I often wonder, if you were certain of an outcome, and you knew you would not fail, would you do whatever it takes?

I’d like to think so. However, I don’t think this is the case, or at least I don’t think anyone ever really can be 100% certain.

Some of our documentary subjects are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Others, no matter how clear it should be, never truly believe or are able to see what is possible, if they just stay focused. So they lose focus, and waiver, and ultimately stop believing in what they ultimately desire…and without any intervention, they’d surely quit. Some have.

Our documentary is about what is real, not about how we can intervene and force people to succeed. Because it is what makes us desire to succeed that we are trying to understand…how it motivates us to do the right things. As we will allow people to fall down over the course of their journey, we do at times pick them up, and point them in the right direction. Ultimately, I do instill a sense that we will not allow them to fail in the end, if they trust where we are going. Often times, this isn’t enough to keep people interested. Left to their own devices, they consistently wander back to old habits, and find it hard to believe that in less than a year they can have far exceeded their expectations of what is possible.

It can be so frustrating! Since Mariah and I will often rearrange our entire day or week to help someone, and they just don’t see the value it has to them, and ultimately don’t keep an appointment…is it because they don’t care? I don’t think so. I think it’s because they don’t see the end of the tunnel clearly enough to understand that it is each week, each day, and each moment that counts. It all adds up to where we are going in our lives, and it directly impacts how well we succeed.

Success is not in question, if we understand that each step to get there is often critical. Critical not only because consistency is key, but because it has so much to do with our mindset, our momentum, and our perception of habit versus occasional activities. We must convert those actions that are necessary to our success into habits, that we do every day, instead of a few times a week. We must change how our brain works. While 30 minutes of daily exercise may seem like “overtraining” to some, it is to others, the minimum level of activity that is a part of their day.

I’ve come to realize that excuses are OK. While I don’t necessarily like them, I know we all need them to feel OK about ourselves. It is some sort of defense mechanism that all of us use, no matter who we are. I make excuses all the time!

But…excuses are not OK, if we want to achieve something great. If we want change – incredible change in fact. So ultimately my view on excuses is:

Excuses are totally fine if you want things to stay the way they are. However, excuses have no place on a journey to greatness.

I know, sometimes I sound like I’m just stating the obvious. But I do think that although it is the obvious, we often do not even acknowledge it. There is a difference between the obvious, and the immediately apparent, I think.

So I’ve been thinking of the notion of mindset lately. Since I’m no psychologist who can define in scientific terms what it is and the different types of mindsets, I have decided to come up with my own interpretation of them. That means that for now it is one thing, and probably next week it might be a little different!

Our “Mindset” is what we believe we are doing, and it can change in an instant, and there are multiple levels of what our mindset is. Nevertheless, whatever our mindset is determines exactly how we act and how well we do in the specific context of weight loss.

So if I were to say someone is in the Vacation Mindset, it means that we have decided that everything we do until after the vacation, is part of what we are doing, and whether we have been trying to lose weight or not, we are currently “on vacation” from that type of behavior. Everyone does this, but it’s important to understand this concept if we are to ultimately succeed.

So we go to a holiday party, and what is our mindset? Is it, “I’m trying to reach my goal by New Year’s Day” or is it “I am going to wait until after January 1st to start again” – these are two opposite mindsets, which will ultimately determine the outcome of your holiday parties. It determines if you eat 4000 calories or just 500 calories.

It is when we can become more “aware” of our own mindset, and what it means to our behavior, when we can start changing the outcome and be more in control over what happens. Because we often allow ourselves to adopt a specific mindset to give us “an excuse” to behave a certain way.

If we continually find we cannot control our own mindset, we may find it helpful to surround ourselves with those who can put us in a positive mindset…it is up to each of us to determine the best way to keep our mindset focused on our goals in life.