Breaking Through

I'm home after a busy but wonderful Take Shape for Life conference in Scottsdale and I'm hoping that you had a great, on-plan week!

I attended a session called "Breakthrough Leadership" that was led by a wonderful speaker, Brian Biro. The only way I can describe it is "life changing", and the principles he shared have great application for our weight loss journey. Brian talked about the things that hold us back and challenged us to break through those things to get to where we really want to be. Among other things, breaking through involves:

1. Creating a compelling WHY. When your "why" is big enough, you find the way.
2. Giving 100%. It's impossible to fail if you give your best - the only way to fail is to quit!
3. The past does NOT equal the future. It doesn't matter if you've failed before, what matters is NOW.
4. Competency happens in a moment - keep trying!
5. There is always a way if you're committed.
6. Focus on what you want, not on what you don't want.

After talking to us for almost two hours, Brian gave us the opportunity to have a hands-on experience of putting these principles into action. Everyone was handed a one-inch piece of board and we were informed that we were going to break the board with our hand. He went through the basic instructions of how to break our board, then asked us to write on the front of the board what in our life we wanted to break through, then write on the back of the board what would be on the other side of that break through. We then got in groups to cheer each other on as each person attempted to break their board. Each group had a person who held the board for us and who coached us on what to do. Very simply, we were to look into our coach's eyes and put the full weight of our hand thrust into the board, looking at our coach, not the board. Brian told us that if we looked at the board, we would pull back at the last second and not be able to break it; we needed to look beyond the board and focus on getting through it.

To start us out, Brian chose the first person to break a board, and he held the board for her. The person he chose was a woman in her mid to upper 60's (I'm guessing) who is less than 5 feet tall. We gathered around her and began to clap and cheer for her, and although it took her several attempts, we kept cheering and do you know what? She broke that one-inch board with her hand!

I watched Ruth break her board, but I honestly didn't think I could break mine. I had a list of reasons, including the fact that I have nerve damage in my right arm and hand and had surgery on it 6-1/2 years ago. I wanted to be able to break my board, but was pretty certain in my own mind that it wasn't possible.

When it was my turn, my group gathered around me and began clapping and cheering for me. I made four attempts, but the board didn't break, and I needed to step aside to allow someone else to have a turn. I was really disappointed, but my failure confirmed what I had suspected all along - I couldn't do it.

But that's not the end of the story! Another board-holder saw me fail and tapped me on the shoulder and encouraged me to try again. He pulled me aside and patiently went over again the stance and motion I needed to break the board. I tried again, and once again I failed. He then took a moment to correct my stance and my movement once again and pointed at his eyes as a reminder of where I needed to look. I took a deep breath, looked at his eyes which were telling me that he knew I could do it, and I gave it all I had. The board broke - and I burst into tears (there were a lot of tears that morning from a lot of people). The group around me clapped and cheered for me, celebrating my success.

It was an incredibly powerful moment for me as I broke through not only the board, but through the concepts I had about my own ability to do so.

I'm guessing that most of you here have been on other weight loss programs in the past, programs that you ultimately failed on. Perhaps you've tried and failed several times on this program, and maybe you're struggling right now to stay on plan. Maybe you even think that you can't do this.

I want you to know this morning that you CAN do this! Focus on what you want, which is to break through where you are and get to a healthy weight. Don't focus on what you don't want - being overweight; focus on what you DO want - being healthy, being in a smaller size, being able to do the things you want to do.

Give it all you've got. It doesn't matter if you've failed before - competency happens in a moment, and this is your moment.

Just as I had to focus not on the board, but on the eyes of my "trainer", try to imagine looking into the eyes of others here who believe you can do this, who KNOW that you can do this. Draw strength and confidence from those of us who have reached our goal, because we know what it is to break through and get to goal and we know that you can do it, too.

My board holder had to stop and reposition me a couple of times, because what I was doing wasn't working. I had to be willing to listen to him and to change what I was doing - I had to be teachable. I was willing to listen because I really wanted to succeed, and even though the way he had me move felt more awkward, the movement gave me the momentum I needed to break through the board.

If you're struggling right now, you may need to change what you're doing. You may need to adopt some new patterns and it may feel awkward, but there are people here who can help you to made the adaptations you need. Ask for help if you need it!

You have a group of people here who are cheering you on, clapping wildly for you - can you hear it? The group who clapped and cheered for me continued through each of my failed attempts at breaking my board - they didn't hold their applause and affirmation until I succeeded, and their encouragement helped me want to keep trying. When one person broke their board, they didn't tuck their board under their arm and walk away; they stayed to cheer on the others, and their example inspired us to go for it.

That's why I'm here. My board is tucked under my arm, but I'm clapping wildly for you and calling out until I'm hoarse, "You can do it! Keep trying!"

It doesn't matter if you've tried and failed a thousand times before, today is a new day! Who's committed to an on-plan, board-breaking day today?