085: How Alter Egos Can Help You Achieve Your Goals w/ Paul Clingan

Motivation is a fickle beast. One day, your motivation soars and you finally start a fitness program. The next day, your motivation strands you and threatens your goals. 

The trickiest part about motivation is how quickly it comes and goes. Despite it consistently being unreliable, we still feel the need to want to feel it before tackling a big goal. 

Well, today’s guest, Paul Clingan (aka The Trooper Transmission CT-3939), the founder of The Trooper Transmission—a Star Wars based fitness program—has stumbled on a way to “hack” your motivation by borrowing it from your favorite movie characters. 

Whenever he feels unmotivated, he asks himself what Luke Skywalker would do. And while this may seem a bit weird, it’s incredibly effective. 

In today’s show, Paul and I discuss:

• Why borrowing motivation and mindsets from your favorite movie characters give you a sustainable way to hack your motivation and improve your happiness
• How your beliefs and self-image can both inspire you and sabotage you 
• Why having more fun in your workouts leads to more consistency and motivation (and eliminates imposter syndrome) 

And more, including… 

• How mixing yoga with strength training can entirely eliminate your back pain—while also chiseling you like a Greek god (9:52) 
• Do you feel guilty after missing a few workouts? Here’s how to become okay with missing a workout or two without self-sabotaging (10:56) 
• The weird way yoga instructors in studio classes risk your body for their ego (15:42) 
• Why odd environmental hacks—like hiding an Xbox in a weird location—can actually help you break your bad habits (23:57) 
• How donning an alter ego for your workouts make you look forward to them (even when you’re exhausted and unmotivated) (33:57) 
• The “North Star” secret for fueling your motivation tank to the brim (35:50) 
• How your beliefs about yourself, good or bad, become a self-fulfilling prophecy (and how your favorite movie characters can unlock better beliefs about yourself) (51:28) 
• The one question—from a collegiate mental performance coach—that can instantly free you from the vice grip of resistance (1:15:26) 

Resources mentioned on this episode: 

1. The Trooper Transmission: If you’re a fellow Star Wars fan and want to follow the workout plans troopers would follow, follow Paul on his Instagram and YouTube channel. 

Follow The Trooper Transmission on Instagram here: @the_trooper_transmission

Follow The Trooper Transmission on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCIy79ZSYcvLM6ErO-wScrA 

Related Episodes: 

Episode 84: How To Get Back On track When You Lose Motivation

Episode 63: How to Hack Your Motivation

Other important links: 

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