This last year I made it a goal to get out more…
Apparently, in the fitness industry I’ve developed a reputation of being rather inaccessible, and now that my kids are a little older (they’re 6 and 4 now) travel is a little bit easier for me, so I’ve been able to make it out to a couple of events, and do a few more interviews than I normally would.
And boy am I glad I did.
This last week I met up with a guy named Vince Delmonte. I’ve known Vince for a while, but I don’t think I’ve actually interacted with him on any sort of one-on-one level. So when Vince emailed me and told me about a new project he was working on I decided it would be worth while for us to meet up.
Long story short, while we were talking I mentioned that I’m still focused on helping people understand the benefits of fasting, and that my only goal is to make sure I put ‘pen to paper’. As an author, writing is the one thing I need to do to get my message out… There’s no real reason for me to research if I’m not going to write about it 😉
After hearing this Vince said “You’ve found your ONE thing, that’s awesome”. I didn’t think much of it… Until yesterday when a package arrived at my door from Amazon.com. Vince had sent me a copy of a Business book he’d been reading that was titled ‘The ONE Thing – The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results’ by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.
I started reading this book last night, and even though I’m only on page 70, I see an instant connection with this book and weight loss.
You see, I think people try to do too much when they want to lose weight. And, when you try to do too much, you end up focusing on the wrong things… The end result is lots of stress and lots of thinking, but little to no-weight loss.
So you need to find your ONE thing.
For me the one thing is eating less. Just like everybody else, I eat a little more than I need to…. But I can dig down further.
I still fast once or twice a week, so my problem is always when I’m eating…
…When I’m eating I’m often eating alone.
…When I’m eating alone I tend to eat impulsively.
…When I’m eating impulsively I tend to eat the kids lunch snacks (I’m a sucker for granola bars).
…My other issue is I can get a weee bit impulsive when I’m grocery shopping 😉
When I put this all together I realize my ONE thing is to remember to eat like a grown-up – to realize that I have complete control over when and what I eat, and when and what I don’t eat. So it is my responsibility to eat like a grown-up. No one is going to do it for me.
Sounds simple, probably too simple, but that’s the point. You really need to boil down your ONE thing until you get to your true ONE thing.
If I remember to ‘eat like a grown-up’ on the days I’m not fasting, then I’ve completed my ONE thing. The more days I accomplish this, the closer I will move to my goal.
If I complete my ONE thing, then I’m on track. If I do a dozen other things, but NOT my ONE thing, then even though I did much more work, I probably did NOT move any closer to my goal.
This sounds simple, but it takes some introspection to really figure out your ONE thing.
And simply saying ‘lose weight’ doesn’t cut it, you have to boil it down to the core. The same goes with saying ‘eat less’ or even ‘exercise more’ it needs to be more meaningful to you.
When you get some free time today give it a try – Pick your goal, then start boiling it down until you come to your ONE thing that you can use to guide your daily activities.
BP
