Sunday, April 18, 2010

XLR8 The Passionate Leader: (G + L + F = JOY!!!)

Weekly Inspiration: You Can Do It! (click) Affirmation by Louise Hay from her 2010 calendar:

  • “Life brings out the best in me today.” I chose this one because I fall short of this often and today was another one of those days. I got upset with something and not only couldn’t let it go but carried it along for a while to other situations. Oh well … a work in progress.
  • This situation matches one of my affirmations on my happiness list … ”I recognize my emotions for what they are … teachers of my inner wisdom.” I know what the situation that triggered this emotion - an important meeting in the morning. The emotion is fear - specifically the fear of rejection. I need to remember what I’ve recently told others. Rejection is God’s protection. I’ll find out whether I’ve met a leader who is passionate about personal and cultural transformation, which is my #2 passion.


Breakthrough Goals – It’s all about change!

I hit a breakthrough goal for myself this week. I’ve been working on in it this time for the last five years - more steadfastly the last 18 months. It’s weighing 165 pounds and now the continuation of this goal is keeping my weight under 170. I mention it because it took every coaching tool I have at my disposal to make the weight and will take them all on an ongoing basis to maintain this goal.

For me, weight gain and loss has been a life-long energy drainer and distracter. I have gained and lost up to 50 lbs (usually 20 – 30) at least a dozen times. The reason I mention it here is for you to pick a breakthrough goal and consider the following steps that I have taken to realize it. Here’s how this happened for me.


Step #1: The Passion Test. My #1 passion in 2006 was to “bring peace and happiness to myself and those I love”. One of my “markers” was to lose 20 lbs and keep my weight under 170 lbs for the rest of my life. At the time, I didn’t call this a breakthrough goal. I’ve lost the weight so many times, I figured it would be no problem. When October 2008 came around and I had gained 10 more lbs, I was very discouraged.


Step #2: My Vision Board. I was flying to Aruba for vacation when I saw a picture of Dr. Jeff Life in the USAirways magazine. It was his bare-chested picture in jeans that caught my eye. He had a chiseled physique and he was 67 years-old! When I got home, I found his picture on the internet and put it on my Facebook and desktop vision boards.


Step #3: Continuous Learning. I read a couple of books: The Influencer and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Out of the latter book came the ideas of a peer coach and what I now call your happiness list. Out of the former book came the research about to 2 – 3 key behaviors that make the difference in any change initiative - personally, professionally and/or organizationally. Weight loss was one of the topics and their research drew the following conclusion. Those people who lost weight and maintained that weight loss did the following: weighed themselves each morning, ate a healthy breakfast and exercised in some form at home every day. That statement is now at the top of my happiness list.


Step #4: Persistence & coaching. I did well for a while (lost about half of the weight) but wasn’t making enough progress. I then reframed my goal to “fitness” on top of the weight loss goal. When my son (a devoted “gym rat”) was home for Christmas break, I asked him to coach me. I joined a gym and he set me up with a series of five focused weight training routines that I have kept up religiously. He’ll be home for the summer, and he’ll help me get to the next level. I also began coaching others to better “fitness” which will keep me on track. I also took my own Dr. Life picture for my vision board with the caption “give me another year!”


Step #5: Psych-K. Before my last weight loss push in mid-March, an Isagenix 30-day cleanse, I had a Psych-K consult with a colleague of mine who is expert in this change methodology. In a nutshell, it is a way to change subconscious beliefs that keep us from accomplishing our goals. I took his “Part I” workshop a couple of years ago but didn’t practice it with regularity. After his consultation, I sense a profound change in my approach to this goal. Now that I have achieved it, I believe that changing this belief with help me sustain it. I am going to Halifax for his “Part II” advanced workshop next week and committed to integrating this technology into my coaching practices.


Step #6: My next breakthrough goal. Writing my book – XLR8 The Passionate Leader. I’m pulling out all the stops. It will be the focus of next weeks’ Psych-K work - what subconscious beliefs are keeping me from accomplishing this goal? Stay tuned!! If these things work for this work in progress, they will work for you!

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