An ego is a two edged sword. On the one hand it can allow you to achieve great things, inspire creativity and progress, and give you a feeling of self respect and empowerment. On the other hand it can drag you down, cause a self enforcing cycle of depression, and make you want to stay in bed all day hiding from the world.

In this article I’d like to talk about using your ego to help you train in the gym and continue to progress over the long term.

Looking Back for a Second
People train for all sorts of reasons. Competing is obviously one aspect, but for the average person it usually comes from dissatisfaction in a particular area. Whether it is fitness or aesthetic, it is a desire to want to change that pushes someone forward. This is in turn linked to a person’s ego telling them they are not adequate in some way.

Now this can be a very useful thing that will make a person get up and do something when they really don’t feel like it. But at the same time this can be pushed too far in that it then becomes an impossible task to change what the person is not happy with. Let me give you some examples and the extreme behaviour they can lead to:

Thought Pattern	Consequences
I'm too fat so will start training in the gym	I need to constantly watch everything I eat and train five to six days a week.
I don’t like my abs/arms/legs etc	I'm going to train my abs/arms/legs four days a week for the next six months.

These are the kind of things people have come to me with over the years. The consequence shows how things can become too extreme when a person doesn’t plan realistic ways of thinking.

So let’s look at how we can improve similar patterns of thought.

Old Thought Pattern	New Thought Pattern
I eat too much junk food. I'm so lazy and fat. I’ll never sort out my diet.	I am going to look at where I can improve my diet, improve my training methods and frequency, and improve my results over a sensible period of time
Look at that bloke/girl over there. They have such a good physique. How could I ever compete with that? Just look at me? I’m fat, weak, and have a small manhood/small breasts.	I don’t need to compare myself to anyone. I shall merely use them as inspiration, and train according to MY situation and MY limitations. (And it’s just the light making that bloke’s nob look bigger than mine).
I’ve been training my chest/legs/back for years. It’s never going to improve. What’s the point in even trying anymore?	Right, time to take a stock check. What have I been doing? What hasn’t worked? Where can I get some answers as to what might? A personal trainer, the internet, books – let’s find a solution.
I really can’t even be bothered to go down the gym today. What’s the point anyway? I’ll only get drunk this weekend and binge on junk food.	I do like to have a good time, but is temporary happiness more important to me than how I feel about my health and the way I look? I don’t need to put poison and junk in my body every week. I will discipline myself to ration these luxuries in favour of a better self image.
I have so many work commitments that I don’t have any time to train. What’s the point in even watching what I eat then seeing as I can’t do it properly?	Realistically I know I can plan my day better, even if I forego some TV time or get up twenty minutes earlier. I know I can find at least twenty minutes three times a week to do some exercise.
The beginning of the month is in seven days time. I might as well write off this month and start fresh then. Yes, that’s what I ‘ll do. I’ll start then.	That’s rubbish. Just because we have a calendar based on the rotation of the Earth around the Sun doesn’t mean I have to plan my life around that in every way. I am going to start right now!

Those are a few things that I know many people have thought at one time or another - me included. If you notice, there is a solution to each one. Every excuse has an alternative thought pattern, because after all a “reason” not to do something is usually just a well rationalised excuse.

A Revelation
Of course, it’s so easy for me to come along and write some quick fix happy-go-lucky excuses that are supposed to get you moving. I am well aware thought patterns and habits can run very deep and environment, peoples’ influences, and past childhood experiences all play a part in the complex human psyche that gets us to try and follow our goals and dreams.

But here’s something my brother made me realise recently when I was being a bit childish (which is a rare occurrence obviously):

What that means is taking responsibility for my actions is the same as taking responsibility for my thoughts. Allowing myself to maintain the same rationalisation as when I was a child is not acceptable now that I am an adult. Committing yourself to something and following it through is part of being an adult, and although I am not perfect, I realise that when I say I am going to do something I generally do it. And it all comes back to changing your thought patterns and habits.

So write them on the wall, preferably somewhere you can see them everyday. Write what you want down in big capitals and look at them every morning. Start programming your mind for the things you want, even if it’s only one thing. Here are a few simple ideas to get you going:


Even if you took one of those things that related to your own circumstances and applied it, it would be a start. And we all have to start somewhere.

Of course, the last stumbling block is maintaining these new habits. I have found that once you get started on a new course of action, you will be ok for about two or three weeks. After this point you may find yourself wanting to drift back to an old habit or thought pattern. This is where you need to look closely at your motivation for following the new habit, the affirmation of doing it, and then really focus on staying on track. That should then keep you going for when you may have another “re-lapse”.

Can you see where this is going? A predictable cycle which requires topping up of your new thought patterns where you will find the time period between lapses in thought does increase. Just make sure you top it up when it happens eh?

In Summary:

• Create realistic and maintainable habits and write them down.
• Put them somewhere you can see them everyday.
• Look at your potential long term results and development, and how you can put things into effect now that will pay off a few months down the road.
• Keep topping up your thoughts with self affirmations and reminding yourself of what you are going after.

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