There Is No Track

“Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

Lao Tsu -- Chinese philosopher & co-founder of Taoism


“I’ve got to get back on track!” we say to ourselves. “The other day was really good – I ate healthy food, I got a lot done, I was kind to myself and my loved ones, I felt like things were really coming together. But today, I’m struggling to get back on that special and important track.”

Gosh, do I know that conversation!

But does it serve us? Striving to get back on track sets us up to look at all the things we didn’t do – or didn’t do perfectly. It makes most days and most efforts “not good enough” because they don’t measure up to that one great day when we found the track and managed to stay on it.

We’re not going to be outrageously productive, incredibly sweet and soulfully self-affirming every day. We’re just not. We know this from past experience. So, let’s accept the truth and demolish the track.

If there is no track, then today is just a day. There is no shining example of perfection. Whatever happens today is good enough.

I realize that seeing today as enough is a stretch for recovering track-seekers. So let’s begin by just disengaging from the myth of the track. There truly is no track to get back on. Can you agree with me on that? Can you agree that perfection is an unattainable ideal that leads us to feel “not good enough?”

Today is just a day and I have found that the more I let go of the need to be perfect, the more I accept myself – and love myself – even on the days when reality TV and Facebook are my most “perfect” accomplishments. And the more I accept and forgive myself for watching “The Lottery Changed My Life,” the less compelling these lower-value activities are.

The message always seems to be the same. The more we love and accept ourselves, the easier life becomes.

Here’s the step toward self-love I’m inviting you to take this week: Let go of the need to be perfect – even just a little – and start to remind yourself that you are good enough. What you did today is good enough. There is no track to get back to. You, in your vulnerable, goofy, adorably imperfect way, are enough.

Say it: I am enough. Remind yourself all day long.

Soon you’ll be regarding yourself with more compassion and love…and seeing the perfection that was there all along.

What Do You Think?

I am so close to launching a website to let more people know about this blog and the work I am doing as a life coach.

One thing I want to do is create a new tagline to replace “uplifting hearts, inspiring minds, connecting souls” in the logo above. I really like this tagline, but it doesn’t describe what I’m intending to do now precisely enough.

Here is the purpose statement for The Transformation Hub: I work with women who want to quit obsessing about food and their bodies so that they can get on with making a difference in the world.

I want a tagline that expresses that in a short and appealing phrase. These are the best ones I have come up with:

- Transforming your body and your life…one thought at a time
- Changing thoughts, losing weight, expressing vision
- Change the thoughts, lose the weight, live the vision
- Change your thoughts, love your body, live your dream

I’d love your feedback. What do you think? Which one appeals to you the most?

Thanks in advance for your feedback. I’ll let you know when the website is done.

The Best Gift to Give Yourself This Christmas

My eight-year-old niece Sarah wants a FurReal Go Go Walking Pup for Christmas. She’s absolutely certain Santa is going to bring it to her.

Meanwhile, my sister-in-law Lynda is frantically searching for what turns out to be one of the season’s hottest toys. When I found out about her challenge a week ago I joined the hunt.

From the moment I started looking, the words that kept going through my mind were, “the Walmart on Rymal.”

I’m not a fan of Walmart (hadn’t been to one in years) and had definitely never been to the Walmart on Rymal. It’s about ten minutes southeast of my home and just about every other place I go is north or west.

Yet, I trusted those persistent words and the feeling that accompanied them – a certainty that they were true.

So, I went to Walmart several times, while also checking Toys R Us and Zellers, just to hedge my bets. I was looking in three or four stores a day!

On the weekend, when the Walking Pup had become an obsession, I got an additional message: “Tuesday morning.”

I had some time to go to Walmart on Monday but the message was, “No, Tuesday morning.” So I didn’t go.

Well, you know what happened, don’t you?

Tuesday morning, I walked into the Walmart on Rymal, and there it was, the Go Go Walking Pup.

As I walked to the checkout, shaking and with tears in my eyes, I was full of gratitude and awe for the power that somehow orchestrated the early Christmas gift for me in the most unlikely place.

Whether you think my story is a happy coincidence, New Age crap or just another example of something you’re very familiar with, I bet you know that there’s a power beyond your awareness that guides you, if you let it. Call it intuition, universal energy, the law of attraction or God, it’s there.

The gift that we can give ourselves during this “season of magic” is to become aware of this power and tap into it more deeply.

How do you do that? Pay attention to those hunches. Act on them, even when they seem improbable. As with any skill, we improve with practice, and there’s always room to get better.

So, as you’re feasting and merrymaking, pay attention to the thoughts that are running through your mind with a feeling of certainty. Take some action. See what happens.

If you’re already doing that, go a step deeper. What would that look like for you?

If it’ll work to find a toy at Christmas, imagine how it could help you make positive changes in your life.

Merry Christmas.

100% is a Breeze

“99% is a bitch, 100% is a breeze.”
-- Jack Canfield

This quote is from Jack Canfield’s book The Success Principles. In fact, it’s principle #35.

My response, when I first heard it, was “Give me a break! What difference could the 1% make??”

But as Jack says, “Once I make a 100% commitment, there are no exceptions. I don’t have to wrestle with that decision every day. It’s already been made. It makes my life easier and simpler and keeps me on focus.”

So I tried it. Not because Jack said so, but because my inner guidance was insisting that I make a 100% commitment to exercise.

My previous goal had been to walk five days a week. Sounds pretty good, but do you know what happened? Monday, I didn’t feel like walking, but that was OK – I could miss two days a week. I didn’t feel like it on Tuesday. Again, no problem.

Do you think I was raring to go on Wednesday? Of course not. I was back in the not-walking rut and it was ever so hard to get out of it.

My new commitment is to walk every single day for half an hour. 100% of the time. No exceptions.

And what do you know? Jack was right! I’ve faced the icy sidewalks. I’ve had my husband drop me off a half-hour walk from home. I’ve even endured the shopping mall – the last place I want to be this time of year!

I’m actually surprising myself! Each day, my commitment gets stronger. I keep my streak going. I create something to be proud of. I honour myself and my intention. The question is not “Will I?” but “When will I?”

So, what about you? What is a goal that has been difficult to do consistently? Try making a 100% commitment. You may well find that it’s a breeze!

The Joy of Vulnerability

Have you heard of Brene Brown? She studies gratitude, vulnerability, shame and authenticity. Her TED Talks are inspiring discussions about the cost of living with shame, unworthiness and invulnerability. Here is one:



The message has special importance to those of us on the weight loss path. Many use food to numb our emotions, to avoid feeling pain, shame and unworthiness. But, as Brene points out, we cannot selectively numb. So, when we numb pain, we also freeze out love and joy.

Brene suggests that a way back from a numbed life is to be grateful for ordinary things in our lives. To let go of the expectation that things be extraordinary and perfect. To be grateful for the gifts that enrich every day – friends, family, nature – as well as for tiny-perfect delights -- a fresh cup of coffee, sunshine, a car that starts on a cold morning.

Another suggestion is to embrace vulnerability – to admit we do not know, to express a difficult emotion, to “go with our gut” when everyone else is stuck in their heads. By expressing our vulnerability, we feel alive in a way that transcends the fear of the difficult emotions.

I have challenged myself to be more vulnerable. Every time I do it, I feel joy and pride in myself. In a meeting, I said “This does not feel right to me.” That shifted the direction of the whole conversation to a much better result. Regardless of the results, I felt good about myself for honouring my own wisdom. I felt more authentic and whole.

What would vulnerability look like to you? Telling someone how you really feel? Reaching out to a long-lost friend at this time of year? Try it. You will be surprised by the joy.

Weight Loss and the Buddha -- Part 4

It’s not exactly correct to credit Buddhism with this last principle because
it’s so universal that it is taught in all spiritual traditions and by secular institutions as well. Yet it is a Buddhist teaching that can support us on our weight-loss journey.

The principle is to breathe. Breathe deep, full, cleansing breaths.

Breathing deeply helps us focus fully on our bodies and our feelings. It
leads us back to the calm that is always at our core but difficult to find
in the busy-ness of the day.

Breathing deeply when we want to reach for food gives us a moment to connect
with our deeper motivations. We remember our desire to be peaceful and
choose not to get caught up in the frenzy. We remember our commitment to be
healthy and the chocolate doesn’t seem so appealing.

Try it a few times right now. Breathe in slowly and deeply, breathe out
just as slowly. Repeat.

Do you feel the difference? Do you feel the calm?

Remember this when you’re frazzled. Just breathe.

Weight Loss and the Buddha -- Part 3

My recent study of Buddhism has shown me so much wisdom that can be applied to weight loss. Today, I’d like to share the meditation practice of beginning again.

Meditation involves relaxing the mind and body so that the spirit can reach for enlightenment. We still the mind by focusing on something simple such as our breath. Thoughts will often invade the void in our mind and the Buddhist teaching is to begin again, without judgement or attachment. Notice the thinking and then let the thought go. Just begin again.

What a gift it would be if we could just begin again, without judgement or
attachment, whenever we notice that our eating is off-course. Just begin
again, in the next moment. Not tomorrow morning or next Monday or January
1, but right now, in the next bite. Just begin again.

Can you sense how powerful this is? Can you feel the self-compassion?

Can you commit to giving it a try? When you notice that your eating isn’t
what you’d like it to be, begin again. Without judging or blaming yourself,
just begin again.