What is your trigger point?
I was amazed to read on the August Best Body forum recently, that the reason many women signed up was because something happened that made them cry (or come very close to!).
One girl said she tried on a bikini in a changing room and burst into tears, another woman was at a party last Christmas and was asked when her baby was due – she wasn’t pregnant. Another lady saw a picture of herself on holiday and said, ‘I looked like a fat frumpy hippo!’. These are the triggers that made them say, “Right that’s it. I need to do something about it!”
Last year I was inspired to get into the best shape of my life after my then 19 year old PA and trainer, arrived at the office in hot pants and legs to die for, and in 2011, when I had a cancer scare, that triggered me to sort out my stress levels and drink less wine.
People say we should be satisfied with what we’ve got/have/are. But one of my inspirations Bob Proctor, believes, ‘We should be happy with what we’ve got but never satisfied’ and there is the difference. Being dissatisfied with what we have is the driving force for any change and progress in the world. It’s why the car was invented, the internet created and why we improve our standard of living and experiences.
But often when people are faced with a little trigger of dissatisfaction, they shy away from the truth and go into denial. They might wear baggy clothes, don’t deal with their finances, avoid thinking about long term health risks from things like smoking/drinking heavily. But this is because people see dissatisfaction or initial triggers as failing.
But we all need these triggers in our lives to help us want to change. And triggers should be embraced. I had a coaching session with a lady yesterday who was 45, four stone over weight and utterly miserable. I asked her how she got that way and do you know what she said? “I ignored all those little messages in my head that were saying stop eating, do something about it, start exercising…. When I crept to a size 14, I moved and left my full length mirrors, at a size 16 I stopped dating, at a size 18, food was one of my only pleasures because I felt so bad… WHY DID I LET IT HAPPEN!’ She screamed through tears, utterly frustrated with herself.
I have a tipping point with my weight and size. When my skinny jeans are tight and I want to put a baggy cardi over them, or I sit at my desk and my tummy isn’t flat sitting up, or my arms get to the point I don’t like wearing a vest, I know that’s time to knuckle down and eat less/move more, or actually more applicable to me is slow down work and create more space and energy for proper training (I’m nearing my tipping point now so from next Monday, I’ll be doing the Best Body again and re-focusing, it’s all part of life long food management!).
Your tipping point can be changed as you lose weight too. For this particular client, I said every time you lose 5lbs or drop a dress size, that becomes your new tipping point, your little signal that says do something before you get to that big trigger.
Getting to your tipping point or reaching a big trigger can often make women feel bad about themselves as my client’s reaction yesterday shows.
But I said to her, draw a line right now. Don’t look back, today is the first day of the rest of your life, it’s never to late to become what you might have been and you need to work with yourself not be against yourself.
Being uncomfortable about what you’ve done (or not done!) and taking responsibility for you actions is actually one of the best things you can do and go through to become who you want to be. Be grateful you’ve reached that point (albeit, slightly better to minimize those big triggers!) and just go and do what you need to do. Yes that might mean facing up to things you’ve previously ignored, yes you might need to step out of your comfort zone and yes it might mean that you need to put everything into creating change. But you can do it. Anyone can do it.
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Hope this blog finds you happy and healthy!
