Tag: depression

10 Statements For Your Success

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Want to be the best you can be? Print out these 10 Success Statements and look at them daily to remind you of how great you are and can be.

  1. Do what you fear most and you will thrive and grow. Discomfort is how we grow.
  2. You are capable of more than you think you are.
  3. There are only 4 levels of action: retreat, staying still, normal action and massive action. Move forward whenever possible to advance yourself.
  4. Progress equals happiness–to be happy you must be progressing forward.
  5. The best return on investment you can do with your time in the gym is to lift weights and lift intense.
  6. Fear is what holds most people back but fear, like everything, runs in cycles.
  7. Nothing lasts forever–cherish what you love while you still have it.
  8. If you want an increased quality of life, raise your standards.
  9. You become what you think about most of the time. Focus on what you want, not on what you don’t.
  10. Love and gratitude are the antidotes to fear and depression. You cannot be truly grateful and depressed at the same time.

How to Get Anything You Want

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“You become what you think about most of the time.” – Earl Nightingale

We live in an age where people point fingers at others, blaming them for lack in their own lives. The attitude and politics of envy are prevalent and are only getting worse. Let me be the first to say, if you have something that others want, you are not a bad person. Likewise, if you don’t have something that someone else has–money, great looks, a great body, awesome style, etc.–you are not lacking it because someone else has it. Stated differently, someone else is not evil because they have something you want. If you are overweight and a good person, getting six-pack abs does not make you a bad person. If you have very little money and are a good person, gaining wealth will not suddenly make you evil.

So this begs the real question, “How are some able to achieve so much–incredible physiques, great wealth, a positive attitude–while others struggle with achievement and fulfillment?” The answer is so simple that most reading this will discount it immediately without really considering the implications of the following words: “You become what you think about most of the time.” People who achieve their goals spend most of their time thinking about exactly what they want and they keep their mind off of what they DO NOT WANT. As someone who used to focus on the problems and the lack in my life, I can tell you this is true. Having the great privilege of training hundreds of people over the last decade, I’ve seen firsthand that most people focus their thoughts on lack rather than abundance, pain rather than pleasure, problems rather than goals, and expectation rather than appreciation.

Thoughts form the character and therefore the actions of all humans. Thoughts are things. They have physical energy that can create a physiological response in humans. Excess stress can kill you. Likewise, excess enthusiasm can cause great feats to be accomplished. This concept, that your dominating thoughts and desires will determine the outcome of your life is so simple that it’s a wonder why so few people focus on what they want rather than the opposite. I believe the answer comes down to: what is easy to do is easy not to do. As a culture, we believe that anything so simple must not be correct. We are used to having things be complicated. We cannot believe that a simple low-sugar diet and weight lifting can literally transform bodies and put disease in remission. No, it must be more complicated than that. Well, I’m here to tell you, IT’S NOT. Success is simple. Getting the body you want is simple. It’s not always easy for people, but the strategies are simple. Complexity is the enemy of execution.

In closing, to get what you want, focus on what you want and keep your mind off what you don’t want. It’s important to evaluate the downside to a decision, but only focusing on problems will result in you never getting what you want.  Remember, keep it simple, focus on exactly what you want, and then take massive action to go get it. Along the way, don’t let the little negative voice in your head deter you. Yes it’s simple advice. What can I say? I’m a simple guy. My favorite phrase? KISS. (Keep it simple, Stupid).

To your health and success,

Sean

Understanding VS. Applying

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What separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom? After all, we are 65-95% the same genetically as most other creatures. Almost everything you can find in a human you can also find in a pig or monkey. The answer here is obvious. What separates humankind from the rest of the animals on Earth is our mind. We use our mind to gather and process information and then pass that information along in the form of stories. Today, the world of information is literally at your fingertips. You can find out almost anything you wish. Learning has never been easier. So, why are there so many problems that exist even in the 21st century? With so much information on health, wealth, spirituality, science and endless other subjects, why are people still overweight? Why do so many struggle with finances and negative emotions? Similar problems have been solved and recorded by countless others. Their stories are easily accessible. Yet, humans are constantly plagued with recurring, solvable problems. I would content that most even understand how to solve their problems. So why do people still suffer?

I believe a major problem today is that people intellectually understand certain principles but don’t actively work towards applying them. It is one thing to understand a principle. It’s quite another to embody it. Lets just take the subject of health. So much information exists on how to prevent obesity, disease and immobility that a person with internet access who lives in civilization would have a hard time try to avoid such information. Endless articles on exercise and diet exist and the basic principles for healthy eating and proper movement and exercise are not new. I would argue most people who suffer from these health issues even know intellectually what they could do to fix them. Why do you think so many millions make New Year’s Resolutions to “go to the gym” or “stop eating sugar?” They know what to do! They understand it. The problem is they don’t apply the principles by taking massive action and building habits that benefit them.

Actions are important, maybe the most important thing in life, because they can create habits. The word habit has a negative connotation. Most people think of bad habits when they hear the term. But habits are just actions that you repeat on a regular basis even if you are unaware of them. Do you drink everyday to unwind? That’s a habit. Do you yell at everyone around because you find those people incompetent? That’s a habit. You see, habits are actions we return to regularly because it serves some need we believe we have. Some drink, smoke, complain, overeat, blow their money shopping, lay on the couch, watch TV, spend all day on Facebook. Instead of letting negative habits control us, we can take principles and information and use action to implement habits that serve us. I believe people inherently know what is good and bad for them. The difference between those who suffer with solvable problems and those who rise above them is intelligent action. Education is not enough. You must take action with the education. Understanding something is not enough. You must embody it.

Don’t just understand something. That’s not enough. Don’t just say, “I get it.” If you come across information that is useful to you, apply the principles by taking MASSIVE action. Not just a little action. Not, “Oh, that’s a good idea, I should probably do that.” Take massive action and thrive. Build habits and rituals that serve you, not defeat you.

Conquer Worry

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HOW TO CONQUER WORRY AND DOMINATE 2016

Watching the news today, one would think that humanity is on the brink of Armageddon. Sinking global stock prices, ISIS, global unrest and just overall bad news. If you are thinking about what the future holds and are uncertain about what to do to survive this global crisis. I urge you to think inward. Very few things in life are within our control, but they are the most important. Among these are time and health. The only thing we truly have is the time left in our lives and the quality of our life in the form of our health. With this in mind, let all of us focus on increasing the quality and length of our lives with the hope of bettering the world around us. The following are recommendations to help cope with stress, gain strength and maintain a positive attitude. Take heed of this advice and send this article to everyone you know who could use some help.

Fear

All stress, worry and anxiety is fear.  And there are really only two types of fear; 1. that you won’t be enough , 2. that no one will love you. Are you afraid of losing your job? Your wife? Your health? What if you did? What would happen. See,  those fears really boil down to the fear that if something bad happens, you’re not enough or others won’t love you.  These fears are easily banished by taking action.  The problem is that taking action requires discipline.  It takes the PAIN of disciplining yourself to confront fear and refuse to let it get a hold of you forever. Get better thoughts and emotions in your life. Decide to live in a great place whenever possible.  And yes, it’s possible to live in a great state when the world is falling down around you. It just takes tremendous discipline. So let’s get moving!

Exercise

If you are feeling down or lethargic ask yourself, “Am I working out 4 times a week? Am I sweating? Am I combining strength training with cardio exercise?” If you answered yes to all of these questions, really look inside and be honest with yourself. We’re talking about your life and if you are living in denial or making excuses as to why you can’t exercise, you’re inherently sabotaging yourself. Be honest. You need to exercise vigorously at least 4 days a week. No excuses and no whining.

Why?

A recent article from the Mayo Clinic reports on the mental benefits from exercise. The release of endorphins via exercise can cause an elevation in mood and reduce stress. Regular exercise forces us to concentrate on ourselves rather than the situation of the world. In addition, working out can reduce the symptoms of mild depression. Perhaps the most important mental aspect of working out is the boost in self-confidence. There is a mind-muscle connection in which the mind controls the body. But this connection works the other way around as well. While many sit and complain about how they are “not in the mood to workout”, they forget that working out the body will improve the mood. Next time you’re not in the mood, go lift some weights and see if your attitude improves. I guarantee you will feel stronger, more energetic and more confident.

Bottom line: Stop sabotaging yourself! Go train your body and improve your take on life.

Diet

The food you are taking in could very well be causing your mood to sink. Fast food and restaurant food contain large amounts of sugar, flour, hydrogenation and trans fats, which cause an inflammatory response in the body. This will cause your mood and your body to sink faster than a rock (result: food coma). Moreover, intake of these types of substances is devastating to the liver and kidney, which filter out toxins and synthesize amino acids and other compounds. Fast food and highly processed foods are the equivalent of a tiny bomb going off inside your body. I point to Morgan Spurlock’s documentary film nside your body. I point to Morgan Spurlock’s documentary film “Supersize Me” as evidence of what can happen from constantly bombarding your body with these types of foods.

I can’t even tell you the amount of times I have heard clients say, “I don’t eat this stuff all the time.” What they really mean is, “I don’t have McDonalds for every meal.” Sometimes it’s McDonald’s for breakfast, Taco Bell for lunch and Jack in the Box for dinner. Get the point? We must eat clean in order to properly manage our lives and our well-being. If we don’t prepare our own meals and eat nutrient dense foods, we are consuming large amounts of flour, sugar, alcohol, saturated fats and other elements that destroy the body. If so, we are THINKING WITH OUR TONGUES RATHER THAN OUR BRAINS! To maintain a healthy, positive attitude, we must think logically and give our bodies what they need, not what our tongues want.

Reading

Turn off the news and read a book. This author used to work in the media early in life and my arthritis began to give him more trouble than ever. The constant flow of negative information and geo-political problems can cause people to wonder why they should even try to carry on. Turn off the radio and TV and stop listening to pundits and analysts who claim to be experts. Rather, pick up a copy of “Think and Grow Rich” or “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.” Learn how to heal yourself. The point is this: all the problems that you are facing in your life have been dealt with and written down by others. Take the time to read and learn how you can use the experience of others to improve your own life. The written word contains the secrets to life. All you have to do is be willing to seek the information out.

Supplementation

When we are under a lot of stress, particularly financial stress, we tend to cut back on purchases we deem are non-essential. Unfortunately, many of us will eliminate or cut back on the things we need the most to prepare us to deal with stressful times. Two things that come to mind are gym memberships and our supplement regimen. Stress left unchecked will eventually exhibit itself in the form of disease, both mental and physical. The best way to combat both is to give our body and mind the nutrition and proper exercise it needs to work towards developing a healthy mind/body relationship.

We all know there are times when we justify purchasing that 99-cent hamburger on the sweetened white flour bun in order to save money, rather than opting for something healthier, which may cost a little more. The problem with doing that is, once you have put that idea in your head, you will soon develop a lifestyle habit that will ultimately cost you much more in the way of compromised health. If you live the fast food lifestyle, it is even more important for you to maintain a healthy supplement regimen to make sure your body and your brain are receiving all of the nutrients they need, not only to run efficiently, but also to fight off disease and depression. A high quality multi-supplement containing nutrients like essential fatty acids, such as omega-3s from fish oil and B vitamins with powerful antioxidants like alpha lipoic acid and green tea extract, can go a long way toward nourishing and protecting your most valuable assets– your body and your brain.

If you are too busy to prepare or buy a healthy breakfast or lunch, you can at least add water to a healthy and delicious protein shake rather than consume a jelly doughnut. If you don’t know what supplements to take, look it up! The world is at your fingertips.

No one knows what the future holds, but it makes sense to prepare ourselves physically and mentally for whatever may come our way. If indeed we are headed for a long economic downturn, allowing ourselves to become physically and emotionally ill will only paralyze us in our own personal depression, making us even more of a victim. Remember, great things were accomplished during this country’s Great Depression era of the 1930s, such as building the Hoover Dam and the Empire State Building. Don’t let the worry about what might happen paralyze you into inaction. Take control of your thoughts—that, in turn, will lead to control of your actions. Prepare yourself to conquer worry and whatever challenges may come your way by exercising and nourishing your body and your mind. DOMINATE 2016!

-Sean Covell

For Auld Lang Syne

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Auld Lang Syne-(For Days of Old)
The New Year is upon us!!! What was awesome about your 2015? What didn’t work out so well for you? The questions you ask yourself and the evaluations you give to those questions will determine the quality of your life, not just for this new year, but forever. Most of us ask questions that trigger bad answers. Ask: Why am I fat? , your brain will say :“Because you’re lazy”. The reason for this, is because most of carry around our past failures with us. Instead, carry your victories with you. Ask better questions if you want better results. What are you proud of? What are you juiced about? What makes your feel good? Those questions will get you unbelievable results in the gym and in your life. In other words, feed the beast and starve the rats.

Sometimes it helps to think about areas of you life like fitness as if it were a car being driven along the road. What type of car do you want to drive? How fast are you reaching your destination? Do you have enough fuel? I like to remind people they are always driving somewhere, but often they’re looking in the wrong direction. While the rear view mirror is very useful, if that’s all you’re looking at while driving……CRASH!!!! Make sure you check it to see what’s behind you, but focus on the windshield so you can see what lies ahead. And what a bright future it can be if you let it.

Auld Lang Syne the tune many of us hear during the New Year was written in 1788 by a Scottish poet named Robert Burns. You know the tune, but do you know what it means? Auld Lang Syne means ‘for days of old’. The poet was talking about “talking a cup of kindness” for days of old. The song instructs us to think fondly of our past, not take our defeats with us. In other words, it’s good to reminisce, but only if you’re focusing on what was good and what you can be grateful for.
So let’s change your focus in 2016 to your victories and not your defeats. Focus on what you love and not what you fear. Focus on your goals, but focus more on the reasons you want to achieve them. Remember, success leaves clues. Find out what you want, then figure out who has done it before you and get some coaching. I’m here to help you reach those goals. But I have to know what they are? Post them to our Facebook wall and hold yourself accountable.
So what’s your real goals for 2016?

Attack! (Your Thoughts)

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How I Attack Negative Thoughts Every Day

            “I’m lazy.” “What the hell am I doing?” “Why am I so stupid?” “Why me?” Why did they leave me?” “Why does God let this happen?”

If you’re alive, you’re probably had one or more of these thoughts pop into your head. Maybe it even turned your stomach or turned your smile into a look of concern. Your brow may have been furrowed. Negative thoughts are something that everyone has almost daily and probably will forever. Aren’t you glad you’re reading this positive article? The point is, you cannot control every thought that pops into your head, but you can control both how you let it affect you and how long you allow it to stay in your mind.

“Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.” Revelation: 12:7

LIFE IS A BATTLE

Everyone has a metaphor for what life is to them. I have many. Life is a party. Life is a gift. It’s a Wonderful Life (my favorite movie). But, life is also a battle. There is a constant battle going on in the world and in your body. It’s not necessarily good versus evil, but it is a battle within nature itself. In your body, even at the cellular level, there are bacterium and viruses trying to invade and destroy your own cells. You even have precancerous cells that are trying to avoid your immune systems’ efforts to kill them. The negative thoughts you have daily and the battle you face to rid yourself of them are no different than your immune system trying to kill unwanted invaders. Therefore, the answer to a negative emotion is that you must attack it. Your enemies must be attacked or they will conquer. You must attack the weeds or they will take the garden. It’s a fight that we’re in, just as there was in heaven. Times haven’t changed.

YOU ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS

The first way to attack negative thoughts is to face them head on and remember that you are not your thoughts. You are the one listening to them. The fastest way to attack the bad thoughts is to say out loud, “Thanks for sharing.” By saying that phrase out loud, you are actively reminding yourself that you have control. You get to choose where you live emotionally, but you must exercise control over yourself to make that happen. It’s no different than training in the gym. You must train yourself to attack your negative thoughts.

REPLACE THEM AND CHANGE FOCUS

You become what you think about most of the time. So, you must attack bad thoughts and replace them with good ones. What are you grateful for? Who do you love? Who loves you? Who makes you laugh? What was the best time of your life? Just by shifting your focus and asking better questions, you will flood your mind with incredible thoughts and memories. One way to think of thoughts is to think of light. Negative thoughts are like darkness. Positive thoughts are light. No amount of darkness can prevail if there is even a bit of light. The light will always win.

USE YOUR BODY

Exercise is a must. It’s by far the most researched and best antidepressant there is. But there are other things I do to keep a mind of positivity. One way is to expose myself to intense cold. Every morning I start by taking a warm shower and then turn it to cold and force myself to focus on my breathing while the water races over my skin. I’ve learned to not only tolerate it, but I now love it. I realize there isn’t a negative though in my head when I’m near freezing. You don’t have time to be sad when your body is being pushed physically.

Another big weapon in my arsenal against negative thoughts is breathing. I forcefully breathe deep, hold it for a four count and then exhale. I try to repeat this thirty times in a row. By deeply oxygenating my body, my mind begins to flood with happy thoughts. It’s amazing how breathing differently can positively change your life. It changed mine. For more information on this, research Iceman Wim Hoff. The man is literally a superhuman.

The last thing I do to attack negative thoughts is to force extreme discomfort to my body. The effect is similar to cold therapy, but I choose to use deep tissue massage and lying on a spike mat. Yes, a mat with sharp plastic spikes. What deep massage and spike mats force me to do is to control my body through my mind. It forces me to control my breath and therefore my thoughts. I recommend the Spoonk mat for 10 minutes a day.

Remember, you want to be able to say you fought for what you loved and kept the faith. Have faith in yourself. Have faith in others. And remember, it’s a fight we’re in. Fight for your mind every day.

Questions to Ponder This Holiday Season

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Questions to ponder during the Holiday Season:
The following questions are for your consideration. There are no answers provided here. Only some intriguing questions that, depending on your answer, may be the key for you to fully enjoy this holiday season and thrive in 2016.

What if the holidays are really about gratitude for others and not receiving yourself?

What if the type of body you want and are committed to having will determine your attitude towards the holidays? What if the more fit your are, the happier you can become?

What if the cold weather can be your ally in reducing inflammation in your body and burning fat?

What if cold therapy can eliminate depression altogether?

What if Christmas and New Years are like any other day?

What if Christmas and New Years are magical days, if you choose them to be, but every other day can be as well?

What will you do if you do not receive any gifts this year?

What if the only gifts you accept from others are charitable donations to a charity of your choice?

What if your actions can light up the face of someone else this season?

What if you can be a hero to a child this season?

What if you open your heart and destroy your limiting beliefs this season?

How will that affect everyone around you?

How will it affect you?

What if you could give to others all year?

What if your family receiving a heartfelt written letter of love this Christmas?

What if you didn’t eat desserts this holiday season and instead donated the money you would have spent on them to charity?

What would happen if you believed your loved ones who have passed are really still with you this season because all humans are made of energy and energy cannot be destroyed, only transferred?

What if the reason for the season is “to go out and love others as I have loved you.”

What if New Years resolutions mostly never happen because people have limiting thoughts keeping them from achieving them?

What if discipline is freedom and your rituals, including holiday rituals determine your life’s outcome?

What if you could carry Christmas in your heart every day?