One person’s formula for losing weight, making money and building a satisfying life

Number 176

A client I’ll call “Cara” has lost about 50 pounds. It is something that she wanted to do for years. But, despite occasional spurts of progress, she was not able to maintain a long-term health and fitness program.

One reason Cara found it difficult to concentrate on weight loss is that she is a very busy person with many business responsibilities and a complicated family. And when Cara has a little free time, she also devotes energy to non-profit activities, as well as to studies and practices that support her personal growth.

Earlier this year, Cara faced business setbacks and increased pressures. Now, however, she has bounced back and her life and work are going better than ever. In fact, in the last few months it’s been as though all her studies and efforts have come together, and she is clearing hurdle after hurdle. Cara is making her fitness and other achievements look effortless, and others may envy her good fortune.

It may look like she is on a lucky streak, but I know that Cara has worked hard to build and maintain habits that reflect learning and wisdom from sources ranging from the Bible and Eastern philosophers to the latest in neuroscience. Here are Cara’s tips for creating a fulfilling life:

• State clear, reasonable goals. Cara is goal-oriented, but in the past she sometimes sabotaged herself with her goal-setting process. For example, she might tell all in her circle that she intended to lose at least 3 pounds a week for 4 months. She thought that by broadcasting her big goal she would keep up the pressure and get the job done. Instead, by setting unreasonable targets she repeatedly set herself up for failure. After a couple of weeks of losing just a pound she would quit, saying that it was just too hard for a busy person like her. These days what she does is establish realistic goals and timetables. She shares her plans with only a few people and, when she stumbles, she forgives herself and returns to her realistic plan.
• Visualize your objectives. Cara used to talk her goals to death, but she has learned a better technique. She now reduces each key objective to a few words, and from there she creates a mental picture. For example, she has in her mind the image of the slim and athletic version of herself that she plans to be in 2020. For her most important goals she may even devise a symbol, or icon, to glance at regularly as a reminder of her commitment. She quietly wears a bracelet that displays several of those icons in the form of charms. When she notices her bicycle charm she is reminded that spinning and mountain biking are part of her formula for becoming a fit, energetic person.
• Keep track of progress. As a business executive, Cara knows that it’s hard to manage anything you can’t measure. She maintains daily charts summarizing everything from her calorie count to networking activity and time devoted to her most important projects. She also keeps journals, sometimes including pictures as well as words, and she finds them to be an important tool for keeping on track.
• Work on several areas at once. When she was younger, Cara thought that total immersion was the best way to get things done. One reason she gained so much weight is that there were times when she spent months working around the clock, not thinking about her health or other values in her life. Then, when she could no longer fit in her clothes, she would launch time-consuming food and exercise regimens that inevitably failed because she couldn’t keep them up. Now, however, she reminds herself each morning of goals and achievements in five critical areas of her life. She finds that success in one area translates quickly into increased confidence, renewed energy and greater creativity in the other areas. These are the realms that Cara thinks about every day:
  • health and fitness,
  • business and financial security,
  • spouse and family,
  • spiritual life and personal growth, and
  • fun and adventure.