posted March 28, 2023

Until we believe that which we want is truly possible, we will never achieve our maximum potential. That’s one of the key factors that hold most people back from losing the weight they want/need to lose and from keeping it off. They don’t believe it is possible to lose the weight and to keep it off, so they either don’t try, or put in a halfway effort toward getting it done.

There’s just one problem with that …

Losing weight and keeping it off requires a heck of a lot more than a halfway effort. It requires that we go all-in and that we make a full-blown attempt at getting it done.

Trust me, I know. I used to weigh 367 pounds and today I’m in my 130s. It wasn’t until I truly believed I could do what it takes that I began doing what it takes.

Does all of this mean we have to be perfect?

That we can never have a cheat day?

That we can never make a slip up?

No, it does not.

We are human beings and we’re never going to be perfect. But we can be excellent…

We do that by opening our minds to the possibility that what we want to do is possible AND that it is within our ability to accomplish. In short, we must believe. We must believe in the process. We must believe in ourselves.

This Belief Factor is Concept #17 in the system I’ve created and that I personally used to get my weight off and to keep it off. That system is called The Way of Excellence.

The Way of Excellence

This system defines belief as having confidence in your talents, abilities and ideas; faith in your talents, abilities and ideas; and trust in your talents, abilities and ideas.

That’s confidence, faith, and trust. In ourselves.

Believing in your talents, abilities and ideas is what will get you started and what will get you through the process of weight loss. Believing in yourself will not only get you started, but it will generate momentum that keeps you going.

Unfortunately, way too many people don’t have beliefs that empower them. Instead, they have limiting beliefs that shut down their power. A limiting belief is a state of mind or belief about yourself that restricts you in some way. These beliefs are often false accusations you make about yourself that can cause a number of negative results.

Limiting beliefs can also keep you in a negative state of mind, which hinders you from getting from where you are to where you want to be. We frequently learn, at a very young age, to think negative thoughts that shut us down.

These negative thoughts are referred to as negative self-talk. Negative self-talk is a stressful and often habitual form of self-criticism. These are thoughts where we put ourselves down, instead of picking ourselves up.

Everyone has negative thoughts from time to time, especially about themselves. At first glance, those aren’t necessarily worrying because they can push you to practice and improve. However, when these kinds of thoughts occur over and over, day after day, month after month, year after year, they become a persistent focus that can increase your stress and lower your self-esteem.

If you find yourself focusing on what’s wrong with everything around you, negative self-talk may be part of the problem.

The key is to begin paying attention to that which you are thinking. When you catch yourself engaging in negative self-talk, the trick is to simply STOP. Realize what you’re doing and then flip the script. Tell yourself you can do it. Tell yourself you will do it.

You’re a human being and negative thoughts are going to enter your head from time to time. That’s normal.

It’s what you do AFTER those thoughts enter your head that will make all the difference.

So, the next time you find yourself engaging in negative self-talk, I want you to take a look at this picture and remember what it ways. Feel free to contact me if you want a copy for your wall.

You’re got this—This is your time.

Stanley F. Bronstein is an attorney, CPA, broker, author, and Main Street Vegan Academy graduate. Thirty-five years ago, he was an eighteen-year-old college freshman who weighed nearly 300 pounds, later maxing out at 367 pounds. Now he weighs 130 pounds, done without drugs or surgeries—just hard work and determination.

Stanley is married, lives in Arizona, and has authored multiple self-help books. He’s become a catalyst for change who’s devoted his life to helping others to change for the better. You can connect with Stanley through his websites, The Way of Excellence and Stanley Beat Obesity; Facebook, or LinkedIn.