Today, I’m chatting with a very special guest–Mitchell Graves.  Mitch is a Transformation Coach, Certified Personal Trainer, and founder of the Total Transformation Academy, an online coaching program designed to help women and men finally master their health and live lives of Freedom.
I met Mitch at wedding recently.  Once we got to talking, I knew that his powerful message needed to be shared with all of you!
ABOUT MITCHELL GRAVES  
Over the period of nine years, Mitchell has helped hundreds of people transform their bodies to look thinner, stronger, and have more energy.  He is a fitness info entrepreneur, author, and keynote speaker.  A former college track athlete and three time black belt in Tae Kwon Do, he knows about peak performance and the importance of the mind and body working in harmony.
Mitchell enjoys action movies, nature hikes up not-too-steep mountains, and exploring new places.  You can find him on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram where he hosts Fit With Mitch TV, a weekly YouTube show about fitness, transformation, and freedom, #Gymotivation, a weekly fitness motivation video, and Q&A Today!, where he answers health and fitness questions in under three minutes.
Here are some great takeaways from our conversation:
GETTING STARTED
Mitch started out training in his college gym and eventually became a certified trainer.  After working with so many clients, he noticed those who were successful in achieving their fitness goals were able to shift their mindset from where they are to where they want to be.  This mental shift translated into other areas of their lives as well, including their relationships, work, and finances.  He became fascinated by the question—why do people change?  His training then evolved past exercise and nutrition to also include making this permanent mindset shift.
ICEBERG OF TRANSFORMATION
Think of an iceberg–90% of its mass is below the water’s surface and only 10% of its mass is visible above the surface.  This is similar to what we see in health.  Diet and exercise is only the tip of iceberg that is visible—that 10%.  What we don’t see—that 90%–is the mindset and coaching.  And just like with the Titanic, it is what is below the surface—the mindset and coaching—that has taken most people out.  This 90% is the reason why people struggle to lose weight, get to the gym, or plan nutritious meals.  The mindset and coaching that is below surface actually leads to the diet and exercise.  Once you are able to affect your mindset, and are then given a plan to impact your diet and exercise, you will be off to the races.
IMPORTANCE OF MINDSET
The biggest part of the iceberg below the surface is mindset.   To explain the importance of mindset, take a look at the IMAR loop, which can be either positive or negative.  IMAR stands for Identify, Meaning, Action, and Results.
Identity – This is who we are, the story we tell ourselves, the narrative in our minds, our beliefs, values, and rules.  All of this boils into our identity, or who we believe we are.
Meaning – Based on who we believe we are (identity), we attach a certain meaning to anything that happens in our life. This meaning can be either positive or negative.  Though we can’t control the things that happen to us, we can control the meaning we give to these events.  Are they giving us pleasure or pain?  Do we see them as negative or positive?
Action – The meaning we associate with events will determine what action we take.  If we associate a negative meaning, we will perhaps take a different action that we might have if we had associated a positive meaning.  The size of the action taken may also be impacted.
Results – Actions dictate results.