DAY 20 Five Questions & Why

Happy Caturday, Journal!

There is a Cowboy proverb that says: "Speak your mind...but ride a fast horse."


I was going to talk about the 5 Questions that Bob Greene

(Oprah's trainer) asked a few months ago...then yesterday I read a differing point of view from Janice Taylor, at her humorous blog Our Lady of Weight Loss. She offered her own 5 Questions as a sort of rebuttal.


I guess I will just wade in with my own point of view, and have a fast horse ready. ;-)

The 5 Questions were designed to help those who wanted to lose weight get to the bottom of their issues. I had done a lot this type of work already, using Dr Phil's excellent book Self Matters. But these were short, so I figured why not?

Here are the 5 Questions:

1. What are you really hungry for?
2. Why are you overweight?

3. Why have you been unable to lose wt, or to maintain wt loss in the past?

4. What in your life is not working?

5. Why do you want to lose this weight?

Pretty basic stuff...yet having to write out an answer that isn't flip or shallow can be revealing and helpful.

Janice Taylor pointed out that 3 of the 5 questions posed by Bob Greene were "why" questions, which--in her opinion--weren't all that useful. She feels you should just focus on action NOW.

Well, sometimes finding out the why, if possible, helps. We are all so different, I think it helps to be able to individualize the plan.

For instance, let's say my foot hurts...REALLY hurts. If I didn't ask WHY it hurt, I would be treating symptoms, not the cause. I might:

dig around for a splinter

try a foot rub

put a cast on it

wrap it in an ace bandage

amputate!


If I had made the effort to find out WHY...that it was my cutsie shoes, then I could have just bought more sensible shoes, rather than a hit or miss approach.

There is a time to re-visit the past...RE-VISIT, not live there. Not to wallow in it, stuck and feeding on the negativity. But rather, to be honest about it, forgive mistakes and poor choices, learn from it, and move on to an ACTION-ORIENTED SOLUTION.


While it may not be necessary, I have found it helpful. It has nothing to do with blame...everything to do with UNDERSTANDING.

The overall objective is: to find your own Purpose in life, then take the necessary action to achieve it.

More specific to weight loss: My Purpose is to regain health and lose weight. Then make an ACTION plan to achieve that goal.

Since I am not going to write much on Sundays from now on, starting Monday I plan to talk about my answers to Bob's 5 Questions.

I think the progress I am finally making is due in part to facing these kinds of questions honestly, and then moving on to an action-oriented solution.

Off to exercise now....

From Dr Phil's book: "...change must come totally from within you. This is where the real power to create lasting results is found, and what you are about to do here will give you that power."

My verse for today: "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge."

My quote for today: "Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable are the kind who do nothing."--William Feather

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

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