KIYA KNIGHT

If you asked me as a personal trainer, “What is the one magic hack—the secret, the special sauce—to getting the body of your dreams?,” I’d say, “Confidence.”

Confidence is the fuel that drives us towards our goals. It inspires us to ask for help, seek out new information and enlist expert guidance. Confidence is the fire that sparks our imagination and makes us burn with a desire to realize our big dreams and seemingly impossible visions. And the most important side effect of confidence is happiness. Combined with a deep sense of inner peace and calm, confidence turns life’s obstacles into opportunities, opens new doors and accelerates growth and expansion in every area.

For years, I stayed in the safety zone, visualizing my success, meditating daily to clear my head and designing elaborate dream boards, alters and rituals. I’d journal furiously every morning about my short- and long-term goals and meet with my master mind group in the evenings to discuss total world domination. But it wasn’t until I worked up the courage to take small, consistent daily action that things really started to get interesting. And I’m talking about messy, painful, imperfect action—the kind of action that is divine for learning. It’s the one small thing you start to do every day that will eventually change your whole life.

Action is the only way to get results. You can prepare mentally and emotionally to experience transformation, but it’s only by doing something, however small, that we plant the seed of knowing which is the foundation of confidence. When we take action, a belief begins to develop within us. Positive belief leads to deep inner knowing, which is all confidence really is. But, ironically, this is where most people stop—just as the opportunity to crush goals and surpass life plans is born. Because most people stop trying after just a few failed attempts and develop the belief that they’re not good enough. And this belief is the number one issue that sabotages 90 percent of the clients I work with when they first come to me for help. So many people are operating based on outdated and inefficient beliefs that keep them stuck in destructive patterns for years, often wondering why it’s so hard to lose weight, build strength and stay motivated to exercise.

In order to build your body, you have to first build your beliefs. To truly appreciate their power, think of your subconscious autopilot, which runs virtually every aspect of your reality. If you don’t get really tuned in to what programs run your reality, you might find yourself stuck in a life that no longer fits. Most of our beliefs were developed as children, and it’s our job as adults to rewrite the subconscious script to fit who we are becoming. Yeah, it’s okay to change, grow, expand and be more.

Before you create a blueprint to shape your body, I suggest you create a solid strategy for reshaping your beliefs. Otherwise your results will be hard-won and temporary at best.

The following is a simple exercise to help you upgrade your beliefs and create a powerful, lasting shift in any area of your life:

1. Write down your ten top beliefs about yourself. Don’t over think this. Set a timer and don’t take any more than three minutes to fill in your answers.
2. Are your beliefs mostly negative, positive or a mixture of both?
3. Now create ten totally new beliefs that you would like to use as a framework to create a positive shift in your life.
4. Next to each of your new beliefs, brainstorm one action that you can take to create a deep sense of knowing that this is who you really are. An example of this would be a new belief that you have a strong, fit, sexy body that you are proud of. You might commit to a new fitness or dance class three times a week.

Over time, with consistent action, you will feel the deep inner peace and confidence that comes from knowing you have the power to create whatever you desire.