Chunk It!

Hi All!

We had beautiful weather on Sunday and a great first hike for this Coaching Group. Other than Chimney Rock Road being closed which caused Emily to run late, it was truly a perfect day. Linda, we missed you!

I spoke for a few moments in the parking lot about what "coaching" is and how I hope to help you grow. I'm a good speaker, but I'm a much better writer, so here's a more complete description on the topic.

If there's one thing I've learned in life it's that we all face challenges that seem difficult. It's this perception that either prevents us from starting, finishing, or not doing well. It doesn't matter what the challenge is, it just seems like we are in over our heads, or maybe it's just very unappealing and makes us uncomfortable.

I have discovered a technique that pretty much works every time. If you follow this advice, you will not only become more productive, you will accomplish things that at one time seemed impossible. Want to know my secret?

CHUNK IT! That's just a simple way to remember to take a large project, or anything that seems like it's too big to manage and break it down into manageable chunks. Large projects become a series of smaller tasks that are "doable". In this way progress is made and you feel empowered. That's a great feeling. It's how we earn our self esteem and grow.

Take this coaching course for example. I've presented the material and I've explained that this first week was going to challenge you and that you might be uncomfortable. It's the process of being uncomfortable that helps us grow. We call it "leaving your comfort zone."

The three tasks I've presented to for this week are:

1.Posting your head shot to the Club site.
2.Take your measurements and sending them to me in an MS Word file.
3. Start or respond to a discussion on the site.

If you had to give yourself a grade, how did you do?
If "I" had to give you a grade, how did you do?

The point is some of you did and some of you didn't follow through. This message is for those of you who didn't follow through. These aren't difficult. They all require you to manage your time and focus on the task at hand. By not following through you become less involved in the process. It also shows me who will struggle with getting good results with the cleanse program and who won't.

My objective isn't to make your life more difficult, it's to teach you! If what you say is true,,,

"I am serious about changing my health"

"I am 100% committed to getting good results"

"I am coachable"

then you should have no problem following through on these tasks. Let's put these in a different context for a minute. Suppose you paid me $1000 cash for this coaching program. Would you be more inclined to get these tasks completed? You might, simply because of the perceived value.

For what it's worth, I'm coaching you as if you did pay for my time and I want each and everyone of you to get awesome results. But I can't do the work for you. All I can do is assess what I see. If I get your measurements, see your photo, and read your posts, I have something to work with.

If you don't think this is important enough for you to have to participate, then simply understand this. Your health and weight loss results may be directly proportional to the effort you put into this program.

Look, I know you are busy. We're ALL busy! That's no longer an excuse or a good reason. It simply means that you value other things. I apologize if I'm a bit in your face here, but some of you need to know this. The only reason a person doesn't have the time for something is because they are doing something else with that time. The question is are you being completely honest about how you use your time? If you are watching television at night, then that would be an example of valuing other things and not using your time well.

You ARE Amazing!

That's right, you are. I believe that each and every one of you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. In fact, you do it every day, day-in and day-out. But I want to help you be even more amazing and accomplish something that has eluded you for some time. I want to help you once and for all learn how to manage your weight.

So how does posting to a website help you manage your weight? It doesn't. But if you figure out that these tasks are designed to push you out of your comfort zone and get you to take action in an area that is uncomfortable, you will grow.

Exercise and diet are no different. The same reasons you haven't been successful is that depending on how much extra weight you are carrying, how unhappy you are with yourself is also directly proportional to the amount of time you invest in yourself. We all have to get to a point where we are unhappy and be honest with ourselves. No one else is responsible for us putting on extra weight. We got ourselves into this state of health and we can get ourselves out of this once we commit and do what it takes.

Another way to look at this is, "What simple tasks are you doing everyday to help you move towards your goals?" It's a matter of learning what to do and then do it without excuses. We're not talking about time consuming monumental tasks. For some it's about beginning each day with breakfast. Other simple tasks are: drinking water, planning a meal or two for the day, having our shakes and snacks at the appropriate times, NOT missing a meal is also an important task.

Now go back and post your head shot on the site if you haven't done so. Make sure you log onto the Club Clean and Lean site daily or even several times a day to find out what is going on. Please start a discussion and write, write, write! Grammar and spelling aren't being graded, just do the best you can. And please clear your schedule to come to the hikes on Sunday mornings.

It's now week two. Let's make some great progress.

Press on!
Larry Wasserman