I’ve been sooooo good. I’ve followed the plan to the letter. And now here I am, stuck for almost 10 days with little to show (according to me) for my work.

How many times has that been the case for us regardless of whether it’s weight loss, career, relationships, school, any number of things we’ve “committed” ourselves to. We go along for about two weeks with the energy of the choice and the vision of the end result just giving us such a buzz of excitement that nobody or nothing can possibly stop us. And then, it starts getting challenging. How do we continue in the face of no evidence? How do we go on just with faith something is going to work out?

So, how’s your Oughta Pilot doing?

I’m talking about my weight loss primarily, but as with the previous posts, Part 1and Part 2 of this series, there’s a lot more than just shedding pounds when making a major life change. There’s a lot of conversation that comes up between myself and my inner DJ about all the times I’ve tried to do big things and the results have been less than stellar. I find myself questioning the choice to start this journey at all. My Oughta-Pilot is having a field day and I’m constantly having to wrestle control away from those familiar deprecating statements.

I know you’ve heard them, too: “Why did you even start this, you know you won’t finish”, “You’ve never succeeded at anything when it comes to this, you probably won’t this time, either”. Sound familiar at all?

But then I remember why I chose this path, what I have at stake and am finding new motivation, celebrating small changes and teeny wins. I’ve put the reminders up on a vision board of sorts where I can see it every day. I have a picture as wallpaper on my phone of where I want to go with this so that whenever I check messages or go to make a call, it’s in front of me (it’s usually at lunchtime that I do that so it works well for me).

Don’t keep it a secret

The biggest thing I’m doing, though, is talking about the challenge this time. I’m asking for help in staying strong whenever I want to cheat and have/do something that will not further my quest. Just as in our lives, we’re quick to tell everyone in our circles all about the new idea or new plan we have. We get the gratification of people cheering us on when we start. However, while that is an awesome thing to be sure, when we really need the encouragement, when we hit a block or lose sight of the finish line, we don’t ask for it or even let people around us know we could really use it.

In my Laws for Success, Law  #6, is Ask, Ask Ask. You have to ask for what you want or no one is going to know. It’s rather presumptuous of human beings to think others automatically know what we want, but we do it all the time, don’t we?

I’m doing this with weight loss, but take it to any choice you’ve made to make a big change — career, relationship, new home, etc. It’s all the same. Remember to ask for what you need to succeed. People love to say yes, we really do. I’m finding the support is out there. Just as I tell my clients over and over, “You can do this by yourself, but you don’t have to do it alone.”

I’d love some comments from you on challenges you’re facing, have faced or are debating on taking on.
See you next time.