A common theme amongst most leadership and productivity gurus is the age-old mantra: “Conquering Thyself.”
Even though this can be construed, interpreted, or bent to fit the meaning necessary per the individual, it still requires one to reflect on exactly what it is that is holding them back from achieving their goals.
In the health space, as we have covered before, there lie (4) main groups of people in this world.
- Those that know what they must do, they want to do it and decide to commit to doing what they ought to.
- Those that know what to do, and simply can’t make themselves do it.
- Those that don’t know what to do, but are actively testing and seeking different approaches in order to educate themselves.
- And finally, those that don’t know and don’t care to do so.
And while it is cute to fancy or create infographics and engaging Punnett squares that can assist with us differentiating which type of person you could be at certain points in your life, we all know that would just waste more precious time which could be allocated to the actual practice of self-mastery. Although, for defecation and giggles, let’s take a look at the following weight loss trends of a few folks and determine which category these people may fall into, shall we?
Example #1:
While clearly exhibiting some ups and downs along the way, this client managed to drop about 20 lbs in 3 months. While they may not have known what to do at the start, they were extremely diligent in regards to testing different eating patterns all while managing their existing career, mothering children, and supporting the household. Not bad for a Category 3 (referenced from above).
Example #2:
This client received quite a bit of education on the front end and perhaps thought that since they had verbally committed to a process that their actions would somehow magically follow. And once they saw some success, they then reached the dreaded plateau. Yet, even though this Category 2 knew what must be done, they simply needed an external motivator in the form of a financial bet in order to keep their attention and nudge them along to a 26 lb weight loss. Kudos to them for realizing their weaknesses and knowing themselves enough to step in at the right time to implant just the right amount of necessity in order to achieve their goals.
Example #3:
Any parents, of teenagers, out there reading this, this is what your teen’s defiance and angst look like via an infographic. Proverbially kicking and screaming. It’s like looking at 30 days’ worth of telling your 3-year old that it is bath time.
Classic Category #4 here:
“Let me show you how I currently eat, then you can help me make the changes that I need (but I will refuse to make).”
Valiant and noble attitude for an eager beginner, if I do say so myself. But what this graphic displays is the death grip that some’s lifestyle habits have on them. Not knowing what a “healthy” lifestyle looks like, feels like, or most importantly, tastes like, but thinking that they have all the answers. And as you can see by the tail end of the timeline, this story is no “happily ever after.” Sadly, in this case, the only measure of performance, is performance.
And finally, Example #4:
Here, we believe in happy endings and giving credit where credit is due. And holy cow is it ever due to the client’s performance, below:
The Holy Grail, Category #1: Curious, Committed, and Determined to succeed. BAM!
That you do, Tony. That you do.
I mean, you can’t draw a more perfect, or healthy, decent into wellness. There were no meals that this client felt that they had “earned”. No “well I was on vacation”. And certainly no, “but you have to live a little, ya know?” Just plain, unadulterated Nutritional Competence. We can all take a page from this client’s book.
So, which category did you gravitate towards? Which one do you feel as though you resemble? Which do you aspire to become? But most importantly, what are you going to do about that?
