One of the most powerful things you can do, to dramatically lose weight and slow aging, is to play "The Long Game."

It's the way I teach my personal training clients to approach everything in life and it goes something like this...

Consistently follow the habits of health and do good work. Trust that it will eventually pay off.

Another way to illustrate this concept is in the quote:

The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

How to Win the Long Game

If you consistently leave dishes in the sink or rarely make your bed, I bet there are other basic things in life that often get overlooked.

But the truth is that most people aren’t thinking about how today’s habits actually impact how you will look and feel in 10 years.

Instead, many are focused on immediate gratification, and making colorful excuses to justify their extremely short-sighted decisions.

• "What's in it for me... right now?"
• "Oh, me and my friends are going out for dinner and drinks. You can’t expect me to stop hanging out with my friends!"
• "I’m just so tired, I needed to sleep in and catch up. That’s why I missed my morning workout today. You can’t expect me to miss out on my sleep."
• "Hey, I have good memories of playing video games as a kid. You can’t expect me to just stop doing the thing I love."

You get my point, right?

The strange thing is it's easy to rationalize your short-sighted behavior.

You know, the same behavior that’s keeping you from achieving success.

Just remember that the “thing” you can’t “live without” or that has “become a habit” probably wasn’t even invented 50 years ago.

Consider social-media applications on smart phones, for example.

Well, the first handheld mobile phone was released in 1973.

It was gigantic by today’s standards, weighing in at a whopping 4.4 pounds.

Before 2004, social-media sites didn’t even exist, so it was impossible to check your FaceTube account while driving your car.

Public Service Announcement: Go ahead and put your phone in your pocket, purse or the glove box when you are behind the wheel.

My point is that, to be successful in The Long Game, you need to think about your daily actions.

These actions eventually become daily habits.

Some tips:

⚾ Establish a nighttime ritual 60 minute before bed.

⚾ Before getting into bed, take a 10-minute contrast shower (2 minutes hot water, 2 minutes ice-cold water) to encourage drowsiness.

⚾ No screen time before bed. Just a real book that’s printed on actual paper.

⚾ Prep your meals ahead of time. Actually remember to bring your meals with you.

⚾ Travel with your water. Not juice or diet soda. Just plain water.

⚾ Schedule your workouts ahead of time. Ideally the same days/times to build habits and encourage consistency.

⚾ Towards the end of each day, write down the three most important things you will accomplish before 11AM on the the next day.

⚾ Around dinnertime, speak aloud the things you are thankful for.

Regarding the last tip, about being thankful, some folks call this activity “mindfulness” or “gratitude” or another new-age term. I call it praying.

My prayer is often the same:

Thankful for my health and the health of my wife and kids. Thankful for food, clothing and shelter. Thankful for being able to live my passion and help others. Thankful for God's plan and the patience to follow it.

You see, I’ve engineered the life and career I want. Not the other way around.

I humbly suggest you do the same because your life will be much richer if you do.

As for the naysayers disagreeing with my message, that's okay too.

Of course you can walk across the street and suddenly get swallowed up by a gigantic sinkhole. Or maybe you get washed away by a tsunami.

Not so much you can do about these unfortunate events.

But, I believe you have many opportunities to make positive choices which enable you to live better.

That is what life is about, isn’t it?

So take care of yourself, so you are the best version of YOU.

This fit, strong, happy version of yourself is best-equipped to serve others.

4 Strategies to Win the Long Game

Imagine I am holding a large manila envelope containing a one-page typewritten document explaining the exact blueprint to:

• Achieve athletic levels of bodyfat.
• Manage stress and depression.
• Boost energy.
• Slow the aging process because you can't reverse aging, only slow it.

Now I hand you the envelope and guarantee your success if you agree to take action and abide by the blueprint.

You breathlessly tear open the envelope and read the instructions:

1. Ditch your dreams

Instead be passionately dedicated to the pursuit of short-term goals.

Be micro ambitious.

Put your head down and work with pride on whatever is in front of you.

2. Don't seek happiness

Sounds weird, I know.

If you aim to make someone else happy and you might find you get some happiness as a side effect.

Humans didn't evolve to be constantly, blissfully happy.

There's hard science behind why our contented ancestors did not pass along their "happy" genes.

Experts believe our "happy" ancestors were carelessly frolicking in the forest.

And then they were eaten by a saber-toothed tiger.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

3. Prioritize exercise

And healthy eating. And getting a restful night's sleep.

Take excellent care of your body.

You're going to need it.

Most of you will live to be 100, and most of you will achieve a level of wealth that most humans throughout human history could not have dreamed of.

This long, luxurious life ahead of you is going to make you depressed.

Healthy living helps you manage mood swings and stay on course during turbulent times.

4. Be a teacher

Share your ideas and lead by example. Lead. By. Example.

That's it.

There's nothing more on the page.

That's how to win "The Long Game."

Take a few minutes to think about how you can improve, become more positive, make better choices.

Then schedule some time for a call with me to discuss how we can create a proven plan to get you into the best shape of your life.

To your success,

Coach Joe

P.S. If you want to learn more about our proven system... you can grab a free copy of my book, The New Fountain of Youth, for 40+ men and women who want to lose fat, get strong, and slow aging.

Joseph Arangio helps 40+ men and women get leaner, stronger, and happier. He's delivered over 100,000 transformation programs to satisfied clients around the globe. If you want to lose weight from home, with the best online personal trainer, or you want to visit the best personal trainer in the Lehigh Valley, you can take a free 14-day trial.