Do you have the tools you need to be successful?

I have been pondering over an email a coworker sent me.  I had talked to her about setting up a group class for a group at her office (which would be super cool!) but that she hasn't been able to get any of the interested parties to commit. 

Here's the part I can't quite get my head around -- if a person doesn't need help cultivating mindfulness that is absolutely great! with me.  If they need help but don't mesh with me as a coach, that is okay too -- as long as they can find the assistance they need to be successful, that is what makes me happy.

But for those of us who are struggling to lose weight or maintain our weight loss -- the question is, do you have the tools you need to be successful?  Do you know what tools will help you most?

If you are dieting (or living under the dieting mentality), will-power is a tool you need.  The stronger and more disciplined you are, the easier it will be to regulate your weight-- because dieting relies on you telling yourself "no" ....a lot.

If you don't want to diet forever, will-power is not going to help you (will-power is a dieting tool and runs contradictory to mindfulness).  So then, what is the tool needed for non-dieting?  Well....you could use exercise as a tool for non-diet weight management.  But what if I don't want to run 1 minute at 6.7 mph for EACH peanut M&M I eat?  What if life happens and I don't have enough time to manage my weight with exercise -- thus, making exercise a useful but unavailable tool to me?

Think about what tools you are relying on -- are they the right tools for the way you want to live your life?  Are you conforming to your tools?  Or are you looking for tools that conform to you (and not just "you" in the general sense -- "you" in the very specific sense of each one of you who are reading this right now!)  Sometimes, we buy into the idea that we can only accomplish a task in one way because those are the only way the tools will work -- this philosophy might be fine for building a tree house -- but it is not fine for building a healthier you.

So, give your tool selection some thought -- If you are still using the old stand-bys, you are going to get the same results the stand-bys always give you.  Maybe it's time to get more creative about your tool selection.

Need more information on getting the personalized tools for the one-of-a-kind-you, click here!