The first summer while I wasn’t able to see the children on a regular basis, I tried to keep busy by selling products online. One day when I went to the post office, I saw someone I hadn’t seen in years. I remembered her from the nutrition products that I now ushttps://motivationadministration.com/how-a-fitness-bo…-the-way-i-think/e, but at the time I wasn’t using them. In fact, the last time I saw her I had lost a lot of weight. I asked how she was doing and she lit up… “I knew all along that nutrition was a huge part of what I
was doing, but for some reason, people didn’t like to do the exercise. I now have a boot camp for people to exercise and it’s amazing. You should give me a call…” Ironically she forgot to give me her card.
As I was on my way out I ran out after her car and asked her for a card. Within a couple of weeks, I was driving her nuts to let me join. It was incredible. Several people of all weights, ages, and sizes were doing sit-ups, squats, lunges and more. I worked really hard, I overcame asthma to run a mile, and I lost a lot of weight. I took the most improved for my coach two boot camps in a row. Most people I think would expect these results, and say “OK that’s great, but now you’ve stopped you let the weight back on and the muscles dormant.”
Well, many may see it as a tragedy, a waste of time. My coach worked so hard to work with me and pushed me. But, here are the real takeaways:
My confidence:
My lifestyle had caused me to become a people pleaser. I was supplicative and needy. I had virtually no confidence and my self-esteem was in the trash. “Go!!! Go!!! Go!!! And Push!!! Push!!! Push!!!” was screamed into my lunges. “Fake it till you make it!!! And you bring about what you think about… What are you thinking about – J -?” At the time it just seemed like they were mean or ridiculously exaggerative. But, I trusted the system and let those who I knew had my best interest in mind “Do the thinking for me.”
I didn’t understand that each time they cheered for me that they were un-programming what I believed about myself and the world around me. At some point, I even realized that not only was I loveable, but that I was loved by people who barely knew me. I had to dig in deep and try to understand why people cared about me, who didn’t know me only weeks before. It was sincere and honest appreciation for my effort.
Uncompromising Goals:
By putting goals in front of yourself that you know is impossible, you will most likely fail. However, if you take the same goal, and change it in your mind that it’s a hard goal to reach, but it’s very possible, over time it will become likely that you will succeed. In fact, it’s the filters we create in our mind that creates the reality that most often affects how we approach the world. This subtle, yet major change in the way I think had led to so many opportunities and accomplishments I would never have thought available before I made this change.
I must work on myself before I try to help everyone else:
My coach Jennifer brought my attention to a poster she keeps on the wall of her nutrition club. She was very specific to point out the phrase “The world’s problems are not my own.” At the time I didn’t get what she was trying to say. She said, “You can’t spend your life trying to fix everyone else if you aren’t able to fix yourself.” It was huge. I realized that just like when you are on the airlines you must put the mask on yourself before you worry about anyone else. She explained that like me she wanted to make the world a better place for everyone, but she realized that she just doesn’t have enough resources to help everyone, so she helps as many as she can, and leaves the rest for others to help. It was brilliant, and I think about this lesson often.
Personal Development:
Ironically I was not in the program to lose weight and to become more physically fit. These were just the by-product of the work I put into the process. What I took away from the Boot Camps was a clear understanding that I was able to set what may seem like impossible goals and complete them, I was worthwhile (my self-esteem was strong again), and most importantly that I could use personal development to create a new and more exciting lifestyle. For most people, these items seem automatic, but for someone who was morbidly obese and lost their identity, these seemingly common traits and beliefs can make a world of difference in the way one thinks about the world in which they live.
– J –