If Only

"If only."

Don't put those two words together. Ban that combination from your lexicon.

"If" is an okay word: "If I keep up this pace, I should be able to get ten rounds in 15 minutes.""

Only" is an okay word: "Only 5 more to go."

But those two words together?

"If only" is a loser's phrase. A second-place finish. A combination that people say when they didn't win, or they didn't perform up to their own expectations or their life is not turning out the way they want it to.

• "If only I had more sleep"

• "If only I ate better"

• "If only I had studied harder"

• "If only I had told her"

"If only" smells a lot like regret, and regret isn't going to help.

Action is going to help. Resolve is going to help. Wherewithal is going to get you where you want to go.

If you want to win, stop using the language of those who have lost.

The battle starts in your mind, then trickles out on your tongue: these are two places you have to win first, before you can win anywhere else.

The gym (and life) is actually the third battlefield. 

Change your thinking and your language—and you have a better chance at changing your life.