Grab a pen and paper because today I’m sharing an exercise that has the power to work miracles. Seriously! In this episode, you will learn a three-part visualization process that feels positive and inspiring. The only thing standing between you and the body + health you want is action. And I believe a better outcome is right around the corner! 

First, I share my struggles and victories relating to deep fatigue, depression symptoms, and mood swings — and how my body and weight fluctuated in response. I detail three steps to help connect emotions and thoughts and provide context around my iteration(s) of this work. This is a fun, powerful process to help you create your ideal scene. 

You can dream BIG, without the self-sabotage. But it requires both patience and dedication.   Are you ready to uplevel your life??

The Nutrition Project is a 12-week live group program that addresses your challenges in real-time. You will learn my eating methodology and gain direct access to me for in-person coaching. If 2024 is the year you get your nutrition right, I cannot recommend this powerful program enough! Add your name at hollyperkins.com/workshop to be notified when spots open up.

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If you resonated with anything shared in today’s episode, I hope you’ll rate and leave a *glowing* review of the show on Apple Podcasts. Be sure to follow and subscribe to keep up-to-date when new episodes drop on Tuesdays! 

Topics Covered:

• My struggle with deep fatigue, depression symptoms, and mood swings
• Three notes about manifesting the body + health you want
• Step 1: Visualize and experience the feeling of your achievements 
• Step 2: Write down your goal as if it’s already true 
• Step 3: Rehearse what you wrote
• Examples of how my dreams manifested 

Resources Mentioned:

• Listen to the first 10 episodes of Holly Perkins Health Podcast HERE
• The University of Santa Monica’s Spiritual Psychology Program 

Follow Me:

Find me on Instagram: @hollyperkins

Learn more on my website: hollyperkins.com

Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/HollyPerkinsFitness/

Disclaimer: Content and information as part of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast is for general interest, education, and entertainment purposes only. The use of information on this podcast or materials or products linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

The biggest hinderance to reaching your goals is your ability to actually take the actions needed to achieve the health or the body that you want. While you might need some guidance on what specific actions to take, you probably have a good sense of what you need to do. So why don't you do it? What I found after coaching women for 30 years is that the hardest part for most people is doing the things that you need to do. If you know what you need to do to reach your goals.

Why aren't you doing it, the only way you're going to improve your health in any way is through action. If you're not happy with where your health or your body or your energy is right now, you just need to take new action. And this is the hardest part of behavior modification. The only thing standing between you and your body or the health that you want, is action. And today, I've got an incredible resource for you. That works miracles. So keep listening. Hello, and welcome. I am so glad that you're here. If you are new around here, Hello, I am Holly Perkins. And after 30 years in practice, I have crafted foolproof methods to help you reduce inflammation, balance blood sugar, and improve body composition so that you can feel better now and reduce your risk of chronic disease. If you follow my guidance, you'll become stronger and leaner than ever. And finally have the energy you need to keep up with the life that you love.

And that's what it's all about. Right? If you're struggling to take the actions you know you need to take to get the body you want. This episode is so for you, in order to change your body or your life in any way, you've got to be consistent in your actions. You got to keep yourself accountable. And you need to identify sabotage before it becomes self sabotage. So if you're someone who stays on track, let's say for like a week, or two or even three, and then you mysteriously find yourself off track and out of whack. It's probably because you're not using the practice that you'll learn today. If you struggle doing the things you know you need to do, this is a new way to work it. And this is a practice and exercise that I've discovered over the past couple of years that I've really had to lean on kind of out of necessity for my clients. Because the truth is, sometimes it's just really hard to get yourself to do the things you know you need to do. So in this episode, you'll learn how to visualize your goals in a way that allows you to dream big, without worrying about self sabotage. You'll learn how to phrase your goals so that they feel positive and inspiring and exciting. You'll learn the most important part of turning your goals into real life living reality.

And you'll learn a powerful phrase that allows for an even better, even more exciting outcome. Just in case you're someone like me, who tends not to dream big enough. Here's the deal. I believe there is nothing you can't accomplish. If you want to be smaller or tighter or leaner. Or if you just want to feel better and be confident about your health. It's just a matter of deciding and doing after 30 years in practice. Trust me, I have seen it all. And I know without a doubt that you are capable of getting the body and the health that you want. I promise. Do you really think that you can't be even just a smidge better? Do you really think that you can't become even just a bit stronger? Or do you really think that you can't eat better and improve your energy? Listen, it's all possible. And you know what, this is a great opportunity for me to share a bit more about my story because really and truly if I can do it, so can you and often I don't like it when I hear other people saying that phrase if I can do it, you can do it too. But the truth is, once you really know my story, it's really true. For most of my adult life I have really struggled

feel well, in fact, for most of my adult life, I have felt terrible. I suffer from deep fatigue, symptoms of depression and swings in my mental outlook, I can literally go from being super positive and excited and optimistic, to really negative and down and out and soulfully tired. There have been times that I've been super fit. And there's times that I've been super fat. Now, I hate the term fat, as you know, and you might not feel that my version of fat is actually fat, but it's all relative. And the truth is, there were many times in my life where I was 30 pounds heavier than my fighting shape weight. So in my definition, that was absolutely higher body fat that I should be or that I wanted to be. There are days when I struggle, and there are days when I am victorious, it's never been easy. And I have to create my body day in and day out.

Because my body and my health always reflect my habits. If you feel that your body is fussy, or tricky, or super sensitive, trust me when I say really, and truly, if I can do it, you can do it too. And I believe that you too, are capable of creating the body that you want, and the body that you need. So today, I want to share one of my secret weapons that has the power to work miracles. This exercise can transform your body, before your eyes in record speed, if you do it right. And if you practice it daily, today, you're going to learn a visualization process to manifest the body that you want, and the health that you need in three steps. Before I get into the process, I want to establish a few things. So first, I'm sharing my version of the process that I learned at the University of Santa Monica. When I completed my two year certification in spiritual psychology, I want to give credit to them for this ideal scene process. And that I'll do my best to reflect their methodology here. But I might also be unknowingly adding my own interpretation to it. The truth is, I interpreted their process in a way that worked magic for me, I have the chills.

As I say it, I hope you're feeling chills too. So I'm going to teach you the way that my brain learned it and has experienced it. The second thing is that this process is a bit intangible, it's esoteric, and it's rooted in your internal world of feelings and emotions. When I first learned this process, I was not good at identifying and accessing my real feelings and emotions, it really took me a long time to kind of crack that nut. And come to understand the connection between what I was thinking and what I was feeling and why I felt a certain way and what the different emotions were. As silly as that sounds, it really took some time and some effort. I'm a very cognitive, heavy person. And I like to lean on logic and facts, probably because I live and breathe and work in a science based industry. So those things are important. Because of this, it took me a while to really access my feelings in a way that's needed for this process to work.

So if you're someone who is new to this kind of visualization and internal work, you might have to repeat this process a number of times and refine it as you go. It might be a work in progress for you. And judging by my experience with my clients, it probably will be so when you start to work on it if it feels frustrating or confusing or unclear, stick with it because it is such a fun process over time. And even if you don't get it exactly right, it's going to help you in life in big ways, because you're gonna start to really understand your own thoughts and feelings better. It might feel confusing or foreign to you until you're able to access your inner emotional life, effectively. Stay with it. Work at it. It took me about 10 iterations.

Over a year or so to really get this, right. And when I did, holy moly, miracles, I mean, it, things changed on a dime before my eyes within weeks. This is a powerful, effective, proven process, it might just take you some time to get it right like it did for me. The last thing to note is that you'll want to revisit this episode during a quiet time when you can sit down and write some of this stuff down. So grab some paper or plan to make some mental notes right now as you're listening and come back to it later. But before we jump in, I want to share that there is a new round of the nutrition project opening soon.

The nutrition project is my 12 week live group coaching program where you'll learn my exact methodology for eating to stabilize blood sugar, reduce hunger and cravings, improve energy and release any extra body fat. If that's the goal for you, I haven't offered this program for over a year, and this round is going to be extra powerful. If 2024 is your year to finally get your nutrition right. I cannot recommend this program enough. This is a live group program that gives you access to me for coaching in real time, so that we can address your challenges. If you want to be the first to be notified when the dates are up. And when we open let me know over at Holly perkins.com forward slash workshop where you can sign up to get on the waitlist. That way, you'll be the first notified once we've got the dates established.

All right, are you ready to finally manifest the body and the health that you want? Let's get into it. Step one is to dream it. Step one. And maybe the most important part of getting this process right is to visualize and experience yourself having already achieved your goal. So you have to establish exactly what you want, not what you don't want. For example, if right now you say that you want, let's say to lose weight, in quotation marks, I want you to ask yourself, Is your goal, your real goal to lose weight? No, not really, your goal is actually to achieve a lower number on the scale, the experience you want isn't that of losing weight, you want to be on the other end of it at a lower and better number on the scale. Or maybe you want to improve your body composition. So that more of you is muscle and less of you is fat.

Can you see the difference? What you want is to be smaller or tighter or a leaner version of yourself. It's not that you want to lose weight, you want the outcome, it's important to get clear on what the end goal is. And what you actually want in the future framed in a positive way. This is super important. Another example of this is, for example, a client will come to me and say I want to not feel fat anymore. Or I don't want to be tired all the time. I used to say this all the time, I would wake up in the morning. And the first thing I would say is I'm so tired. And finally I realized, oh my gosh, if every single day I'm waking up and I'm saying I'm so tired. Of course I'm going to feel and be tired, right? If you can imagine yourself in the future right now, is what you really want to not feel fat anymore.

Or do you want to feel tighter and leaner. This is an example of framing your intention in the positive. It wasn't until I started to shift the way I was looking at it to say I want to feel more energy, I want to have a lot of energy. Things started to change. It's super important to frame it in the positive. Now, I use weight loss as an example a lot of times because it's the language that most people use, and you can relate and understand what it means and it's a goal for many people in my community.

If I don't love focusing on weight loss, because to me, it's all backwards, I would rather you focus on improving your body composition so that you're healthier and better. And then the side effect is that your body fat decreases. And maybe you'll achieve a note lower number on the scale, which is ultimately what you want. Now, that's not to say that achieving a lower number on the scale is a bad thing. For some people, it's a very important part of their health initiative. High levels of body fat are a direct predictor of future disease. If your body composition is such that less than 70% of your body weight is lean muscle, you're at an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity, and a variety of chronic diseases.

Getting your body fat below 30% could be a very important goal for you so that you're truly healthy, regardless of your body weight on the scale. As a quick aside, here, be sure to listen to the first 10 episodes of this podcast. Because I cover 10 tenants of what I believe in and what I teach. These episodes go in depth on some of the things that I've already mentioned here today, including body weight and body composition. So if you want to hear longer discussions on those, make sure that you check out the first 10 episodes.

Another example is to feel better and improve energy or be healthier. This one is near and dear to my heart, because it is always a part of my personal ideal scene. As I mentioned earlier, you might say that your goal is to not be tired all the time. Those used to be my exact words, I don't want to feel tired all the time. And for years, no wonder I was always tired, right? I kept reinforcing the concept of being tired, when what I really want is to feel energized and spirited and full of life force energy. So take a moment right now to write down or acknowledge what it is that you want. If you can't write it down, right?

Now, bring it to mind, make a mental note of it. And then when you can write it down. What do you want? Now, check how you phrased it and check the language that you're using? Are you framing it in a positive way that encapsulates what you actually want. If you're like me, and you tend to phrase it in the negative, simply rephrase the opposite of it. So instead of, I don't want to be tired all the time, you'd phrase it as I want to have tons of energy all the time. Instead of I don't want to feel fat, you could say, I want to feel smaller, tighter or leaner. Makes sense. Okay, so you've identified what you do want, there is a very important step that most people miss and don't get right. And that is how you're visualizing or experiencing your goal. First, write down your goal, framing it in the positive, then visualize yourself six to nine months from now, experiencing your life from your new reality, having already achieved that goal.

This part is super important. And it's a bit tricky, because it helps your brain and your subconscious to see it as the truth. Now, you may notice that there is a part of you that doesn't believe that your goal is possible. For now, make sure that your goal is at least 50% believable. For example, let's say someone needed to release 100 pounds of extra body fat in order to be healthy. It might be hard for that person to actually believe that it would be possible full stop. But even more so hard to believe that it might be possible in let's say six to nine months. So ask yourself if your vision is about 50% believable. It really helps here if part of you does believe this vision is possible. So if you set your goal and say using that example, my goal is to lose 100 pounds in six to nine months. If you notice that your brain is like that is just not possible. We want to have a stretch goal but make it at least 50% believable. So adjust it so that half of you.

He was able to go, oh, I might be able to do that. Another example would be, let's say you want to start strength training to build muscle. And maybe someday you dream of stepping on a stage and compete in a Masters division in a bikini competition, let's say. But right now, you've never lifted away before. Most likely, your brain wouldn't believe that you could go from zero to hero in just six to nine months, right? It's possible, but is it probable, and listen, even if it's not probable, if your brain believes it's possible in six to nine months, then go for it. It doesn't have to be 100% believable and probably shouldn't be 100% believable. Honestly, you just want to hit about 50% believable, okay, you'll want a notebook or a piece of paper for the next step. So grab that now, or listen along and make mental notes and then you can come back and write it down later.

But before we get to that, here's a word from our sponsor, me. Okay, so you can envision yourself six to nine months from now, experiencing life from your new reality, right? Perfect. Next, we're gonna give it some color and make it come to life. Step number two, write it down and feel it as if it's already true. On a blank piece of paper, at the very top, I want you to write, in quote, My ideal scene for my best body ever, or my ideal scene for optimal health. Use whatever language that works for you, that really encapsulates your goal phrased in a positive and exciting language.

Then, at the very bottom of the page, I want you to write this phrase, this or something better, for the highest good of all concerned, you're going to repeat that phrase. After you've run this exercise every single time you rehearse it. This helps to open up the possibility for something even better to materialize beyond what you're dreaming up. And it's especially great if you're someone who questions yourself and your goals. Or if you tend to limit yourself from dreaming too big. This opens up the possibility of achieving something even better than you thought you were capable of.

Then, under the headline of that page, at the top, I want you to write I am dot dot, dot. Then underneath that, you're gonna write five to 10 sentences that each start with I am and you're going to describe what you're feeling six to nine months from now, living life in your new reality. These sentences should capture vivid, descriptive, positive, exciting language that reflects how you feel and what you're actually experiencing in real time in the moment, as you live life in the body with the health that you dreamed of six to nine months ago, which is today, get it?

These sentences should be in the present tense and they demonstrate how wonderful life is now that you have accomplished your goals and you're in this body that you love that you've always dreamed of. So for example, here are a few examples for the sentences. Quote, I am waking up each day excited to get dressed because finally all of my clothes fit and they look awesome on me. Or I am so happy to have the body and the health to keep up with my awesome full life exclamation mark. I am feeling on fire and proud of my fitness and I love having more muscle or I am thrilled that I am happier and more patient with my family because I actually feel so good and my body right now.

Or I am proud that I have become healthier than ever and I love life in my best body ever. I am joyful when I shop for growth. trees because I love how I am eating. And that makes me healthy. So remember, you want to visualize yourself six to nine months from now experiencing your life, from the perspective of having achieved your goals, and you feel into it, it's super, super important. For me, this was the hardest part, to actually feel how it feels, now that I've achieved my goals. And this is the magic part of it. This took some practice for me, and it might for you as well, the more you're able to feel how you feel, and experience life in your dream body, the faster you'll get there. This is experiential in real time, right now, living as if it's the future, and you've arrived. So that makes sense.

This is the part that took the most practice for me, because I would envision six to nine months from now. And I'd realize that what I thought or what I wanted was actually something else. I also noticed my mind playing tricks on me because I didn't believe that I was worthy of achieving the thing. So it was really important for me to nail the feeling and to find the right language on what it feels like today for me now that I legitimately really and truly manifested all of those things that I was dreaming up two years ago. I use this process to create better fitness, and to manifest my incredible husband who by the way, materialized in like two months from when I got this exercise, right, true story. This is probably the most important part of the exercise, and it may take some time for you to get it right. I wrote and rewrote my ideal scenes, over and over and over until I really landed on the collection of sentences that felt really real for me, which were exactly what I wanted and what I believed were possible while also being a stretch.

Okay, step three, is to rehearse it. Once you've written out five to 10 or more sentences on your piece of paper, you'll want to keep this ideal scene available and read it as often as possible. At the bare minimum, read it every night, right before bed. And to be clear, it's more than just reading it every night. You want to experience it every night. It's a lot of fun. You want to live it every night. You want to live in the fantasy world of it from a place of excitement and joy and fun because it is right. And imagine if you achieved exactly what you wanted, isn't that awesome and fun and exciting it is. You get to enjoy that now. And that's what's going to speed the process up. It's important to visualize yourself in six to nine months, and live the ideal scene. And maybe even watch how your fantasy life grows and expands as a result of living this new reality in this new body. If you can read it every morning, or anytime that you feel positive, or anytime you want to feel inspired, but like I said, as a minimum make sure you do it every single night before bed. If as you rehearse it, you discover tweaks or changes to how you feel you can update the page as you go.

But don't get into the habit of constantly rewriting it. land on a page, see if you can stick with it for about a month and then update it if you need to. If you're someone who tends to carry around a sense of anxiety, or stress or worry about reaching your goal, as crazy as it sounds, it's very normal and very true. I want you to remember that this should be fun. The more fun you can have with this the more joyful and exciting and inspiring This is for you, the faster your dream body is going to show up. And that is a super fun and powerful way to finally manifest the body or the health that you want. I've used this process with some of my clients

It's and really and truly it is crazy how powerful it is. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Truly, you may be tempted to think that your goals are out of your reach. But they're not. As I always say, there is no reason why you can't be healthier or leaner or stronger, or better in some way. All it takes is small steps each day over time. And before you know it, you'll be living your ideal scene in real time, just like I am right now. I hope you love to this episode. If so, please let me know.

And if you want access to my four week strength without stress program for free, be sure to rate and review this episode now. Post your review either wherever you're listening at this moment on the blog page for the episode or on Apple podcasts or Spotify. Post your comment and your review, grab a screenshot and then send it to me over at Holly perkins.com forward slash review. You'll get immediate access to this program for ever for free. And stay tuned for another brand new episode on Tuesday of next week. Stay strong and dream big my friend.