Turning Slip Ups Into Success

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This week in the meeting room we talked about being able to learn from the slip-ups that we encounter in our weight loss journey.

I read three stories of famous people who had a rough start. I found these stories from an article called, "50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First" and have posted them below for you to read.

Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.

J. K. Rowling: Rowling may be rolling in a lot of Harry Potter dough today, but before she published the series of novels she was nearly penniless, severely depressed, divorced, trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel. Rowling went from depending on welfare to survive to being one of the richest women in the world in a span of only five years through her hard work and determination.

Michael Jordan: Most people wouldn't believe that a man often lauded as the best basketball player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team. Luckily, Jordan didn't let this setback stop him from playing the game and he has stated, "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

This article from the Weight Watchers website does a great job of summarizing what we talked about in the meeting room on Saturday, July 14, 2012.

Turn Setbacks into Success
How to learn from, and triumph over slipups.
Article By: Michelle Fowler

In any process that requires changing lifestyle habits, especially weight-loss, there are going to be ups and downs. The key to remaining positive during a setback is to remember that no one is perfect, and that getting thrown off track occasionally, doesn't mean you've messed up for good.

While it might not feel like it at the time, a slip can pave the way to greater success and boost your confidence. It's a perfect opportunity to slow down, reassess your habits, and decide what's working for you; what's not; and why. Open yourself up to the lessons that hurdles present and make the slip work for you, rather than against you. Doing so will help you regain control and avoid feeling discouraged. Look at slips as road signs pointing the way toward a more productive path. Each time you make a mistake, you learn what to do — and more important, what not to do.

It's feedback, not failure
Maybe you’re finding it difficult to commit to your weekly activity goal. Or you’re not as vigilant with tracking on the weekends. Or perhaps you’ve noticed your motivation waning during the lazy days of summer. Recognizing behaviors that hinder your progress and using strategies and tools to help you recover from lapses is a big step in establishing a successful weight-loss plan that will work for you, and that you can work with, too.

It’s also important to recognize negative thoughts when they run through your mind, and understand how your thoughts influence your weight-loss progress. Is an “all-or-nothing” attitude tripping you up? You know what we mean if you’ve ever overindulged and thought, ‘I’ve blown it so I might as well keep eating.’ Instead of throwing in the towel and overeating the rest of the day (or week), do something to help you feel more in control. View your next meal — or the next moment — as a fresh start.

Wherever your insights lead you, bravo for having the courage to take what might be an uncomfortable detour — and still move forward — on your path to weight-loss success. Give yourself credit for undertaking such a life-changing journey — slip-ups and all!

Just remember this quote from Michael Jordan,

"I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."