Coach Yourself Lean, Fit, or Happy

Do you wish you could afford a coach? Even though I am a wellness coach, I have a coach I rely on to keep me focused on my goals. We do a trade, so that cuts out those pesky fees.

I am offering a class called Be Your Own Coach at Tamarack Wellness Center in Eugene on June 2. For those of you who live out of town or can't make it Tuesday night at 7:00pm, here's some thoughts on being your own coach.

First, know what you want to accomplish. Be specifc about this, so you can form a mental picture in your mind. If it's a weight loss goal, see yourself at that goal weight. Really build some emotion about how good you feel and hone the description of yourself. Write it down. Two or three sentences will do. Here's an example: I have lost 20 pounds by October 31st and feel energized, impowered and strong. I can now see my belt buckle without looking in the mirror because my belly has shrunk.

Second, figure out why this goal is important to you. Usually, my clients want a change to enable them to enjoy life more. This can mean being able to hike in the mountains without stopping every 15 minutes to recover their breath, or being able to crawl around on the floor with a future grandchild without struggling to get up again. It can also mean recovering lost self-esteem, renewing vigorous activity, or fulfilling a life-long dream.

Whatever it is for you, picture yourself in that situation and then write it down. Here is an example: I am now playing frisbee on the beach with my kids. We are laughing and having the best time ever. I'm am fit and healthy and so are my kids.

Third, map the steps that it will take to get to your big vision of health and wellness. These are the actions you'll commit to so reaching your vision is not just a dream. Action steps have components like a date, a commitment, and a duration. For example: I will walk every day for 20 minutes (commitment), beginning May 29 (date) and I'll add 2 minutes per week for 6 weeks (duration).

You can make many steps to reach your goal. In fact, most people need to approach their goal from several aspects. Try to think of all the different areas of your life that will contribute to your overall success in reaching your goal. Write them down.

Your list is probably pretty long, right? If you feel overwhelmed, then you're doing it right! The next step makes it easier to achieve your stated goals.

Fourth, break these big steps into tasks. Using my example of walking everyday for 20 minutes, I'll need to do a few things first. Here are a few examples of tasks that will help accomplish this step of our plan: buy some shoes, get up 1/2 hour earlier, lay out clothes the night before, simplify breakfast to a smoothie.

Some things won't need a task list, so don't think you need to break everything down into its component tasks. Laying out your work clothes the night before isn't going to require a step-by-step list. However, if you aren't already in the habit of making smoothies, you may need to create a shopping list, find time to do the grocery shopping, and maybe even make the smoothie the night before and re-blend it in the morning.

Fifth, celebrate your accomplishments as you achieve the steps. Make these rewards something to support your overall goal. If you are planning to write a book, the steps would be something like write an outline, plan the chapters, find a publisher, write the book. When you get the outline completed, you probably deserve a celebration like a great dinner with a friend. If your goal is weight loss, you'll want to plan something like a trip to coast or a hike. You don't want to celebrate weight loss with a hot-fudge triple scoop sundae, right? Well, you may want to, but your goal is staring you in the face, so you'll make a better decision.

The point is to plan your celebrations so you have something to look forward to when you accomplish the steps to your goal.

If you'd like to come to the workshop and do some of this work, register at Tamarack Wellness Center, 541-683-7506 or online at Tamarack Wellness Center.

I hope you will set some goals and use these coaching tools to help you reach them.