Do you want to lose weight?
The list of how to do it is endless.
Will you go through lypo? Will you take diet pills? (I don’t recommend it, but that’s what people do.) Will you go to the Gym? Will you decrease your Carb intake? Will you stop eating meat? Will you do an after six diet? (My friend uses this diet. Every time he wants to eat, no matter what the time is, he simply adjusts his watch to 5:45pm…)
Friend, do you want to overhaul an area in your life?
Here’s what I realized: Changing your life doesn’t depend so much on your method as on your motive.
If you want to change anything in your life, the most important question isn’t “How” but “Why”. If you want to overhaul your life, you’ve got to find your burning, powerful, explosive “Why”.
In other words, you change not so much by the greatness of your program but by the greatness of your purpose.
For your life to change you, the purpose has to have two qualities: (1) It’s got to be Emotional and (2) it’s got to be Enormous…
1. Emotional
Psychology will tell us that we make most of our decisions based on emotional reasons. But once we make them, we look for logical reasons to justify our decisions.
This fact corresponds to our brain anatomy.
The newest part of our brain is called the neocortex. It’s responsible for analytical and rational thought.
The deeper part of your brain is called the limbic brain. That’s where all your feelings reside–happiness, sadness, love, fear, trust… Guess what: This part of your brain is responsible for most of your human behavior. And most of your decision-making.
Problem: It has no capacity for language. Because the limbic brain can’t explain itself, it will rely on your neocortex to explain why you did what you did.
Let me give you an example…
This Doctor Didn’t Lose Weight Until…
Danny was overweight by 55 pounds.
For the longest time, he wanted to start an exercise program. Specifically, he wanted to take a walk every morning. Danny had all the logic in the world–because Danny was a Doctor. Danny’s neocortex was brimming with the right information. He knew all the facts. He read all the books. He knew all the statistics. He knew the lectures. But no matter how “logical” his reason was to lose weight, he never kept his exercise program. Because his pillow was soft. And the blanket was warm. And the bed was so inviting…
But one day, something happened.
One afternoon, Danny was at home, sipping his coffee while reading the newspaper.
That was when his little 8-year old girl, wearing a pretty princess dress, complete with a shiny crown on her curly hair and pink high heels on her feet, walked up to him and said, “Daddy!”
“What?” Danny asked, while still reading the paper.
“Daddy!” she shouted louder.
“What is it?” he asked again, still reading.
That was when his little princess pushed his newspaper down, stared straight at her father’s shocked face, and said, “Daddy, will you still be alive when I get married?”
Suddenly, everything stopped for Danny. The walls, the ceilings, all the furniture at home became a giant blur–except for his girl in front of him, asking him this terrifying question.
When she said those words, he felt intense pain. It was so real, it was like someone planted a sharp dagger on his chest.
Slowly, a very vivid picture grew in his mind. He saw himself walking down a Church aisle, beside his daughter, now a beautiful young woman, and giving her away to a well-dressed monster waiting at the altar…
He also realized how he needed to live a long life. Because who will protect his little girl from unscrupulous suitors? In his mind, he devised a plan: The moment a suitor–any suitor–knocked on the door, he’d open it, and without any warning, simply punch the punk on the solar plexus. As the punk crumples on the ground, curling in pain, he’d say in a low growling voice, “You haven’t done anything wrong yet. Wait till you do…”
The next morning, Danny went out to walk. And the next day, he walked again. And the day after. And two years later, he still runs every morning. So far, he’s lost 30 pounds.
Logic didn’t change him. But he found an emotional reason big enough to make him change.
2. Enormous
You’ve got to find a big enough “Why”.
The reason why people don’t change–even if they want to change–is because their “Why’s” are small.
Here’s a clue: It can’t just be about you. It’s got to be bigger than you. When you do it for someone you love, it gets bigger.
Danny always wanted to run because he was concerned about his health. But when he was doing it just for himself, it wasn’t big enough. The moment he decided it was no longer about him, but about his daughter, the reason became gigantic in his mind.
But to make it even bigger, don’t just do it for your family. Do it for people for your bigger family–your city, your church, your country.
TV Had To Go
When I was kid, I loved TV. I was a walking TV Guide. My sister would ask me, “What’s showing on Tuesdays, 8:30pm, at channel 7?” and without batting an eyelash, I’d say, “Charlie’s Angels”.
But when I was 13 years old, I felt God wanted me to replace TV with reading. Why? So I could learn more and have something to say as a Preacher. So I gave TV up. I stopped cold turkey.
For a 13-year-old kid, that’s almost impossible. But my “why” was gigantic: God wanted to use me to bless the world.
Let me share with you another story from my life…
I Wanted To Finance The Kingdom
Once upon a time, I was a poor missionary earning P800 a month. And I was very happy. I loved my life.
But my pain came whenever I met a needy person who I wanted to help–but couldn’t. It was utterly frustrating.
I also felt that inner pain when I wanted to launch a new ministry, but I couldn’t, because we lacked funds. My favorite fantasy? To pull out my wallet and start the new ministry with my own money.
That emotional reason was enough for me to cause drastic changes in my life. I took a crash course on learning how money worked. I launched my businesses, failed, launched again, failed again, launched again… I persevered amidst many failures, until I succeeded. Today, I run many businesses and manage my ever-growing investments in the Stock Market.
My desire to change my financial life–from poverty to abundance–came from a desire to bless the world. I didn’t do it just so I could drive a sleek car. The force that woke me up in the morning to work on my businesses and investments was a desire to finance the Kingdom.
What dream can be bigger than that?
Here’s the truth: If you find a big enough reason to change something in your life, you can change absolutely anything.
I urge you to dig deep and find that big-enough reason.
For example, in our spiritual family called Light of Jesus, we have a big vision. We want to build 1000 Feasts in the world. We want to build Feasts even in China, Africa, Eastern Europe… This enormous vision is the reason why I want to be a better husband, a better father, a better friend, a better preacher, a better writer, a better leader, a better person…
To overhaul your life, find your emotional and enormous reason… Talk, walk, eat, and sleep with that dream everyday.
When the “Why” is clear, the “How” will come to you.
And your life will change.
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
PS. It’s A Date. Join me in my 2-day Truly Rich Financial Coaching Program on February 24 and 25, and learn how to build Passive Income. My mentors and I will teach you how to build your investments and explore businesses with you. Warning: Sign up now before you run out of seats. For more information, click the link below:
