{"id":18,"date":"2023-01-10T11:19:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T17:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18"},"modified":"2023-01-10T11:19:28","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T17:19:28","slug":"stop-before-you-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18","title":{"rendered":"Stop Before You Start"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Guest Blogger: Barbara Cobb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does this often happen to you? You do everything right the night before \u2013 lay out exercise gear for your early morning workout, plan and prep healthy meals and snacks for the day, fill water bottles, review your calendar, and plan for a rewarding and productive day, one guaranteed to push you closer towards achieving your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are ready to go! You are enthusiastic! You are on fire \u2013 burning brightly with renewed passion and vigor.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But what happens the next morning? The alarm clock goes off and immediately, without thinking, you make bad andunplanned choices. The snooze button hit with the disclaimer,\u201cJust thirty more minutes.\u201d The planned early morning workout postponed, with a halfhearted promise to do later. A cup of coffee is glugged, instead of water. A muffin mindlesslyconsumed and rationalized as \u201cjust one won\u2019t hurt.\u201d And so, it goes, your day\u2019s journey disrupted despite carefully crafting aroadmap to success the night before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did the previous night\u2019s prep work and good intentions getderailed? The answer is simple. You planned everything except the most critical element, the difference between success and failure: your mindset. Your mindset is your mental attitude. It determines your approach to life and drives your every action. Not preparing your mindset is the equivalent of jumping out of a plane without opening your parachute. You carefully packed your parachute, but it did not open. No matter how well you equip yourself with the best supplies, the pack will NOT deploy on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may sound counterintuitive, but before you start your day, before you even get out of bed, take a moment and STOP<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While you may have done all the right things the night before, if you do not take a moment before your feet hit the floor to prepare your mindset, you jeopardize the success of your day before it even starts. And while you can try to prepare you mental attitude for the coming day the night before, it is most effective the very first thing in the morning, before your feet hit the floor, before you, without thinking, make a decision that was not part of your plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of your mind as a radio and tune the dial to station S T OP <\/strong>which stands for Select the Optimal Programming.<\/strong> You need to take time each morning to adjust and calibrate your mindset. Make sure that you program it so that it is set and focused to achieve best practices. Make sure it is ready to accomplish what you have so carefully planned for the day. If you STOP<\/strong> before you start your day, your will ensure that your mind is set in the right gear, and you will garner the focus, determination and resilience needed throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you are a creature of the snooze button, go ahead and hit it. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But use that snooze time to STOP<\/strong> and prepare your mind.You know the importance of warming up your body before a workout, remember that it is just as necessary to warm up your mind. Use that time and put yourself through a routine of mindset calisthenics. I keep my mental programming short and simple. Below is my STOP workout. I encourage you to develop your own and find what works best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MY STOP WORKOUT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Review<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Remind<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Affirm<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Pray<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, I review my goals and visualize myself successfully completing them. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This visualization helps build the focus and drive needed throughout the day to attain them. Visualize yourself accomplishing your goal, whether it be crossing the finish line of a marathon, taking center stage at a competition, or finally finishing that novel. Recapping your goals reminds you mentally of what you are working towards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, I repeat a series of general reminders of best practices. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These are like the prompts that I used to tell my sons when I dropped them off at school each day, e.g., \u201cdon\u2019t do drugs\u201d and \u201cmake good choices.\u201d Despite their eye rolls, it helped to remind them daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are my general reminders which help me frame an optimal mindset:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Today, I will respect my body and treat it like the temple that it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Today, I will remember to eat to live and not live to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Today, I will squash any negative thoughts that enter my mind and stomp them like a bug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Today, I will surround myself with positive people and avoid those that try to thwart my goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Today, I will remember to laugh at myself and not take myself too seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Today, I will find the joy in everyone and everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Today, I will remember that this day is a gift from God and not squander it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going through my daily reminders helps me achieve a positive mindset and prepares me to deal effectively with any challenges thrown my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third part of my STOP<\/strong> workout is to repeat a list of daily affirmations that I keep on my nightstand. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mine read like the Helen Reddy song, \u201cI Am Woman\u201d<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 I am beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 I am powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 I am invincible, unstoppable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 There is only one me and today I will be the best me possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 I will forgive my mistakes and remind myself that I am a work in progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daily repetition of these affirmations generates the energy needed to sustain me throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, I end with a prayer: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of this day. Thank you for the body you have given me; it is a marvel of strength, beauty, and incredible engineering. Thank you for the gift of my mind; may it make me ever strong, determined, and resilient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, that is my STOP<\/strong> workout. Review, remind, affirm, and pray.It does not require any equipment, extraordinarily little time, but reaps huge results. So, remember, before you start your day, remember to STOP<\/strong> it. So go ahead in the morning and hit the snooze button. Do your mindset workout. By the time your snooze button sounds for the second time, your mind will be seton the right station. Adjusted to give it the focus, mental tenacity and determination needed to achieve your goals. And make sure throughout the day that your mind stays on the right station. If you find it on the wrong channel, switch it back. Challenging day ahead? No worries, just remember one of Coach Pam\u2019s mantras \u201cI thrive in adverse situations -struggles make me stronger \u2013 mis-steps make me more confident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now hit the floor. Start your day! You are woman! Let me hear you roar!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does this often happen to you? You do everything right the night before \u2013 lay out exercise gear for your early morning workout, plan and prep healthy meals and snacks for the day, fill water bottles…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nStop Before You Start - Pamela John Fitness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stop Before You Start - Pamela John Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does this often happen to you? You do everything right the night before \u2013 lay out exercise gear for your early morning workout, plan and prep healthy meals and snacks for the day, fill water bottles...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pamela John Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-10T17:19:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-10T17:19:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/will-porada-ZaGcU6BxJEc-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pamela John\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pamela John\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pamela John\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34dbd57755e52fc0e07fb4eed6d36f6f\"},\"headline\":\"Stop Before You Start\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-10T17:19:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-10T17:19:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18\"},\"wordCount\":1110,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34dbd57755e52fc0e07fb4eed6d36f6f\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18\",\"name\":\"Stop Before You Start - Pamela John Fitness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-10T17:19:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-10T17:19:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stop Before You Start\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/\",\"name\":\"Pamela John Fitness\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34dbd57755e52fc0e07fb4eed6d36f6f\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34dbd57755e52fc0e07fb4eed6d36f6f\",\"name\":\"Pamela John\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-05-at-3.21.03-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-05-at-3.21.03-PM.png\",\"width\":384,\"height\":372,\"caption\":\"Pamela John\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stop Before You Start - Pamela John Fitness","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stop Before You Start - Pamela John Fitness","og_description":"Does this often happen to you? You do everything right the night before \u2013 lay out exercise gear for your early morning workout, plan and prep healthy meals and snacks for the day, fill water bottles...","og_url":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18","og_site_name":"Pamela John Fitness","article_published_time":"2023-01-10T17:19:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-10T17:19:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/will-porada-ZaGcU6BxJEc-unsplash-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Pamela John","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pamela John","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18"},"author":{"name":"Pamela John","@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34dbd57755e52fc0e07fb4eed6d36f6f"},"headline":"Stop Before You Start","datePublished":"2023-01-10T17:19:26+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-10T17:19:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18"},"wordCount":1110,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34dbd57755e52fc0e07fb4eed6d36f6f"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18","url":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18","name":"Stop Before You Start - Pamela John Fitness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-01-10T17:19:26+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-10T17:19:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?p=18#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stop Before You Start"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/","name":"Pamela John Fitness","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34dbd57755e52fc0e07fb4eed6d36f6f"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34dbd57755e52fc0e07fb4eed6d36f6f","name":"Pamela John","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-05-at-3.21.03-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screen-Shot-2023-01-05-at-3.21.03-PM.png","width":384,"height":372,"caption":"Pamela John"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"url":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/?author=3"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/will-porada-ZaGcU6BxJEc-unsplash-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pamelajohnfitness.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}