Читать книгу Trust Your Gut - Gregory Plotnikoff - Страница 30

Jim was a carpenter in his thirties who suffered from chronic indigestion, gas, bloating, and abdominal pain. Dr. Weisberg invited him to remember a difficult situation when he ended up being successful so we could identify his strengths. He had no trouble coming up with an example.

Jim had been overweight all his life, but he just accepted it because his entire family was overweight. However, when Jim turned twenty-five, his new primary care physician, Dr. Taylor, changed his attitude. He convinced Jim to act by gently explaining the various health risks of being forty-five pounds overweight: a greater chance of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, immune system problems, and so on. Jim accepted Dr. Taylor's recommendations for dietary changes—including exercise and Weight Watchers—and kept at it until he lost thirty-five pounds. What's more, he's kept that extra weight off ever since.

Jim wrote down his recollections of this challenge and the inner and outer strengths that helped him reach his goal:

Once I realized I needed to lose weight, I decided to stick with this plan [decisiveness]. I stayed with it even when I didn't want to [determination, persistence]. I felt good about the helpers I had chosen to assist me: Dr Taylor, a nutritionist, personal trainer, and psychologist [faith and trust in my team]. I was able to look rationally at the problem, study the research, and understand the importance of sticking with this regimen [intelligence]. As I got used to the new diet, I'd make jokes about how I didn't even miss what used to be my favorite foods, like ice cream, bread, potato chips, and beer [sense of humor]. My girlfriend, Jill, who is now my wife, really encouraged me and cheered me on, as did my fellow members of Weight Watchers [relationship and social support]. I also realized that this was a process that was going to take some time and that the changes weren't going to take place overnight [patience, good perspective of time and change]. I also found new and interesting ways to make exercise more enticing, rewarding myself different ways for each week that I stuck with my workout schedule [creativity, giving himself positive reinforcement].

Afterward, Dr. Weisberg recited the list of strengths he found in Jim's story.

“I've known on some level that I've accomplished things before,” Jim replied, “but it's really helpful to list my strengths so directly. I'm going to be even more able to call on great resources to reach my goals this time!”