or 20 and the negative lift would be much greater than 180 pounds. He said, "You will not leave the gym til you do at least one rep." So . . . I went to sleep . . . fitfully. At one point during the night I actually woke myself up with my pillow in my hands, over my shoulders, in a squatting position while laying down. Perhaps a little over-focused? NEVER.

Into the gym we went. Boyfriend and his buddy shoved the weight on the bar and each took a position on either side of me at the end of the bar. He didn't say, "We're here." He said, "You got this." I had to merely only believe in myself!

I stepped up to the bar, dipped under, got it nestled comfortably on my shoulders, picked it up off the rack and stepped back a step or two. Staring into the mirror, the image of the two monster men on either end of the bar faded to gray. I locked my sights directly with my mirrored self. I breathed nice and slow and squatted to full squat. I never questioned the rising. I continued to focus on the beast in the mirror and steadily rose to full stand. The whooping from the pair of muscleheads distracted me only momentarily. They each stepped up to the bar to take it off my shoulders. To their surprise, I began a second descent. Quiet ensued. Again . . . I raised to full stand. Again, they stepped up. Too late! I hate begun a third descent. This time, they stayed where they were. I completed FIFTEEN reps of 180 pounds!

When you believe you can accomplish something, and you properly focus on your goal, there really is nothing that is out of your grasp. Sometimes, too, you realize an entirely new potential. I now adore a good leg workout and am really rather strong! I've been known to finish a 12-rep set with over 450 pounds! Who knew?

So . . . as you aspire to some lofty New Year's Resolutions . . . how about really putting some thought into it. Give yourself something truly lofty to achieve. Believe in what you're capable of, not what you already know you can do.

Go for it. I believe in you.