I hope it will be impossible for you to read this book sitting down.
Okay, not literally. But kind of. Throughout this book, I am going to do everything in my power to get you out of your seat.
Why?
Because sitting is a big part of what helps us go nowhere—or feel like we’re going nowhere.
If you want movement in your life, you’ve got to move your body.
We’ve arrived at the central premise of what all those scary and thrilling memories have taught me: that our body and mind are connected. Unleashing one unleashes the other. Freedom for one is freedom for the other.
But the inverse is also true: stuck in one means stuck in the other.
As a life coach, I often ask myself this: why, when getting unstuck is so rewarding, do so many people remain stuck?
The fact is, life can be like quicksand. No matter who we are or how far we’ve come, there will always be times when life pulls us down or holds us back.
The trouble starts when we decide it’s okay to stay there. Because we weren’t born to stay stuck. We were born to soar.
But why do we decide to stay there, when being stuck feels so crappy?
It’s because of the barriers we see between us and our goals.
Actually, let me rephrase that: it’s because of the barriers we construct between us and our goals.
That’s right. Those walls, roadblocks, obstacles—whatever you want to call them—they’re not outside of us at all. They’re inside. We built them.
So, we have the power to take them down.
Let’s take a look at what those barriers are.
The “Not Enoughs”
“I’m not good enough. ”
“I’m not smart enough. ”
“I’m not pretty enough. ”
“I haven’t gotten enough sleep. ”
“I don’t exercise enough. ”
“I haven’t done enough. ”
“I haven’t spent enough time with my kids. ”
“I don’t make enough money. ”
…and so on.
Not enough. Those two words are one of the biggest showstoppers in human history.
Lynne Twist writes about this poignantly in her book The Soul of Money: “For me, and for many of us, our first waking thought of the day is, ‘I didn’t get enough sleep. ’ The next one is, ‘I don’t have enough time. ’…We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives hearing, explaining, complaining, or worrying about what we don’t have enough of. ”1
I don’t know about you, but that about sums up my mornings.
There’s another version of not enough that sounds like this:
“It’s too hard. ”
“It would take too long. ”
“It’s too expensive. ”
“It’s too much work. ”
“I’m too young. ”
“I’m too old. ”
“I’m too busy. ”
If you look closely, you’ll see that those two sets of beliefs are two sides of the same coin. “I’m not good enough” is a direct correlative to “It’s too hard. ” If we believed we were good enough, a task wouldn’t seem too hard, right?
Every day, people turn away from the things they really want. Sometimes they don’t even give them a chance. They think they’re not up to the task, so they quit before they start.
These are limiting beliefs, and they can keep us stuck forever…if we let them.
Fear
One word, but it takes on a million different forms. All our doubts and anxiety, our worries about the future—those things boil down to fear.
That doesn’t mean that, when you think about a new goal, you consciously say to yourself, I’m afraid. It probably sounds more like this:
“Yeah, that’d be great, but let’s be realistic here. ”
“Sure, I’d love that. But it’s too much work. Plus, I’ve got my kids, and a bad knee, and a root canal tomorrow. ”
“Someone else might be able to do that, but not me. ”
We make excuses, find reasons why not, and procrastinate.
At the root of those behaviors is fear. Fear of:
- failing
- disappointing others
- being wrong
- losing what we have
- the unknown
- success (yes, that’s real)
- stepping outside your comfort zone
- financial insecurity
- letting people down
- losing people
- being judged, ridiculed, abandoned, or discounted
For many of us, our worldview is shaped by these fears. We see how hard something looks, and that stops us from even trying.
But not you. Not this time. I know that because you picked up this book. Something inside you is tired of these beliefs and fears keeping you stuck.
We’re going to break through them—starting right now.
Let’s Move!
In this book, we won’t just work through, around, and over all those fears and limiting beliefs. We’re going to shift your perspective, so that instead of focusing on the barriers, you’ll see a brighter, clearer reality: you’ll see what’s possible.
How do I know that? Because I’ve seen so many people do it, and I’ve done it myself, enough times to know what the magic recipe is. It’s not a secret: it’s mindset plus movement. Oh, and a little bit of action thrown in. (We’ll get to that part. )
Are you ready to get unstuck?
In a couple of minutes, I’m going to ask you to get up and move with me. Wait—don’t put the book down now. I promise, it’s going to be quick, easy, and yes, fun. It’s one simple move that’s going to start the process of rewiring your brain.
I know, I know. You might be thinking what a lot of people think when it comes to exercise.
Ugh, please don’t make me do that.
I don’t have the energy right now.
I would, but my couch needs me.
But what I’m about to tell you—prove to you—about the human brain (that’s your brain) and the human body (yes, your body) will open up pathways in your life you never knew existed.
To find those pathways takes more than grit or inspiration. You need science on your side. And as it so happens, science is on your side. Moving your body changes your brain. Changing your brain will transform your reality.
I know this to be true because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen countless people change their minds, bodies, and lives through Moticise.
With Moticise, people weren’t just doing a bunch of fun exercises. Their lives were changing on a fundamental level. And no, these people weren’t superheroes who had all the time and money and talent in the world. They were regular, everyday superheroes who had families and jobs and money troubles and all the same fears and limiting beliefs that you and I have. In a word, they were human. And yet, they changed their lives in almost unbelievable ways—simply by adding movement to mindset.
Here are a few of the clients I’ve worked with (and you’ll meet many more throughout this book)
- The engineer whose marriage was falling apart, who was afraid of losing his children—until he found creative ways to repair their relationship
- The stay-at-home mother of three who thought her working life was over, until she realized she could turn her homeschooling curriculum into a business
- The bride-to-be who’d always struggled with her weight, believing it was impossible to lose 60 pounds—but did exactly that before her wedding day
- The CEO whose business was failing, until he realized exactly what he had to do to turn it around (which he did, and then sold it for a massive profit)
By combining movement with mindset tools—like the question, What if it were easy? —people began to uncover their own inner brilliance. They reclaimed the joy and passion they’d once felt. They tapped into their core values and intuition, which pointed them in the direction they needed to go. They found creative, effective solutions to problems that had plagued them for years. They created clear, doable action plans that led them to their goals.
I suppose this shouldn’t have surprised me. In my own life, I’ve always believed in the incredible power of the body as a means of transformation. But after I had the idea to turn Moticise into a business, I began to wonder—why was there such a close relationship between the body and the mind? How exactly did it work?
I dug into the research, and it didn’t take long to discover that what I knew in my gut was also backed up by groundbreaking advances in neuroscience. We’ll go into this deeper throughout the book, but for now, let me give you a definition of something called experience-dependent neuroplasticity. What’s that? It’s the ability of your brain to change itself based on the choices you make.
Read that again. You have the ability to physically change your brain.
How? By moving your body. By choosing what thoughts you think on a daily basis. By asking yourself powerful questions. Those are all proven ways to change your brain on a molecular level. 2
This explains why Moticise is the most effective way to manifest real, lasting changes in your life. Sometimes the changes are subtle, like feeling happier, learning a new skill, or finding confidence. Other changes are more visible, like switching careers, getting married, or turning a business failure into a success. Either way, when you combine movement and mindset, you are physically rewiring your brain for success. That’s why this works.
The key to getting beyond stuck is to do more than just read about it. It’s to do the exercises in this book, not only to tone your body (that will happen too), but to experience your change of mind. If you do, I guarantee—having witnessed it many, many times—you will find yourself capable of things you never thought possible.
Moticise is about optimizing the workings of the brain. When your body is in motion, you are literally rerouting synaptic connections. You are tapping into a strength more powerful than anything else in the world.
And that will change your life. Not only does it feel great, but you’ll notice things start to come to you in some crazy, amazing ways. Also, on a deeper level, our spirits are just crying out for us to do this.
Ignoring our deepest desires doesn’t bring us fulfillment. Pushing them off into some vague future is not what we’re meant to do. It might feel safe or convenient for the moment, but it doesn’t bring us lasting joy. Shying away from our goals leaves us feeling anxious, lacking, and not good enough. When we take that bold step toward creating the life we want, we invite the universe along for a rollicking adventure into the unknown. And you know what? Life rewards risk takers.
The universe loves boldness.
When you step out of your comfort zone and into possibility, the universe comes along for the ride. It has your back—every step of the way, even when things seem hard. It is rooting for you, calling to you, begging you to take this step toward what you really want. And when you do that—when you take a chance on your heart’s deepest desires—you will be amazed.
Things will come to you that you never expected. You’ll feel light, happy, and free. And you will astound yourself with what you’re capable of.
Still doubtful? Well, we can solve that right now. You know what I’m about to say:
Let’s MOVE!