We are on to week 4 of the Walktober Challenge! I hope that everyone is enjoying themselves and getting to take advantage of the awesome weather we have been experiencing! As you continue on with the challenge and your overall health journey one great way to continue with your progress and stay motivated it to visualize what you are setting out to accomplish.

For example, when I was in high school our track team was heading to the state championship and during one of our last practices our coach had us lay down in the center of the track field. I thought we were about to do a serious abdominal workout but he actually walked us through a visualization exercise. He set the scene and told us to picture ourselves at the state meet going through our warm-ups, setting in our blocks, the relay handoffs, running through the finish line, and so on… He said, “Visualize how you want to the day to go. Visualize you holding that state championship trophy”. While we all thought he might have lost his marbles, the exercise really did help. We went to state with the confidence to perform in our events and win. And that year we actually ended up winning the state championship. Granted, I don’t think we can give all the credit to the visualization exercise – I think the mass amount hill repeats and 400 meter repeats had a lot to do with it 🙂 – but we went there with a goal in mind and the confidence to achieve it.

Long story short, you can do this in your everyday life. If you are still working towards your goal of weight loss or just being more fit, then sit back and let the following 7 Awesome Reasons to be fit really sink into your mind. Visualize the following as being a part of your reality.

 #1: You Always Look Great
When you are at your ideal weight clothes look and feel amazing. Every. Single. Day. Gone are the days of looking for ways to cover your ‘problem’ areas because even those areas look great. Friends, family members and co-workers tell you how fantastic you look and that you’ve never looked better.

#2: Your Confidence is High
The act of accomplishing any worthwhile goal is enough to seriously boost your confidence, and this is even more apparent when reaching a fitness goal. When your body goes through a transformation there’s no hiding it. You are tighter, leaner and stronger. You stand straighter, walk taller and exude a genuine confidence that can’t be missed.

#3: You Have Lots of Energy
Before you met your fat loss goal, getting off the couch was a challenge…one that you didn’t always win. Once you became fit, new surges of energy course through your veins. You thrive on motion and activities that used to tire you out now leave you energized.

#4: You Are Strong
The life of a truly fit person knows no limits! In your free time you hike, bike, walk, pick up new hobbies and play with the kids. Picking up items that used to feel heavy is now a breeze as your functionality for daily tasks has never been stronger. Gone are the days when you’d tell yourself, “I can’t do that. I’m not strong enough.”

#5: You Have No Health Worries
Gone is the lecture from your doctor about the many risks of weight-related ailments. Those days are behind you. Your healthy, strong thriving body is health-worry-free.

#6: You No Longer Have Weight to Lose
How long have you been trying to lose the fat and get down to your ideal weight? Long time, right? In all that time your fat loss goal has been a giant monkey on your back – always in the back of your mind, always weighing you down.

Guess what? Poof! That giant monkey disappeared the day you reached your goal weight and in its place came a sweet, carefree peace of mind.

#7: You Are Able to Enjoy Life
Once you transformed your body, life got decidedly more fun and exciting. You never knew how much your weight had held you back from excitement and adventure until the day that burden was lifted. You now enjoy life with carefree abandon – the way you were designed to.

You can practice visualizing yourself reaching any goal, not just weight loss. Maybe it’s to complete your first 5K race, start a new hobby, or cook that amazing meal you’ve wanted to try. Visualizing any goal can be a great way to give you that added confidence to reach it!

Have you practiced visualization before? Has it helped you in reaching your goal?