You want to lose weight. Do you really know if that’s true? I’m asking you because I’ve totally gotten on a Byron Katie kick lately. If you haven’t checked her out, you should; she’s awesome. She has a podcast on iTunes. She has a website, of course, and she also has a book that I’m currently reading, Loving What Is.
One of the things she talks about is that reality wins 100 percent of the time. So, if you say, “I want to lose weight,” then your reality needs to reflect that. If I were a fly on the wall and followed you around all day long, would what you’re doing match your desired outcome of losing weight?
I talk to my coaching clients and community members about this all the time. Don’t make your goal completely outcome based, which is what weight loss is. What if instead you focused every day on doing what was necessary to lose the weight?
Here’s an example. My husband has said for the longest time that he wanted to be a published author. He would say all the time how he wanted to write a book, and I said to him, “No, you don’t.” He would get upset and say, “Well, why are you saying that?” I’d say, “Because you don’t sit down and write.” A writer publishes books. Somebody who sits down and writes the chapters gets a book published. If you don’t sit down and do the discipline of writing, the book will never happen.
You can think about your weight loss as a book. It is the final product. Your journey, all the habits you change, the reality of today are the chapters you are writing. Healthy eating, journaling, food prep, exercise, mindset change, relationship reviews and overhauls — all of these things are chapters in your weight loss book. If you don’t sit down to write these every day, the reality is there will be no book.
So, what is the reality? Do you really want to lose weight? Again, if I were a fly and I followed you around to every part of your day, would the reality of your choices reflect what you want your outcome to be?
Instead of focusing on the outcome, think, “What can I do today?” Think of actual actions you can take. Instead of saying, “I want to lose weight,” say, “I want to get a walk in today” or “I want to eat healthy” or “I will journal my food,” and then do it, because those are all within your control right now. Don’t focus on where you’re going to be in six months to a year. That will happen as a byproduct of writing this book, chapter by chapter.
Please let me know how you are creating the chapters so you can one day also have your completed weight loss book and be at your goal. I’d love to hear from you.