This is one of the slowest weeks of the year – unless, of course, you sell champagne and party hats.

So naturally when everyone else slows down, so do we.

Most people don’t do much of anything this week except relax or vacation, eat left over holiday food and relive all of the top stories of 2010 on TV. (Yes, I’m guilty of all of these.)

Already people are saying, “Well figure it out next week!” or, “Let’s work on this in the New Year!” or, “I’ll have so and so call you next week.”

I get it.

We all have to rest. All work and no rest makes for a very tired you.

We all have things we want to change too. And at this point of the year, it’s so easy to give in to our short term, irrational mind.

Why?

We have THE most perfect excuse, ever.

“I will start on January 1st!”

It’s incredible, right?

No, I’m not saying we need to start taking action on all of our goals for the New Year right now. After all, I want to relive the top stories of 2010!

But telling myself, “I’ll start on January 1st.” is pure bull-secretion, unless…

I say that because when we wait until January 1st, the date itself becomes the agent of change. Instead of us!

Change happens when WE decide it’s going to happen. It happens in an instant. In a flash. It doesn’t care what day of the year it is.

And then…and then…it ONLY happens we fight like heck to make sure we have all of the tools and support necessary to back up that decision. Because if we don’t, our short term, irrational mind is going to be relentless in trying to fight our long term, rational mind at the first hint of discomfort.

Because after all, change is uncomfortable.

(Are you ready for a run-on sentence? I know I am!)

So, if we find ourselves watching the top stories of 2010, and on the verge of ignoring our long term, rational mind, and not taking the action we really want to take – like going to the gym, or returning that gift, or cleaning that closet out – because we’ll just do it on “January 1st” — because we (want to) think we’ll become this “different” person — because of the date, let’s call bull-secretion.

And at least acknowledge that if we don’t change our actions, we can’t expect our outcomes to change either.

We’re better than that.

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Maybe it’s my fault.

Maybe I led you to believe it was easy when it wasn’t.

Maybe I made you think my body was already like that, and I didn’t build it in the kitchen and gym meal by meal, workout by workout, day by day.

Maybe I made you think that every day I live is easy – without any temptations.

That my body was built because I’m unemotional.

Maybe it’s my fault that you didn’t see that failure gave me strength.

That my pain, was my motivation.

Maybe I led you to beleive that my body was a God given gift, and not something I worked for, every single day of my life.

Maybe I destroyed the game of getting healthy and fit.

Or maybe…you’re just making excuses.

This video (safe for work) inspired this post 100%.

I wonder if it inspires you as much as it does for me?

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And if you’re sick and tired of making excuses, MBT is for you! We’ve helped 100’s of people throughout the US and world stop making excuses, and start staying consistent! Our program is 100% money back guaranteed. What are you waiting for? (Insert your excuse here.) Join today!

It’s not if we’ll indulge. It’s not if we’ll eat more than we’d like to. It’s not if we’ll have a louzy workout. It’s not if we’ll miss a workout. It’s not if we’re not as productive as we planned. It’s not if we’ll have a less than perfect day. It’s not if we’ll get down knocked down.

It’s when.

Because we all will.

It’s about one thing: How quick are you going to get up?

Question: does this video (safe for work) inspire you as much as it inspires me?

What if every morning we watched a video like this to start off the day?

What if every morning we read a list of why we want to be healthy and fit?

Mel, in her feedback last night writes, “I don’t know why I ate crap at the mall. I wasn’t even particular hungry.”

It seems like many of us have a lot of shopping left to do so this is worth exploring. And for those of you who don’t wait until the last minute, you might be visiting lots of stores in the next few weeks.

Either way, I think we can learn a lot by exploring why Melanie ate the ‘crap’.

Let’s say Mel does all the right things. She eats an MBT approved meal before she goes to the mall so she’s not physically hungry.

She even packs along a healthy snack just in case she winds up spending more time there than expected.

(I’m gushing. I’m so proud!)

Mel is shopping along, shopping along. Buying for everyone on her list one by one. This is, of course, after she deals with the nightmare of parking and all of the excitement that comes with it.

So already she might be on edge. (Maybe not though. Mel might love going to the mall and all of the energy it has. I have no idea.)

Regardless, she’s focused. Crossing things off left and right. “Hmm, would he like this?” “Hey sir, can I hold this shirt up to you. Yeah, he’s about that size. Perfect. It’ll work!”

After a little while of this, she decides to go to another store but first she’s lucky enough to pass the intoxicating smell of all sorts of fat, sugar and salt filling the air on the way to the next store.

Immediately, these smells and sights trigger memories and feelings. They trigger feelings of calmness, peace, tastiness and ultimately pleasure.

But she’s not hungry. She already ate and she has work to do. Lots of people to buy gifts for!

Okay back to it!

So she goes into the next store looking for the perfect gift for the next person on her list. “I have no idea if she’ll like this but I think it looks kinda cool. Eh, not sure. Ah, this is it. She’ll love this!”

After this song and dance for about 45 minutes, it’s time to venture back out into the mall.

This time, she’s a tad agitated, tired, and anxious. As much fun as it is to shop for others, it’s starting to become a little annoying.

And this time, we pass the hot dog and french fry place. “Oh, I love hot dogs,” Melanie thinks to herself.

“Na, I don’t want this!” “Ugh, it looks and smells so good.” “I know I’m going to regret eating it because it’s going to make make me feel bad.” “Fine, let’s just take a look at the menu. But you’re not getting anything!” “I don’t want this, I’m not even hungry!”

“Hi, can I have a hot dog and french fries please?”

[DJ turn the music off. Rrrrrr - this is when the record comes to a screeching halt. This is when I say, as soon we realize we're having this negotiation with ourselves, it's time to think about something else. Very rarely does our long term, rational mind win a negotiation.

After all, our long term, rational mind has no reason to negotiate. It knows what it wants! It doesn't waver all too often.

As soon as we're about to negotiate with ourselves, change the channel. Focus on something else. Go to Sharper Image and sit in one of their amazing massage chairs and focus on that.

This is also at the height of the discomfort I always talk about. We're in battle baby. In the midst of a strong urge. But it's important to remember it will pass. It always does.

The best way to help it pass along as quickly as possible is to focus as intensely as we do on the urge, on something else!]

The underlying problem is we feel entitled to reward ourselves because we’ve been working so hard for everyone else. “What about me?!”

Here in lies the reason.

How else can we reward ourselves besides using food?

Sure, the dopamine squirt we get from eating sugar, salt and fat is pleasurable. Sometimes, it might even feel like pure bliss.

Unfortunately, though, as we all know, it’s extremely fleeting. It literally goes away the moment we’re done eating it. And then all sorts of negative feelings come into play.

Remember, it’s pleasurable because we expect it to be pleasurable. If we expect a certain food to do something to us it will. We get what we expect.

The key then becomes how else can Mel reward herself?

Here are 3 ideas for her to use next time:

1. On the way home she can stop and get a massage or her nails done.

2. She can buy herself something as well. But only once she’s done buying for everyone else.

3. She can buy that book she’s been wanting to read.

Food is only food. It’s not our best friend. It’s not our worst enemy. And it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy food. Food IS a pleasure!

However, food isn’t a reward.

My question to you: how else can you reward yourself?

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What if you gave yourself the gift of health and fitness as a reward? Email me right now if you have any questions or concerns about MBT. We’ve helped 100’s of people throughout the US and world get the body they want with our proven methods and system.