THEY DON’T SHY AWAY FROM CHANGE
It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t…
It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not.
JAMES GORDON
Richard entered my therapy office because he wasn’t making much progress in managing his physical health.
At the age of forty-four, he was seventy-five pounds overweight and had recently been diagnosed with diabetes.
Shortly after his diagnosis, he’d met with a nutritionist and learned about the diet changes he’d need to make to lose weight and manage his blood sugar. Initially, he tried eliminating all the junk food he had always eaten so regularly.
He’d gone so far as to throw away all the ice cream, cookies, and sugary soft drinks he had in his home.
But within two days, he found himself buying more sweets and resorting to his old habits.
He was also aware that he’d need to increase his activity level if he wanted to get healthier.
After all, he was no stranger to exercise.
Back in high school, he’d been a star athlete on the football field and the basketball court.
But these days, he spent the majority of his time sitting behind a computer.
He worked long hours and wasn’t sure how he’d find the time to exercise.
He’d purchased a gym membership, but he’d only gone to the gym twice.
He usually came home from work exhausted, and he already felt like he wasn’t spending enough time with his wife and children.
Richard told me that he really wanted to get healthier.
But he felt frustrated.
Despite understanding the risks of being overweight and the dangers of not managing his diabetes, he just couldn’t motivate himself to change his unhealthy habits.
It was clear that he was trying to change too much too fast, which is a recipe for failure.
I recommended he choose one thing to change at a time and for the first week, he said he’d give up the cookies he usually ate at his desk during the afternoon.
It was important to find something to replace that habit with—and he decided he would try snacking on carrot sticks instead.
I also recommended he gain support to help him become healthier.
He agreed to attend a diabetes support group.
And over the next few weeks we discussed strategies to help get his family involved.
His wife attended a few therapy sessions with him, and she began to understand steps she could take to help Richard improve his health.