A few months ago, Helen Moses, a private client, told me that she committed to her business coach to exercise 60 minutes every day until her 50th birthday, which was sixty days away. When I asked Helen how she was going to accomplish that, she said: “I'll join Planet Fitness, even though I hate the gym.” Here was someone who didn't exercise regularly, who committed to a daily time of 60 minutes, and didn't like going to the gym. I knew she was setting herself up for failure and didn't want to see it happen. We talked through it, and while she couldn't go back on her commitment to go from zero to 60 minutes every single day, we did come up with a plan, and we reframed the situation.
How did
Helen do it?
1) She stopped using the word exercise and instead focused on Movement Opportunities. Helen's movement opportunities included:
Making phone calls while walking around her neighborhood.
Walking to pick up prescriptions.
Walking to pick up her car when she got an oil change.
Dancing around her house.
Aggressive house cleaning.
2) Helen bought a FitBike , which I have reviewed here and this made a huge difference in her ability to get movement in. She watched webinars, processed email, and because she put it in her living room, watched TV at night. If you decide you need one too, use code Fit15 for 15% off.
3) Signed up for STICKK.com. I presented this to her as an option, and she is the only client I have that has been brave enough to do it. If you are committing to STICKK you are not messing around. You have to pledge money to an ‘anti-charity' and if you don't make your commitment that money gets donated. Anti-charities include The Republican National Committee, The Democratic National Committee, and rival sports teams (you get the point). They offer radically opposing views to suit almost everyone. The initial bet was for $100. Every week you met your commitment, you would have to donate less if you lost, i.e, at the end, she would have only lost $10 (but she still would have been on their list!)
Helen chose the National Rifle Association. I
was her referee and had to confirm that she did her movement every day. There
were several times that Helen said the only thing that made her move was
knowing she would not only be pledging money to them but that she would be on
their list.
I'm proud to say Helen never donated to her
anti-charity and she made her goal. She even sent me two videos to prove it
during times when other people would have given up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTKGlS1qnCQ
Helen moving in her red high heels at a Las Vegas business event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Br2nMC8aqU
Helen doing Tae Kwon Do in a hospital waiting room!
If you want to hear how she succeeded in such
a strong commitment, check out this video interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8BoHf51Akg&t=2s
I interview Helen on how she was able to make her challenge.
If you have a commitment that you just can't
seem to achieve, consider STICKK.com.
What would that commitment be for you and who would you not want to donate money to?
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