Good morning, Mad Hatters!

Here it is… a new day and a new month…!

November has often been the month that started to breed fear into the hearts of many of us over the past years.. we were usually on some kind of “diet” by now, and already starting to worry about what was coming.. not only about getting thru TG, but already starting to stress out about the holidays now just a few weeks away… fitting in the party dress, shopping, family tensions.. not that stress has ever led ANY of us to head for the cookie jar in the past, right… ! :sad: Remember how round about now that panic would start setting in.. even before anything actually came up? Just thinking about what MIGHT happen was enough to send us to the cupboard in search of something to soothe us…

But this year…. That doesn’t have to happen, HATTERS!! November can be a fabulous month for us, if we CHOOSE to remember that there’s no need to panic… at least about what we're putting in our mouths! because now… we know its just about making good choices one day at a time....not worrying about our food tomorrow..or next week...or next month.. we never have to think about being on a “diet” ever again! We’ve learned so much about our triggers, and we know now if we choose to have something less than best, there's no need to panic or throw in the towel...or berate ourselves for falling off a wagon we're NOT on... we just have to wake up the next day and try for better.... that's it..!! AND we have each other here to help calm the fears and the nerves should they still pop up…. How GREAt is that feeling today???

Instead of dreading the next couple of weeks.. let’s change our mindset, let’s decide we aren’t going to freak ourselves out, there's no need to..! Lets embrace the fact we have one less stress.. no crazy diet to worry about!!… let’s choose to stop worrying or focusing on what we MIGHT eat someday down the road, and instead, realize that all we have to do is just keep right on doing what we’re doing… one day at a time. One meal at a time. We already know we will get stressed here and there with everything else going on, and we’ll get harried and hurried and tired and feel overwhelmed some days… so why add in any more stress worrying in advance about what we MIGHT eat… and instead, let’s head into these next few weeks really BELIEVING that we WILL be just fine!! Yup.. let's actually BELIEVE IT!

But…can we actually, truly believe in ourselves?? YES!! WE CAN!!

We just need to know HOW!

I recently read an article that really made me realize that I wasn't sure if I believed I can lose all my exess weight. Be warned: It’s lrather ong, yes.. and it took me reading it over a few times before it actually sunk in and started to hit home. But in case it might just help someone else realize they REALLY can do it, too, I’m copying it out here. (You’ll note how clever we all are by the way if you if read it, because it shows we’ve already taken a few of the steps already... how clever are we????)

Either way?

Here’s to a fantastic month for ALL OF US, HATTERS!!! Celebrate the freedom our lifestyle change has brought us and lets head into the last few weeks of the year with the knowledge and belief.. that we ARE doing it!!! Believe in ourselves.. because we CAN accomplish anything, ladies!! WE ROCK!:bigsmile:

ARTICLE (by B. KIM)

“The phrase “You can do it if you just believe” has become so watered down to the point that people just roll their eyes when they hear it. They’ve tried it and it just doesn’t work for them. We all want to believe.. and we’ve all heard a few quotes on the subject, but I think they left out one very important part:

HOW do you believe?

It’s not enough to just say “Oh, just believe and it will happen.” I hate with a passion of a thousand suns, advice that's just given to us without any proper procedures or guidelines to follow on how to implement it. Furthermore, I think the reason why people have a hard time believing is because we’ve never done it. What I mean by that is we never really formed our own beliefs.

Think about it.

Trace back all your beliefs on religion, politics, money, people, society, and the world in general. You’ll find that the root of the majority of your beliefs came from outside of you, whether it was through your parents, friends, or media. “Don’t talk to strangers. They’re bad.” “Money is the root of all evil “ etc.

The majority of people have never really gone through the exercise of creating their own beliefs, because we’ve been spoon fed them from day one.

It’s time to take charge of our own beliefs.

In order to find out how to believe, we have to understand the process in which some of the most powerful beliefs in human beings were created. I’m talking about people’s beliefs in religion and politics. The beliefs rooted in religion and politics are EXTREMELY powerful. We fought other kids over them when we were young. Families became divided over them. World wars were fought over them. Millions of lives were taken because of them. Men and women even went so far as to take their own lives because of them. Clearly, the power of people’s beliefs in religion and politics and the effect it has on their lives is unquestioned.

If we can analyze the procedure in which these beliefs were formed and apply that procedure to create our own beliefs, we will be able to achieve anything we want.


Step 1: You must state a specific belief FIRST in order to believe it.
I know it sounds obvious, but there are a lot of people who don’t believe in anything.
You ask them, “Do you believe you can lose 20 pounds of fat?” “I don’t know…. maybe….. we’ll see.” This is not a belief.

STATE a SPECIFIC belief.

It does not matter if you don’t believe it at first. Just take that first step and STATE it. “I will lose 20 pounds of fat”

Ok, so the first step was taken. A specific belief was created.
I will lose 20 pounds of fat.

Now to all the people who have tried to lose weight and failed to do so, I can imagine what you are thinking. “I can’t lose 20 pounds. I tried every miracle diet, drug, fad, exercise, machine, etc., but none of it helped me lose weight. I’ll always be overweight”.

If that’s your automatic reaction, that’s fine. I’m not going to tell you to change your self-talk for now because I know it’s hard to do so. Don’t get overwhelmed or discouraged. Take it one step at a time.

Now that you have STATED a SPECIFIC belief, what is the next step?

Step 2: HAMMER that belief into yourself CONTINUOUSLY. Beliefs are NOT formed overnight. :flowerforyou:

People did not come to believe in a political ideal or religion overnight. It was due to a constant hammering of information over a long period of time. Most people got it when they were young from their parents, friends, religious leaders, teachers, coaches, etc. They heard it at the dinner table, when they went to religious service, on TV, books, magazines, friends, acquaintances, etc.

However, this time, nobody is there to hammer the beliefs in you. YOU created your OWN BELIEF and it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to HAMMER it into YOURSELF. It doesn’t matter if your self talk is negating your belief. A constant hammering will always drive the nail into the wall of your self talk. Just hammer it in. The nail will always go in the wall if you continuously hammer it in.

This is where 90% of people fail and conclude that the whole “if you believe, you can achieve” idea is utter bull*&%$.

We live in a society where distractions are rampant. Internet, text messaging, cable TV, email, cell phones, TV on our cell phones, ipods, wireless internet access, etc. We are a spoiled generation. We live in an instantaneous society. We want results NOW. We have lost the virtue of patience. :sad:

We have music, video, news, entertainment, all on demand with a push of a button. We can get in touch with anyone in the world by dialing 12 digits. We can look up all sorts of information with a click of a mouse. It’s so easy to get sucked into the newest things and forget about the importance of continuously focusing on hammering in our new beliefs.

It’s also easy to become discouraged when we don’t see any quick results from hammering in our own beliefs. We have lost the notion of sticking through with something and not quitting until the goal is achieved, no matter how long it takes.
How can you avoid doing that?

1. Write your belief down everyday.
This is one of the most powerful things you can do in order to hammer a belief in yourself.I know it sounds a lot like affirmations, and it pretty much is. However, you might have had previous experiences with affirmations and not have had such good results from them. You will soon see though, that there is much more to believing than just writing down affirmations.

2. Put it everywhere you see.
Another thing you can do is to write your belief down on paper or print it out and paste it everywhere you see; on your refrigerator, mirror, door, computer, TV, wall, bathroom, front door, screen door, everywhere. This way, you will drill the belief into yourself even when you are not writing it down.

3. Visualize your belief already achieved everyday.
Your brain does not know the difference between what it sees with your eyes and what you imagine in your mind. You know what that means? “Things” don’t really exist. What I mean by “things” are the objects you think are real. The pen, the computer, the piece of paper.The reality is that you take in all the information from your environment via your 5 senses and process that in your brain and in there, your experience is created.

Reality lives alone in the brain.
And because reality lives alone in the brain, you can create your own reality. So create the reality of already having achieved your belief by visualizing it in order to help hammer the belief into your brain. You must take time each day to hammer your belief in.

If you do it sporadically, your belief will never take root. Rome was not built in a day. Masterpieces were not created overnight.

Anything worthy of any significant value was not created instantaneously.
Deep down inside, you know it’s true. There are no shortcuts in life. Does this mean it will take years for your beliefs to come true? If you consistently hammer in your beliefs and take the following steps that will be outlined, you will find that your beliefs will come true faster than you realize.

Step 3: Continually associate with those who share your beliefs. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
If you look back at how beliefs in religion and politics were formed, you'll find that continuous association on a regular basis with those who shared the same religion and political affiliations helped enormously in solidifying their respective beliefs.
People did NOT habitually associate with those who did NOT share their beliefs. Each group managed to attract one another and form their own support group. People who believe the same things will naturally gravitate toward one another.

When the hammering of your belief starts sinking in, you’ll find that you will naturally gravitate toward those who share the same beliefs. :happy: If you find yourself doing that, it’s a very good sign you’re going in the right direction and it shows that your belief is getting hammered in. You will find yourself looking to those who share the same beliefs for advice and/or support.

This is another aid in helping you hammer your belief in. When you habitually associate with those who share the same belief, you hammer your belief in even more. :flowerforyou:

Step 4: Confirm Your Belief in Your Environment
If you’ve been continuously hammering your belief in yourself and surrounding yourself with people who share the same belief, you will start to find confirmation of your belief in your environment.

Reality will start to shape according to your belief.
When you find reality starting to shape according to your belief, it is another sign that your belief is sinking in even deeper.

Whenever you see confirmation of your belief in your environment, RECORD IT. Write it down.That way, it will serve as a reinforcing mechanism for your belief.

You'll find that one of the best ways to confirm your belief through the environment is to look to the people who have already done it. :drinker: The greatest evidence that something can be done is if another person has done it. You will begin to see/meet people who have lost weight successfully. You will see them on TV, read about them, maybe even meet them online.
Collect inspirational stories of people who have done it. Refer to them often and confirm your belief to reinforce it whenever you feel it fade. By confirming your belief in your environment, you drill your belief deep down in yourself even further.

Step 5: Take Action to Reinforce the Belief
All right. So you’ve STATED a SPECIFIC belief, hammered it in yourself continuously, frequently associated with those who share the same belief, and reinforced it by confirming it in your environment.

You are now ready to take action.
The great thing about this is that you’ve already laid the foundation of belief.
Therefore, taking action will not be hard. It will be natural.
Your ability to easily take action is directly related to the degree to which your belief is hammered in you. Since you’ve already set up a very strong foundation of belief, you will find it easy to take action.

The reason why most people fail in the attainment of their high set goals is because they try to take action FIRST, without taking the time to really set the foundation of FIRST believing that they can. If you’ve done a good job of drilling the belief into yourself, you will find it easy to take action toward it.

Step 6: Acknowledge Your Own Progress to Further Reinforce Your Belief

I will lose 20 pounds of fat.

All right. So you’ve STATED a SPECIFIC belief and hammered it in yourself continuously.
You frequently associated with those who share the same belief .
You’ve reinforced your belief by confirming it in your environment by reading stories of people who have done it, meeting them in person, etc.
You’ve also naturally taken action to fulfill it by habitually exercising and eating right.

When you lose that first pound, rejoice! You know you’re on your way now. :bigsmile:
If you can lose that one pound, you can lose another, and another, and another, and another until the rest of the 19 pounds are shed. :laugh:

This is where your belief starts to grow EXPONENTIALLY. You must feed your belief by acknowledging your own progress and reinforce it so it grows exponentially. Acknowledging your own progress is the catalyst for the exponential increase.

Because this is such an important catalyst, record it. Write it down. Don’t trust it to memory. Write it down so you can refer to it often to reinforce your belief.

Step 7: Loop steps 2-6.
Believing is analogous to starting a roaring fire. If you’ve ever tried to start a fire, you knowIf you’ve ever tried to start a fire, you know it’s not as easy as taking a lighter and putting the flame on a big log. You have to first gather all the moss, twigs, grass, leaves, and build a small mound where the fire can reside, consume the fodder, and grow strength. You have to work at it, coax it, feed it, breath on it, until it starts to grow.

When it grows, you have to keep on feeding it with more and more pieces of small wood until you start bringing in the big chunks of wood. The result is a blazing fire you can use to do anything. You can use it to light other people’s fires. You can use it to burn down walls. You can use it to warm people and give them light. Even though I’m speaking metaphorically, you know what I’m talking about.

So feed the fire of your belief and loop steps 2-6:

Step 1: You must state a specific belief FIRST in order to believe it.
Step 2: HAMMER that belief into yourself CONTINUOUSLY. Beliefs are NOT formed overnight.
Step 3: Continually associate with those who share your beliefs.
Step 4: Confirm your belief in your environment
Step 5: Take action to reinforce the belief
Step 6: Acknowledge your own progress to further reinforce your belief
Step 7: Loop steps 2-6.
realize though that this will not happen overnight.
It takes time, discipline, and perseverance.

Now you know the EXACT process of how to believe and in turn, achieve.
I know what must be going on in the mind of some people right now and that is:
“If you believe, can you really do anything?” The answer is a resounding YES.

You can do anything if you really believe it.

Is it really that hard to swallow?
If Edison did not really believe he could invent the light bulb, we would have nothing to do but sleep when the sun set.
If Graham didn’t really believe he could invent the telephone, we wouldn’t have our precious cell phones today. .
If Ghandi didn’t really believe he could bring peace without fighting, who knows what the world would be like today?
You get the point.

You can do ANYTHING if you BELIEVE it :drinker: :bigsmile:

It sounds farfetched, but I urge you not be so close minded. We once thought the world was flat and that the earth was the center of the universe. If you accept the fact that it doesn’t matter what you believe, because you know if you believe it, you will achieve it, why not hold one of the most powerful beliefs of all, which is: I can do anything if I believe. Now you know how. (Brian Kim)