12 May 2009

launching some stuff

I have been working on a model for a self-coaching circle as a way to experiment a little bit with my personal branding and coaching ideas. I figure, get a few friendly guinea pigs in a room together, start talking about how we all got "here" and see if that might be a reasonable method for getting us all in the mindset for self-improvement. A little inspiration, a few good ideas, some shared stories. All good right?

Except what I'm hearing from so many of my friends of all ages is the struggle with weight loss. It's not like the world needs another diet or online chat room or weight watchers meeting. Those all are fine and good, and many of them are truly helpful. What's missing is a venue for real connection and a big fat dose of the loving kindness we are all forgetting to give ourselves to get through this process.

So many of us launch into weight loss in a fit of self-hatred. Sick of the way you feel, sick of the way you look. Sick of feeling guilty for sitting on the couch and watching "Biggest Loser" with a glass of wine and 1/2lb of cheese (oh wait...is that just me?). Sick of everything, really. And unless you're a mindshifting magician, that's not a very positive place to start what is undoubtedly a tough journey forward.

You bang yourself about the head and make up irrelevant goals. "I'm going to lose 20 pounds by the reunion", "I'm going to fit into this dress by the wedding," and so forth. But these kinds of goals really don't speak to us. They are false ideals and fake milestones that just feed off the fear. They don't dig deep and address what really motivates us to take on such a challenge. And one size does NOT fit all here either - what truly inspires one person to take positive action, may not even register with another.

And in truth, one of the big reasons we haven't addressed our weight issues is because we haven't quite been willing to face it. We avoid the scale, switch up to the next elasticized waistband, and stop looking quite so closely in the mirror. We're in pain here, people. We are NOT ready to push all of that aside and just turn into that rose-colored-glasses-wearing woman we've heard so much about. And what a shame too. Because this is not the moment in our lives when we want to be encumbered by our more creative avoidance tactics. Like trying to figure out what is going to motivate us "this time." It's really supposed to be the ignition switch for us to shine.

This is the time when you need to feel as if you've been launched into the sky by the most brilliant power. You have wings! You have strength and stamina for the flight! You have places to land and nourish yourself, replenish yourself! You have outright approval for a martini! But how on earth do we keep ourselves aloft when the flight is so long and hard?

So that's why I thought it might be interesting to see if we could use the weight loss/health & wellness adventure as a topic for our first self-coaching circle. Self-coaching because what you learn here is meant to be used as tools for helping you along your journey. Circle because we recognize the need for the camaraderie, kindness and enthusiasm that we find so hard to provide to ourselves. I'll keep you posted.

(And while we're in the business of launching things, I'd like to introduce you all to my new logo. See? Up there on the right? Cute, huh? Many thanks to Kara Nielsen Design for creating yet another beautiful logo. Website is next...wild rides R US!)

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