There’s a scene in the 1984 film Romancing the Stone where the main characters are hacking through a jungle with a machete to flee pursuers.

This is the image that came to me as I was thinking about how to expound on yesterday’s blog on having to be happy first, and the psychological research that backs that premise up.

The reason this is so important goes beyond psychology. It actually gets to the core of how life works.

I’m going to get a little deep here so hang with me. But I promise it relates to your weight—and will give you an advantage for getting the body you want.

As Einstein said, everything is energy. This includes our thoughts and feelings.

Now imagine that you are a pioneer and have come to the unexplored edge of time and space. Each moment will require that you create a path forward, much like hacking through a jungle.

Wielding a machete—using action to create the path forward—is hard work. It’s slow and exhausting. Over time, it wears you down.

This is what the majority of people are doing. They are only focused on the action of dieting and exercise, and it’s hard.

What if you could make it easier? What if there was another, more effective way to clear the path forward?

What if thinking about Why you want to be slimmer and how that will feel is energetically clearing the path before you? It’s like sending scouts with machetes out in front of you.

Wouldn’t the path forward be easier? Wouldn’t you have more energy and stamina to wield that machete, because there is less you have to physically cut through to move forward?

This is the power of being happy first. This is the power of visualization that Olympic athletes have harnessed.

And you can tap into the power by thinking about Why you want to be slimmer and how it will feel before you decide what food to eat or begin your workout.

It’s fairly easy to use the energy of your thoughts and feelings to clear the path for dieting and exercise, but it does take some practice.

To get started, think about and write down Why you want to be slim and how having the body you want will feel. Then read it every day and do your best to feel that way as you read.

The more you practice this, the easier it gets.

The more you practice this, you’ll begin to notice that your workouts are starting to be fun, and you look forward to them. You’ll surprise yourself because you naturally want an apple instead of a cookie. You thrill at the evidence of how hard your body is working on your behalf.

The more you practice creating the path forward with your thoughts and emotions first, the easier the action of dieting and exercise will be.

Together we can do it!