Lifted

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Why Do You Really Want to Fly?

Before LIFTED can help you fly, you need to decide where you want it to take you.

I believe most people have an overall sense of a "feeling" they want to arrive at when they take on a lifestyle program to lose weight and change their life. But when I ask people online or in my class what their goal is for the weekend or dig even deeper and ask what their one-year goal is for themselves, I'm always hit with the same vague replies.

For example, people love to tell me that they want to be fit, but that's not a goal—that's a feeling that could be measured in many different ways. The same goes for wanting to be leaner, healthier, or stronger. It's great to want to be all these things, but they're not anything you can technically check off your list because they're not specific and measurable.

Draw It Up—Then Dream

You've gotta dream and imagine your perfect life, but know this: a dream without a plan is nothing more than a wish.

If I had simply closed my eyes and imagined that I had basketball skills, I would never have—could never have—played professional basketball. I had to come face to face with my dreams on a daily basis. I had to sit down and ask myself what I really wanted in life. I needed to think about what goals I had to achieve in the short and long term to move closer to my dreams.

I had to design my life—the life I wanted to have.

I had to make daily sacrifices and show up even when I didn't feel like it.

If that sounds daunting to you, I promise it's not as complicated as it sounds. But the fact remains: you can't move forward if you don't know which direction you should go, and a person without a goal is like a ship without a sail.

That's not going to be you. I'm going to show you how to work the program, and I'm here to give you the tools you need.

Get Your Goals in Gear!

I'm a big believer in taking the time to break things out into one-year, five-year, and ten-year goals. And I will admit, the first time I thought this way I felt so much pressure. I couldn't imagine thinking that far ahead, even though I had technically done that as a kid when it came to wanting to play basketball—then it was easy for me!

But remember, as children we feel uninhibited and unphased by the things that may deflate our dreams. That's why you need to turn back time and start using the mind you used to dream with as a child.

It's time to set up goals of your own. What I want you to do is think about and write down two types of goals: outcome and process.

Outcome Goals

Outcome goals are the goals you're hoping to achieve. They need to be definable. You can't just say you want to be fit—you need to hone in on what you wish to be fit for. You can't just say you want to lose weight—you should know how much weight you would like to lose. You shouldn't just say you want to eat healthier—you should know exactly what types of foods you want to eat more of and which type of foods you want to eat less of.

For example:

Notice I used the words "I will." You need to believe your goals from the moment they make their way to paper.

Process Goals

Process goals are the goals you have to hit in order to make your outcome goals a reality. They are the tangible goals—the ones that you can actually do. These are the goals that get you where you want to go and make your outcome goals reachable. They need to be things that at the end of the week you can reflect back on and say, "According to what I said I'd do and what I actually did, either this week brought me closer to where I want to be—or it didn't."

For example:

So… why both?

I love to talk to children about this because when you sit in front of a bunch of young athletes and ask how many of them want to be pro athletes, every single hand goes up.

I get it. Who doesn't? You're looking at a future that comes off like a big shiny toy—flying in private jets, having world fame, making lots of money. There aren't too many people on the planet who wouldn't want that to happen.

That's because most people have outcome goals. But they either don't have process goals in place or don't want to have them. Because then there's more of a commitment to take action instead of hoping good things will come our way without having to try so hard. It's all about wishing and not about working toward that wish. After all, when it comes down to it, accomplishing big goals means big sacrifices and commitment.

There are other people who focus only on process goals but never have an outcome goal. Have you ever seen that person who continuously works out and never seems happy? Ever met a workaholic who can't seem to stop for a moment to appreciate what they have? That's a person without an outcome goal. These people become so absorbed in the process that they never take the time to define "What's the ideal weight I want to be?" or "How much money is enough?" So they keep going, never satisfying their spirit because their goals are never in balance with one another.

That's why you need both to make your dreams come true. Your outcome goals are the destination—they are your I wants. Your process goals are the journey—they are your I wills.

So… write them down!

For the sake of the LIFTED program I want your goals to be related to what you think my program can help you achieve. I also want your goals to be realistic and measurable within the four weeks you'll be using the program. Putting down that you want to lose fifty pounds in four weeks isn't going to happen because it's impossible, so stick with outcome goals that are attainable.

I also don't want anything to ever be a number that overwhelms you. I find that if I ask clients to write too many goals, sometimes they stretch their goals out too thin. Instead, I've found that sticking with three outcome goals is fairly reasonable. You can always have more, but three is a great starting point. Let's set ourselves up for a VICTORY!

As for choosing your process goals, I'll be taking care of that for you. That's the beauty of LIFTED. Simply by following the four-week program you'll be lifting your mind, body, and spirit, which I guarantee will put you down the path of achieving your outcome goals. So for now these will be your process goals:

Visualization: See It and Free It!

When I was a kid I was driven purely by passion. And at that time I developed certain skills around that passion that I had no idea were actually tools that have been proven to enhance performance. One of those skills was visualization.

At night I would lie on my bed, close my eyes, and clearly visualize myself on the court. I could see myself dribbling down the court effortlessly and pulling up for a jump shot. I could feel the ball in my hands, notice my breath, and hear the crowd hush—and then erupt! I would do it to the point where my muscles would twitch, where it felt as if I were actually doing it, even though I was only doing it in my head. It felt so real, I would have to stop because I couldn't sleep. Innately I did this as a kid because it was exciting. But the best athletes in the world rely on this technique because they know the body will do whatever the mind believes it can do. They understand that once your mind has conceived something—the body naturally has an easier time doing it.

For example, when researchers in France studied the effect of visualization on high jumpers, their performance improved by 35 percent.¹ Better still, by adding in physical movements as they visualized—for example, by mimicking simple arm movements—they managed to raise their performance up to 45 percent. It turns out that what I was doing as a little girl—just closing my eyes, holding a ball in my hands in my bed, and thinking through the motions—is something now backed by science.

Fast forward to today, and I still use visualization; it's been a constant tool for my entire life. As an instructor I'm no longer performance based, but to this day I'll have certain spin classes where I might be nervous, don't feel I'm on my game, or might be just a little bit depleted from life. Yet I have to go in and motivate sixty other people.

That's when I use visualization to make my thoughts connect to my body so I can produce the state and results I want to have in every class.

The power of visualization is underrated and often overlooked, yet it's one of the most powerful tools you can add to your toolbox.

Make it work for you as you use LIFTED.

Picture Every Part of Yourself

The magic of LIFTED is that the program affects every part of your life—mind, body, and spirit. So when you visualize, there are no limits.

If you have an interview the next day, close your eyes and imagine yourself feeling confident, stepping into the room tall, and making eye contact with everybody. Picture yourself having a very fluid conversation in which you're articulate and have an answer for every question they ask.

If you have a race the next day or just a training session, close your eyes and think about running every step or going through every motion. Let yourself feel what it will be like when you cross the finish line or complete the class. Imagine every part of it being effortless and enjoyable.

But know this: you don't have to save visualization for special occasions or events; we always have something to do the next day that we could do a little better. So whatever that might be, so long as it's important to you to do your best, incorporating visualization can benefit you.

Picture a Perfect Performance

As you visualize, failure is not an option. Some people will imagine themselves doing something and find themselves automatically thinking about how they might trip themselves up along the way. That is not what I want you to do. Your body can hear what you are thinking and saying about it. For real. So you need to choose your thoughts and words carefully.

It's important to forget about any flaws. Visualization sets the stage for how you feel and what amount of energy you take into whatever it is you're visualizing. So all you should be picturing is your perfect self. You need to imagine that whatever you're doing, you're not only doing it perfectly but effortlessly as well.

A recent UK study involving more than forty-four thousand subjects found that just by imagining you can do a specific task better, that's exactly what happens as a result.² When researchers measured the effects of various motivational methods, the greatest improvements to performance came either when subjects told themselves out loud that they could beat their best score or react faster or when they imagined they could beat their best score or react faster.

That's why three-quarters through my class I will tell people that they have a choice at that moment. They can perceive themselves as exhausted, or they can perceive themselves as exhilarated. One of those choices will make that experience far easier and more enjoyable than the other one. It's your choice—only when your mind is your ally will you actually begin to see change.

Close Your Eyes Often

Checking visualization off your list each day is pretty easy to do, but for now all I want you to do is try it for a couple of minutes twice a day.

It can be at your desk. It can be on the subway or the bus. It can be while you're waiting for your kids or waiting for your coffee to brew. Eventually you may find yourself doing it fifteen to twenty times a day, and that's okay! The more you picture yourself performing in your prime, the more you'll believe you can—and the more likely you will. Remember: children daydream all day long. Somewhere along the way as adults we tend to lose this—GET IT BACK!

Some of my favorite times to do it are

In the morning: I always recommend doing some visualization in the morning because mornings are always a fresh start to everything. After all, if you can visualize the perfect day, just think about how much better the rest of your day will be.

The night before anything big: As much as I love the mornings, there are typically a lot of things that could easily distract me from doing it the morning of a big event. That's when I'll do it the night before, right before bedtime.

Any time! It takes only a few seconds to bring yourself back into the space of confidence that visualization creates—so don't be afraid to try it anywhere at any time.

I would visualize in the middle of a basketball game at the free throw line. I had a ritual every single time. My right foot would be on the line. The referee would bounce the ball to me. It would come into my hands, and I would immediately close my eyes. And for two seconds I would see the ball go through the net. I would then dribble the ball three times, bend my knees, and get ready to shoot, and I would watch the ball roll off my fingers and—go through the net.