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As an only child I never really got to experience the concept of sibling rivalry… that is until around 10 years ago, when The Golden Boy arrived. The perfect child. Super gorgeously beautiful. Irresistibly cute. Adorably entertaining.

Just to clarify – the golden boy – Sir Thomas… is a cat.

New found sibling rivalry aside… he is the best cat and he has also taught me a lot.

In today’s show I’m covering: Lessons From The Animal Kingdom and specifically how to apply these lessons to your body gain goal.

If you’re looking for them there are valuable lessons to be found everywhere… from the homely moggy – to the largest land mammal – to one of the smallest.

Let’s start (of course!) with Thomas the cat and 3 valuable lessons:

1. Thomas expects you to love him on sight. And he’s rarely disappointed. He just assumes you’ll appreciate how gorgeous he is and in true cat fashion he knows it’s your loss if you fail to fall for him on sight.

How much time and energy do we humans in contrast waste worrying what others think of us?

Whether its the judgement we fear for the way we look or act. Perhaps that we look out of place in the gym or maybe that we’ll be the odd one out asking for an adjustment to the menu. I frustrate myself that at times I even care about what people I don’t even know – or potentially don’t even want to know think about me! Can you relate?

It’s unlikely that you have time or energy to waste. The fun way to approach each day, each person is to assume the best and either way waste zero energy on the rest.

2. Thomas is free with his love and never holds a grudge. Even when he mistakenly gets locked in the garage for a few hours Thomas is ready and welcoming when someone goes hunting for him and discovers him sitting patiently at the garage door.

3. Thomas gets great joy from the little things. A sunny spot. A leaf or cockroach to chase. Some disgusting cat food. He truly is a master of the art of appreciation.

Appreciation and gratitude are such powerful tools that they got a show to themselves in #011. If you’re yet to check it out, please do.

Lets move on to Jumbo the elephant and in this scenario 3 valuable learnings to NOT do:

1. Jumbo can be held trapped by CONDITIONING. You’ve seen the heart-breaking pictures right?

Lands largest and potentially most powerful beast held trapped by a flimsy stake and chain.

If a baby elephant is conditioned when it is young and weak to believe it cannot escape from the stake and chain it’ll take on that belief and accept a life of pain.

Our beliefs can be just as crushing. The belief that you’ve got a slow metabolism, that you’re not an exercise person, that making time to exercise daily is self-indulgent-vanity… all of these beliefs can keep you just as stuck as Jumbo.

2. Jumbo is held back by past experiences. Past experience that Yes, while they are horrific, need have zero correlation to the future. It’s the mental rope more than the flimsy chain keeping a fully grown elephant stuck.

We can choose what to make our past experiences mean. A failed fat loss attempt can be more evidence that you are not meant to have the body you want OR it can be provide valuable feedback so far as what not to do, what tricky situations you need to plan for on your next attempt… perhaps in which areas you need more support or more information.

3. Jumbo has the strength within to break free of any mental constraints and so do YOU.

Whether you’re using it to propel you forward or keep you stuck, your mind is the most powerful resource you have. I’ve covered it before, however I could never say it – or hear it – enough, and that is my best body gain advice: to have certainty in YOU and to Back Yourself 100%.

Finally let’s check out a light weight with a big punch… Atom the Ant and 3 valuable learnings:

1. Atom has a single minded focus. There’s no stopping Atom and his mates. Put a block in their path and they’ll power on up, over or around. Atom never gives up. There is always a way.

This is of course exactly the attitude to apply to your body gain goal. There will be obstacles however like Atom your task is to always find a way.

2. Atom plans ahead. In summer when the going is good Atom is planning and storing food for winter. No complacency here.

Planning is a strategy that everyone who gets and stays in great shape commits to. The skipped meal or week off training will come back to bite you… the solution is to out-plan the situations that have tripped you up in the past.

3. Atom has an excellent work ethic. When it comes to it, irrespective on the size of the job or the size of your goal an excellent work ethic will get the job done. It will get you there.

One step at a time, no matter how small, is all you need to take.

To get actionable today, it’d be super awesome to hear from you!

I’ve left out the majority of the animal kingdom and I know there are a lot more valuable learnings to share. What animal do you think we humans could learn from and why? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

I’ll finish todays show with a quote which sums up my lil bro to a ‘T’… Thanks to Terry Pratchett for this gem, “In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this”.

If you liked this you’ll also like:  Debilitating shyness, big butt serenades, gym floor humiliation and the biz from hell… 4 weight loss lessons.

If you’re yet to share the Healthification love – just click here to zip over to iTunes and leave an honest rating and review. It’d help me out big time. With gratitude, Kate.