I am a personal trainer and fitness consultant. I am also a small business owner. I recently reread the 1998 bestseller, Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and Your Life by Spencer Johnson. The intent was to find wisdom for my small business (it delivered) but an unintended benefit was also finding a great source of guidance for all of us working out the details of healthier living.
With out giving too much away (I highly recommend you read this book yourself if you have a couple hours), the book addresses simple habits that facilitate navigating change. Whether you want to look better in a swimsuit or need to improve your diet, change is necessary. Your attitude, your patterns or your beliefs may actually be standing in your way. Who Moved My Cheese? provides some perspective to correct such behaviors. These gentle reminders open the door to laugh at oneself, recognize what isn’t working and allow room for a better lifestyle.
Our bodies change through puberty, change after babies, change as we age, change with injury and illness. Change happens. Being angry about change won’t help. Being open to adapting to change with self awareness and quality information CAN help. This powerful skill can help us move through the ebb and flow of staying fit and healthy. We might even come to embrace the process of solution finding, feeling healthy and happy, moving gracefully from one stage to another.
The book is simple and encouraging. If you are struggling with the idea of change in your healthy behaviors and workouts, I recommend you invest a little time to this. The benefits could be unexpectedly delicious.
