Every Monday, That's Fit's very own "charged up" wellness guru Laura Lewis presents The Passion Principle, a weekly guide that will help you achieve your greatest potential through words of inspiration, cutting-edge ideas and action tips you can use in your every day life!

Do you dream of being fit, trim and happy but never seem to reach your goal? A few techniques based upon NLP (neurolinguistic programming) might help you get out of your own way so you can turn your dream bod into a reality.

I'm fascinated with the idea of why some people fail in their attempts to achieve goals while others always hit their marks, especially when it comes to weight loss. In the neurolinguistic programming arena, it is believed that internal programming is often a key factor in how we behave and that by reprogramming our brains using specific techniques, we can achieve greater success. NLP was founded in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, and while it has received some criticism over the years, many have found NLP techniques to be highly effective.

Over the past two decades of educating and motivating people who seek to live healthier and happier lives, I have found strategies loosely based on NLP practices to be highly effective in helping folks achieve their diet and fitness goals. What I love most is that NLP helps to remove negative emotions from goals. I have observed in some people when they talk about their desires to be more svelte or ripped that they either have stars in their eyes, and they gaze off into the distance with whimsical looks or their faces become twisted, they slouch a bit and you can almost see the word shame written across their chests. In both of these scenarios, which I have seen so many times, unproductive emotions are getting in the way of those whose goals exist in the form of dreams. Once someone becomes more objective about their goal, it becomes easier to attain.

A simple shift in how you go about moving towards that dream body might be just the thing you need to do to be successful. Here are a few points to keep in mind.

• Convert Your Dream into a Goal. Dreams can be vague, right? In a dream, we might see ourselves smiling in that adorable swimsuit, yet we might not be locked into the reality of how much we would need to weigh in order to wear wear it. Defining exactly what you would need to weigh and how many pounds and inches you need to lose is a clear-cut goal.
  
• Goals are Dissociated From Emotions. Some NLP practitioners believe if we focus upon our dream, then our ability to achieve our goal is less likely to happen. They believe goals are an over there vision, something that we see a bit in the distance, and we are more likely to be pulled towards them. Dreams, on the other hand, are floating in the now, resembling an illusion and as a result we may not be as motivated to take action.
• Step Outside Your Fantasy. Here is a great visual I love to present when working with people on goal setting. Imagine yourself sitting in a theater all alone, looking at a movie screen. On the screen you see yourself as you would appear once you have achieved your goal. You observe, without too much emotion about what you look like, the activities you are engaged in and people you interact with. You are being objective yet also have positive feelings about that person on the screen. Loosely based upon NLP techniques, this theater of the mind exercise has helped many people see their goals without allowing negative emotions to get in the way.
  
• Identify Your Motivators. Once you see your goals objectively, then decide what you do and don't want to feel once you achieve your goals. Will you feel happier with higher self-esteem? Will you be more confident? Will you not be embarrassed anymore because you can't wear the cute clothes your friends wear? Figure out what you do and do not want to feel and overlay those feelings onto your goal.
• Establish a Plan and Do It. How are you going to lose those 20 pounds? What diet will you follow? Will you keep a food journal? What is your exercise plan? When will you exercise? Make a plan and stick to it.
  

What techniques do you use to help you reach your diet and fitness goals?