Savvy Secret Survey Results #2

September 19, 2014

Lisa Jackson

Thank you again for your wonderful feedback! What are the top two obstacles you are facing that is keeping you from feeling and looking your best?

1. Time! Those who have been to my cooking classes have seen the sign my daughter gave me:

Everyone laughs at this and I say that I’m going to disagree with this statement because we live in a fast food world. Our food preparation does not need to take hours, it does not need to be too hard or expensive, but it cannot be FAKE.

We are constantly being sold a bill of goods. Michael Pollan, NY Times best selling food writer and author says in his book, “Food Rules” the more health claims and advertising given, the more suspect the packaged food should be.

Our grocery stores are inundated with hundreds of thousands of products that are being marketed to us, mostly convenience non-food that is designed to sit on the shelves for months, food that less organized creatures like bugs, won’t eat. Food devoid of nutritional value and food where vital nutrients are replaced with chemicals that are “hyper-palatable” laboratory food like high fructose corn syrup, (HFCS) and monosodium glutamate, (MSG), that create strong cravings for more, mood swings and worse. There is even a new term for these: Obesogens.

I’ve included some of my favorite whole foods that are fast, easy and inexpensive to make.

2. Discipline! Do you think that you lack discipline to meet your goals? Here’s an excerpt from the book where I talk about this:

YOU BECOME WHAT YOU THINK; Take an honest personal assessment and inventory

Unfortunately, what we think is buried for most of us deep within our subconscious. We have been programmed since birth. We come into this earth like a clean Macbook, with a blank hard drive full of promise and potential. Every input, every parental fear, every song, TV show and commercial, teacher, friend etc. writes on our discs. We are all subject to corrupt data and information overload. If we do not have a practice to clear out our minds and our bodies, we eventually crash. (Plus, far too often what we are choosing to read and watch and feed our minds is not much better than the synthetic junk foods we are feeding our bodies).

These downloaded messages from childhood linger within the subconscious and interfere with our goals. My own experience is a case in point. I now recognize messages downloaded to my “hard-drive” that no longer serve me. In high school, (despite the fact that I had won an award writing in junior high), when I told my stepfather I wanted to be a writer, he laughed at me. He said I would never be a writer because I was not disciplined enough. True, I was the “social butterfly” (and the comic relief in the family) and lacked discipline. I could continue to believe this self limiting belief or I can do what I’ve done which is to hire a coach plus engage in an accountability buddy to help me develop my discipline and focus to complete this book. We often just need a little support to develop these healthy habits.

Many of my clients tell themselves this same misperception that they don’t have the discipline to meet their goals.

Savvy Secret: Discipline can be cultivated with the right motivation, the right vision and the right support.

In order to live life fully and to work in our zone, we have to shine light on these ANTs that have been programmed so that we can decide whether they are true or not and whether we want to continue to be limited by them. It is the attachment to these thoughts that cause pain and stress. We are not our thoughts. It took me 40 years to fully realize this desire to write, thanks to a coaching program that offered me the structure, support and discipline to complete this goal.

We all have discipline in some area of our life, most of us have jobs and/or families that we care for. That is discipline. Think about it and I think you will find at least one area in your life that have some discipline. Discipline comes from creating habits and I can guide you toward habits that are fun and inspiring. A good coach will get you back on the path to health when you naturally want to stray or hit a roadblock.