You know Shaun T from his Insanity workouts, from T25, from CIZE, and from a six pack you’d trade your next two pay raises for.
But before he had that body, he was just another doughy college sophomore wondering where the extra 50 pounds had come from.
“I had my mirror moment, just like a lot of people do,” Shaun says. “But I’m so thankful to that guy in the mirror, because he made the decisions that got me where I am today. I love that guy.”
Now, he’s putting everything he’s learned down on paper in the upcoming book T Is For Transformation, which will be published in fall 2017 by Rodale, the parent company for Men’s Health.
The key, according to Shaun: Accepting that guy in the mirror, understanding how he got that way, and helping him take the steps that will improve his life. No need to shame him; better to really, finally, understand him.
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In the end, fitness is not about what’s going on in the gym, or even on your dinner plate. It’s about what’s happening between your ears.
Want to look better on the outside? Shape up what’s on the inside.
At a recent “Shaun T Live” event in Indianapolis—where he led 1,000 people through a 45-minute sweat storm—he also fielded questions from the crowd. Four questions in particular spoke to the mental approach that makes his physical body possible.
1. Do you ever get into a funk?
Shaun T: “Sure I do. I ask myself: Why am I in a funk? Is it external or internal? Then I attack the person or project I’m in a funk over. Be the antibiotic for your own life. Attack the invader!”
2. How do you handle personal or emotional pain?
Shaun T: “There are two ways you can go: You can let it fester, or you can step out of it and go through the struggle.
“You gotta cry. Go across the bridge of emotion. It’s terrible to go through. You didn’t ask for that pain. But you leave your mark on that bridge. You made it to that point and now you can move on.
“When you struggle, you do the work and you get the reward. If you don’t have any struggles, it’s time to get out of the daisy field.”
3. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to overcome?
Shaun T: “The hardest thing I had to overcome was being molested from age 8 to 12. I felt like I had to hold the secret to protect my family. But then I made up my mind: I will not be a victim.
“So I left my home at age 14 and moved in with my grandparents. I make it sound easy now, but I was in therapy for 6 years to deal with that.
Related: Why Every Man Should See a Therapist
“I know now that it had to happen, because it did happen. I accept it.
“Everybody struggles. It’s what you do with the struggle. Negativity is a bubble. When you burst that bubble, you have to let the negative energy push you away from it as far as you can go.”
4. “I check the scale every day, and I hate it when I go up a few pounds. Will this ever stop?
Shaun T: “Where is your ‘now’?
“Wean yourself off the scale, because you need to accept where you are right now. You’re already at your destination, and you need to be happy with that.
“The person you were when you weighed 90 pounds more was amazing, because that person started your journey. Love that person.
“When people look in the mirror they go to things they don’t want to see. Instead, go to what you want to see. Go to who you are right now!
“A lot of time people will say to me: ‘Shaun T, you turned my life around.’ I always answer the same way: ‘No, you turned your own life around.’”
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They’re good messages, in support of a great mission. Appropriately, Shaun’s upcoming book, T Is For Transformation, published by Men’s Health’s parent company, Rodale, is all about body-mind breakthroughs.
It combines the full—at times painful—story of Shaun’s own breakthrough with exercises that can help you build physical and mental strength to write your own happy endings.
“The most important lesson I’ve ever learned is that you can’t build or maintain physical strength unless you have the emotional kind,” Shaun says. “I’m on a mission right now to help people build both.”
So ask yourself: How strong are you inside? The answer will tell you things the mirror never can.