People who are close to me will know i have been on a quite a big personal journey the last three or four years. From a career point of view i have returned to my first love the fitness industry. On a more personal  level i have had to really work on myself and the way i percieve myself and a big part of that has been the way i look at life .

Back in 2008 my wife came home from work with a audio series of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, at the time i was in a job i wasn't really happy with but was financialy ok and i was probably was just going through the motions with things. I initially scoffed at the idea of self help and the concept of positivity but it did have some impact all be it small as three years later i began exploring that book and many others like it.

HOW NEGATIVE ENERGY AFFECTS US

You know that like attracts like. So here’s the deal: Positive people are drawn to positive energy; negative people are drawn to negative energy.

We tend to perceive negative energy as something other people have.  Sometimes we feel negative – as in, “go away and leave me alone” but  negativity can be so ingrained in you that it goes unnoticed.

That’s because negativity sometimes is disguised as ‘reality’. It’s easy to rationalize that you’re ‘just being realistic’ in not daring to act on a  believe or dream.

You may assume that positive people are not being realistic – that they’re being naive, that they are in denial with their heads stuck in the sand, that they put on fake smiles in the face of difficulty. 

Consider this: since when does ‘being realistic’ necessarily mean that things will go wrong and that you have to accept that as the truth?

That doesn’t mean that being realistic is automatically negative. When you view the world from a ‘realistic’ standpoint, you can’t help but be negative IF your version of reality is negative. 

If our version of reality is negative, you are conditioned to believe that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong and whatever can go right, will probably go wrong too. Your unconsciously held beliefs make you into a negative person without your being aware of it!

So – if this negativity is so ingrained in you that you don’t notice it, how do you determine whether you’re stuck in a cloud of negative energy that is attracting the wrong people, wrong situations and wrong feelings? And how can you be sure you’re not perpetuating that negativity?

• Are you grateful for what is or will you be grateful when things finally start going right for you?
• Do you feel like things are happening to you? Or do you feel that they are happening through you?

If you’re not grateful except when things go right, you are negative. Gratitude is positive. If you are grateful for what is (including the unpleasant school of life lessons, then you can invite more and more positive energy into your life.

Believing that things happen to you puts you in the role of victim; then it’s easy to be negative because it’s convenient to give up that power. So consider this alternative: who or what is to blame when GOOD things happen to you? Do you acknowledge that you are responsible for the good things – as in, you worked hard, you earned it, etc… but blame external events or other people for your failures? So how come, when good things happen, they are a result of what you do, but when bad things happen, they are not your fault?

Nobody likes to hear that. It takes courage to accept that you create your life experience!

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you are holding on to negative energy to some degree! To clear your negative energy and raise your vibration, you will need to retrain yourself to choose a positive attitude.

Here’s another interesting idea to consider: have you noticed that positive people seem to get what they want out of life, and even if things don’t go their way, they still enjoy their lives… while negative people whine and moan about their misfortunes and even the good things in their lives?

To clear negative energy, try these.

1. Take ownership: “When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.” – the Dalai Lama

2. Cancel negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts.This takes practice, dedication and making a decision to see the world through the eyes of “what can go right” instead of “what can go wrong.” You’ll have to catch yourself anytime you are acting out or speaking out your negativity, and immediately change your tune.

Thank you
Craig Connolly

STEP 1:    FIND OUT WHAT “LIGHTS YOUR FIRE”I’ve put this step first because it is critical to ensuring long-term success.  Even if you closely follow the remainder of the steps, without this important point, it will be extremely difficult to stay motivated over the long-term.

So, what does “light your fire” mean?  Essentially, I’m saying that WHAT you want to accomplish is important, BUT the most important thing is WHY you want to accomplish this goal.  Once you figure this out, the rest of the steps will be a simple process to help you get results quicker.  Without this step, you may be able to accomplish a few objectives out of sheer determination and following some strict action steps.  However, your passion and personal motivation will not be behind your changes and the daily tasks you are working on will seem much more like chores instead of positive steps you are taking to your ultimate objective.

To figure this out, you need to look deeper at your motivation.  There are two types of motivation…
Extrinsic motivation comes from sources outside yourself.  For example, you may be doing something to impress another person or gain external recognition.  This is a perfect example and very common.  We see this when people decide to lose weight or get fit to attract more attention from a coworker, friend, or that person they’ve been admiring from a distance.  While this motivation may be quite powerful at the beginning and produce some exceptional results, it will start to fade and with it the motivation to keep the changes that generated those results.

On the other side of the coin is intrinsic motivation.  This is when a person is motivated for internal reasons such as personal pride, sense of accomplishment, or other factors extremely important to them alone.  These types of goals could be accomplished without anyone else ever knowing and would be just as powerful (if not more) to the person.
Intrinsic motivation is the long-term fuel that keeps people on track to accomplish ANY worthwhile and personally relevant goal.  People who tap into this source of motivation have a dramatically higher long term success rate than those who are motivated solely by the recognition of others.

STEP 2:    SET SMART GOALS This sounds simple enough, but very few people actually know how to set a proper goal.  Setting and accomplishing SMART goals is so important.
Don’t worry, there is a simple system to virtually guarantee success if you follow it.  You may be thinking that setting goals can’t be that difficult and that you have lots of goals!  You are correct; setting goals is actually quite easy if you follow the right system.

The problem is that most people’s “goals” are really just dreams and wishes that never get acted on, never mind accomplished!  This happens because they fail to use a system or to follow through on their plan.

Setting SMART Goals takes some practice, but this is perfect because starting with small easily achievable objectives will help you ease into the POSITIVE SPIRAL OF GOAL SETTING SUCCESS!


If you haven’t figured it out yet, SMART is actually an acronym and the basis of your goal setting system. I took this from something i read in college and i can't remember who wrote it. It stands for…

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable-Action Oriented
• Realistic
• Time Sensitive

You’ve probably realized that to accomplish any complex task, you will have an overlapping series of process and outcome goals.  It is the tracking, planning, scheduling, and ACTION on these goals which truly determines your ultimate results!

Now that you understand the basics of SMART Goal Setting, here are two more important Steps that will virtually GUARANTEE SUCCESS!

STEP 3:    IDENTIFY THE BARRIERS TO YOUR SUCCESS You’ve built your SMART Goal List and during the “REALISTIC” section, you probably had to make some adjustments based on what you know of your personality, motivation, and current lifestyle.  That’s great because it will help you tremendously in this section.

Your next important task is to closely evaluate all aspects of your life, look at past failures (remember, they are there for you to learn from), and brainstorm all of the possible obstacles that will stand in your way during your journey to success.

These barriers will be different for everyone, but I’ve listed a few common obstacles that I see with many of my private clients.

• Work schedule
  • Long, inflexible work hours
  • Long commute
• Family commitments
• Lack of motivation
• Boredom
• Lack of equipment or resources
• Limited knowledge
  • On how or what to do to reach your goals
• Lack of support from family, friends
• Active sabotage from family, friends, coworkers or self
• Injuries or medical conditions
• Poor time management skills
• Not enough money

Once you’ve identified what the top 3 or 4 roadblocks will likely be, write them down on a sheet of paper .  It’s important to be a specific as possible when writing down these barriers.  The more clearly you define the obstacle, the easier it is to overcome the challenge.
For each obstacle, write down two or three actions you can take to minimize or sidestep the potential barrier
For example, if you feel that your lack of motivation and ability to stick to a plan will be issues, you may brainstorm the following options:

• Hire a trainer for regular accountability check-ups and training sessions.
• Engage the help of a supportive friend or family member to keep you accountable and on target to your goals.
• Brainstorm the things in your life that motivate you the most and link your success to those items through rewards, bonuses, or incentives.

This brainstorming is extremely important because you will definitely encounter obstacles on your journey and they can easily derail your progress unless you are prepared.  By having your plan in place well in advance, you will be able to smooth out any “bumps in the road”!

STEP 4:    FOLLOW THE PLAN!It goes without saying that the greatest plan ever designed is useless if it isn’t followed!  Over my 20 year career in health and fitness, I’ve seen this happen more times than I can count.

Many people used to complain to me about the lack of results they were seeing from the program and plan I put together for them.  When I asked questions about their execution of the program, they would provide heaps of excuses about why they couldn’t do this part, that part, or had to change another part.

When I pointed out to them that they didn’t actually do the program I provided, they would often say, “But I got busy!”, or “It was too hard!”  Yet, throughout the time of their program, they never once contacted me to discuss their challenges.

That’s why it’s important to take the initial goal setting process seriously.  Challenge yourself, but keep the plan realistic because your success depends on being able to follow that plan exactly!

“Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. Some people wonder what happened.”

– Anonymous

Best of luck with your progress!  Feel free to contact me with any questions or if you need some additional help.

Thank You
Craig Connolly
Fullbody Workhouse