My last email
told you about how Facebook had band an advert which showed the picture below because they believed it portrayed an unattainable result and body image.
I told you about how hard Michelle had worked to achieve that result and a major factor was how her mind was in the right place to do so. Obviously we helped with that mindset and gave her the tools to achieve her goals.
However, we can only provide the tools, we can't do the work for our
members.
- a kick ass nutrition plan that is uber easy to follow.
- an effective exercise plan that is focussed and doesn't take hours out of your day.
- recipes that taste good rather than like cardboard.
- inspiration to want to do well.
- regular Team Achieve events and races to take part in with like minded achievers.
- goal sessions to plan a route to success.
- the list could go on
forever.
We're proud of all of our members but we were particularly proud of Michelle at the weekend. She had a traumatic experience when she was a teenager, this experience made in to a short movie which was screened at Warwick Arts Centre on Saturday.
There was a Q&A session after the movie and Michelle showed her strength as a person by being on the stage and answering questions about the events. The answer that resonated with me most
was about how the event had affected her and what affect would the movie now have 20+ years later.
She told the audience that she chose to let it go and not let it define who she was as a person, in the same way that falling down some stairs two weeks ago doesn't define who she is now. She moved on and focussed on where she wanted to be in life rather than on an event that had happened and was out of her control.
We see this often at
Achieve, people who are holding on to events from the past that have defined who they are now. Some that are understandable, some that seem trivial as an outsider.
We build stories in our minds and allow them to develop and grow until they take over our every thought. A coaching client of mine was in a serious road accident a couple of weeks ago, somebody crashed in to the side of her.
A witness said the other driver was
texting, the police breathalysed him when they arrived and found that he was over the limit, it was 8am, he'd been drinking the previous night. My client broke her arm, wrist and thumb; she may need surgery on her thumb tendons yet she has moved on.
Lots of people told her how lucky she was as she may have died, which was a possibility as she was n the line of oncoming traffic. She focussed on the positive that her arm hurt and her summer plans of
driving across Europe would be different but both her and the other driver were safe. No anger or resentment.
Letting go of stories of anger and resentment helps us move on; the other people involved rarely know anything about your feelings or care enough to be bothered.
There is a quote I like "holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die", it's possibly by Buddha. It sums up how holding on to
past events and allowing them to have power over you means that they have won.
How many times have you thought about something and reached for a glass of wine or a slice of cake?
I know I'm a very emotional eater, if I feel sad or angry about something I reach for something sweet. It's subconscious and in fact a primal response. When we are babies and we cry we are given breast milk, which is sweet, it makes us happy and the cycle
begins.
Try to break the chain by being aware of your food triggers and gradually gaining control over them. If you screw up, don't beat yourself up about it, it only adds to the stress of it all. Just simply accept that it happened and continue with your food plan. Straight away, not the next day or the following Monday.
It can take a long time, some hard work and commitment but the results will show for
themselves.
Be proud of yourself for all that you have achieved already and be grateful for all that you already have. Accept your flaws and traumas and set a plan of action to move past them.
You can do it. If you need some help and guidance, we can help.
Darren 'proud' Checkley
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