The Power of Personality

This post I am going to explore personality and how it impacts weight. Does personality directly impact the number on the scale? Not particularly but I do believe that we all have certain character traits that make it easier or more difficult to get the weight off. I know for myself, my personality can be a help or a hindrance. I am going to do a pro/con sort of exercise here and I suggest you do the same if you are trying to lose weight. When you know what tools you are working with or are working against you, you can make changes. Knowledge is power.

It is always easier to rhyme off what we don’t like about ourselves so in the spirit of showing myself more love, I am going to start with my positives.

Louise’s Kick Ass Personality Traits

1.       Bravery: Not jump out of a plane type bravery but I think I am brave in the way that I don’t shy away from uncomfortable situations. I try to look at those sorts of things as opportunities to grow. Some examples of this in my life have been:

·         Encouraging my parents to sell their home and move to another town when I was in Grade nine. Even though it meant starting over in a new high school, I was excited about the prospect. My only trepidation was leaving my best friend but we survived and are besties to this day.

·         Deciding to study Nutrition in University. I knew full well that I would be the only person with a weight problem in my program and I was. Even telling people that I wanted to be a Nutritionist when I was 100 pounds overweight could have been uncomfortable for some. I knew it was the right decision for me and that is all that mattered. I was proud and knew in my heart that I would kick ass at it.

·         Public speaking. I have always embraced opportunities to get up and speak in front of groups. In my job as a Sales Rep, I used to do public lectures on topics ranging from cleansing to indigestion. Even though I would be nervous and shaky beforehand, once I started speaking it was like a high.

How is bravery going to help me in my weight loss journey? Well I think it I am either brave or crazy to be writing this blog! It will take bravery on my part to admit when I encounter failure and I will. No journey is a straight line. Most of all I will have to be brave when I need to ask for help or support. I am fiercely proud and independent so asking for help is not easy but I will do it when I need it.            

2.       Humor: Anyone who knows me knows that I am a joker. I have a sick, twisted and I like to think, delightful sense of humor. How will that help me blast the fat? Well sometimes you just have to laugh. You have to take life as it comes and if you can laugh instead of cry, you are ahead in the game. Plus, laughing burns calories right?

3.       Kindness: I like to think I am a kind human being to both people and animals. I feel other’s pain deeply and try to live a life that doesn’t hurt others. That being said I am not very kind to myself (and my husband at times!). I need to embrace my empathetic nature and apply it to myself. That alone will go a long way towards helping in this emotional journey.

4.       Drive: I have always been a very driven individual. I had my first job when I was 13 and haven’t stopped working since. For my age I am very established in a career I love and really push myself to be my very best in that regard. I have used that drive in other areas of my life as well. I used it to pay off $20,000 of credit card debt in one year, to save up for our down payment for our house, to quit smoking, to hit quotas etc. I need to harness this drive to keep me motivated to reach all the goals I set for myself going forward, especially the BIG ONE!

5.       Honesty: I try to be honest with others and I am very open (as I guess this blog is demonstrating). Where I need to be more honest is with myself. In the past if I was on a weight loss program and it stopped working, I would change it claiming that the program was flawed. I genuinely thought that I knew better but in all honesty, the program wasn’t the issue. If I really was honest with myself I would admit that the program stopped working because I stopped working the program. I stopped counting carbs or points or servings. I stopped writing down what I was eating. I stopped paying attention to the little snacks or nibbles here and there. I STOPPED FOLLOWING THE PLAN. Now that I have admitted that, I know better. The plan I am going to follow in 2013 and beyond is going to be followed the way it was intended. If I fall off track it is because I messed up. Admitting this is going to keep me honest. No more excuses!

6.       Desire to learn: I am a constant learner. I like to read and research things so that I know them inside out. I read self-improvement literature and try to apply at least one concept from every book I read or cd I listen to. In my industry, I keep on top of new and exciting developments. I just like to learn new things. Much of my life has been dedicated to learning about why we get fat and what to do about it. What I have truly learned (sadly) is that there is no magic bullet or formula. It is basically about balancing energy input with expenditure. Calories in need to be less than calories out. Are there ways to improve this formula? Of course but at the end of the day, this is it. So this year, I am not going to bombard myself with reading about weight loss. Rather, I am going to use my desire to learn to discover new ways to deal with the emotional turmoil that comes along with it.

 

I am sure there are more positive character traits that I can draw on in this journey but this is a great starting point. I will be reading and rereading this list when I need to trust myself and the process.  Tomorrow I will look at my less stellar points (let’s hope the list isn’t twice as long as this one!). When you know better, you do better J