The easiest path to losing weight
July 14th, 2010
It’s funny how looking back on things I used to think and believe always makes me laugh. Especially when I reflect on how one of my biggest desires was to be like the CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) featured in Fortune and Forbes magazines.
In the articles, they always make it appear as if being the big shot CEO of a prominent company allows them to live an incredible lifestyle filled with financial prosperity, excitement and success—which I’m sure holds true for a small percentage.
In reality, however, most of them have lives that are full of headaches, ulcers, sleepless nights, loads of stress and long hours away from their families—all of which negatively impact their health, well-being, happiness and inevitably lead to weight gain.
Although I didn’t quite make it to the Fortune 500 with my Silicon Valley based trucking company, I discovered through my own experience exactly what the majority of those CEOs go through. And after many years of enduring the breakneck pace of a same-day delivery company, I finally made the decision to switch the focus of my company to overnight services to make life easier.
My purpose? To reduce my stress levels, keep myself from having a nervous breakdown and to get my body back into balance.
It wasn’t easy, of course, and it took some time to make the necessary adjustments, but it was the best decision I ever made because it changed my life for the better. After the transition was complete, I had a lot less stress; I slept better at night; my mind was fresh and clear on a daily basis; and, I had the energy to work out at night—which allowed me to start dropping all the extra weight I had accumulated over the years.
The take-home message of this personal story is not that you shouldn’t pursue your desires or reach for high levels of success, because personal achievement is what keeps us feeling alive. Only that it’s best to live and strive for the accomplishments you want in a way that keeps stress, anxiety or other unhealthy issues to a minimum.
Although this may be easier for some of us than others, it is still a real possibility if you take the time to sit down and think about how it can be done. The easiest way to do this is to first identify what kind of stress you’re experiencing.
Is it the result of a temporary event or situation that will change or pass at some point in time? Or, is the excess stress due to something that is not necessarily temporary, such as a relationship or a job?
Since most temporary situations will likely change at some point, the simplest thing to do is to find ways to vent or reduce the short-term stress you’re experiencing. Some easy ways of doing this are:
- Exercising or working out
- Communicating or talking it out with others around you
- Visiting natural settings such as a lake or a park
- Using relaxation techniques such as breathing or meditation (you can also checkout my LeanQuick™ guided imagery CD here)
For other types of stress that aren’t so short-term and won’t resolve so easily, you’re going to have to make some decisions and take some action to improve your situation. This may include:
- Ending a relationship that isn’t working or getting some space to think
- Avoiding certain people who make you feel stressed out
- Delegating tasks to others if you’re overwhelmed
- Changing jobs if your current one is impacting your health
- Finding a new approach to achieve the result(s) you desire
However you choose to do it, your best bet is to start reducing the amount of stress in your life as soon as possible. This will not only give you a boost in your mental clarity, which will help you to make the best decisions possible, but it will also benefit your body by allowing it to create the optimal internal environment for weight loss.
Categories: Get Back on Track, Weight Loss
