If you have been around awhile, you'll know I loathe the terms motivation and inspiration and I am equalling nauseous when I hear the "New Year, New You" cries.
January is the month where most people set weight loss goals. And that's okay BUT our weight is made up of behaviours and the choices that those behaviours lead us to make. Stands to reason then that if we want to change our weight, we need to change our behaviours - right?
We don't need to become NEW. This leads to a whole thought process around making sweeping changes such as cutting out entire food groups (do not for any reason decide to give up carbs) or doing an insane number of workouts in a week. Seriously, if you do one workout a day, do it properly and then go have a meal and a nap!
But I am not saying that wanting to improve is an issue. IMPROVE is my keyword. Actually, it might just be my word for the year.
I absolutely believe in 1% improvements - and doing this using one area of our lives at once.
What I am really saying, and I am trying not to swear for our new members is, why the bloody hell would we want to start a journey of health via weight loss and screw up our heads at the same time because we didn't alter the foundations of what our health is built on.
So my friends, today I am going to go over one of my favourite pieces of improvement planning .... READY, WILLING and ABLE. And for Members, your Worksheet is free in the Extras Section.
Ready? Let's roll! 
Think about why you are here reading this today. You have either supported my content or have a membership to be reading through this post.
Are you sick of the status quo? Do you have some pretty big goals for the year?
Did you have the New Year, New You thought too?
Chances are in order to muck with the status quo, reach those goals or improve on 2021, just like me, you need to make a few behaviour changes. With that in mind, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “Too soon! Not ready yet!” and 10 being “Totally ready! Bring it on!!” ... how ready are you to change your existing nutrition and health habits?
Ask yourself three questions:
Am I READY to change?
Yes, it may be time to make a change but if you're not ready, be prepared for a massive wave of resistance and a few setbacks. For example, Yes Tara, I am ready to change but…..I have this coming up and this going on…..etc. That big old BUT, that is resistance.
Am I WILLING to change?
Knowing what needs to change add being WILLING to change are not the same thing. Right now is time to get really honest with yourself and ask yourself if you’re WILLING to do what it will take to make the changes stick.
Are you willing to make the decisions that may need to be made to move forward?
Are you willing to eliminate something completely, reduce or taper down?
Being clear about what you are willing to and what you are NOT willing to do will go a long way towards a more successful change effort.
Am I ABLE to change?
Do you have the skills, support, resources, and motivation to make the change you are seeking? Sometimes, we do not give ourselves enough credit for what we are capable of. Other times, we use excuses to keep us from moving forward. Being really honest with yourself and what you are capable to do at the time and managing your own expectation can be a big change from the usual way of approaching things.
Resist the urge to over-commit or to under-estimate yourself. For instance, think about what you had to do in order to have bariatric surgery. What changes did you have to make then? How did you make those changes stick in order to have the surgery?
There are no right or wrong answers. This step is really important so we know where we are starting out.
Ask yourself the questions below and rate your responses on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “Stop! I do not want to change!” and 10 being “Bring on the change!” ...
How WILLING are you to trust the process and let change occur (or purposely challenge some of your existing ways of doing things)? Think about how OPEN you are right now to change your mindset, habits, and routines.
How ABLE are you to change? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “Right now, I simply cannot change” and 10 being “I have all the tools and support I need,” how able are you to change?
Sometimes we want and hope for change, but something’s blocking us or always seems to get in the way. If that is the case, what’s preventing you from changing right now — work, kids, husband or wife, maybe an unsupportive environment?
In all my coaching programs, you’ll hear a lot about “noticing and naming.” It just means we stop and pay attention to what’s happening around us…our experiences with situations.
You can observe a lot by just watching. —Yogi Berra
As you think about and work on changing your habits, see if you can notice and name any resistance that pops-up. If not now you will notice it over the coming days and be able to identify it.
For instance, for 1% Take Action, you might choose to book some time to go grocery shopping for weekly meal prep. You might suddenly think: but I’m too busy for that. This is too complicated. This will never work.
Aha! Resistance! Something is pushing back against your change. Don’t try to fix it right now - just call it out when it occurs. I have to warn you, resistance sneaks upon us! The key is to call it out when it happens and take note of it!
What’s up next ... Members can grab the worksheet. Chances are you know the one thing, or top one thing, that exists in your lifestyle right now that is impacting you most. It's the thing sitting almost on your forehead right now. Answer the Ready Willing and Able questions and if you like, comment on this post. If not, pick one Daily Action that you can repeat every day for two weeks. Then reassess.
Remind yourself that change is a skill and takes conscious daily effort. To make sustainable change, you have to be a good change-er.
Help yourself succeed: Purposefully practice small daily wins!