So What Changed?

Last week’s post was fun, and you responded. Several  asked, “Carolyn, what changed?

Call it outlook, attitude, mindset, viewpoint, standpoint, posture, paradigm,  my bearings—all  of those apply.

Life, I’ve come to understand is a “crazy cycle”.  We get up, go through our day, go home, cook dinner, do laundry, interact with the family, go to bed and get up the next day,  to the same old thing.  We live Bill Murray’s life from “Ground Hog’s Day”.

Physically I could lose 50-60lbs - I knew that.  I would gain it back, I knew that, then I’d lose it again.  CRAZY!

I read great books and have learned some grand concepts. “Rich Dad, Poor Day”,  “Left Brain Thinking in a Right Brain World”. Classics like “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”; "Think & Grow Rich”; “How to Win Friends & Influence People” .  All these books have very impressive ideas. All you need to do is drink the Kool Aid and life’s perfect.  Then your motivation wanes you miss one day and ----

You get the picture!

There was no heart attack, stroke, traumatic loss, nothing ghastly happened. I simply reached a point  in life where I understood, “nothing changes when nothing changes”.

Change is hard, really hard.  Staying on track is a moment by moment decision, even to this day.  A book I recently read touts that 60 days is all it takes to form a habit. Not a problem!  Don’t believe it, change is an act of the will, and I can’t speak for you, but I have a very stubborn will.  I was 49 years old when I made a conscious decision to change my thinking. So anything short of 49 years is a blessing for me when it comes to the redevelopment process.  

So, here’s what I did to expedited my internal computer:

I hired a coach, a mentor, some would say an accountability partner! Yes, someone not emotionally attached to me and it cost money. 

I’ve learned I need help to in a world of constant change.  There were and are modifications I did and still consider. Someone needed to ask the tough questions and hold me accountable to my responses. 

I’ll never forget the first thing Coach Joy had me account for. It was my current reality.

And, oh by the way, there are no pat answers with a coach. Coaches don’t want to hear what the book says, they simply want to know what you are willing to do.

I picked where we started. I developed a life statement, I formulated the action plan, I implemented the specific steps. Joy held me accountable to my change process.

Yes, the first plan took a year and there was not a lot of physical change. 

I love what Jim Collins says in the book,  “Good to Great”.  Face the “brutal facts”.

Simple, not easy!  We’ll talk more next week.