Results and Why You Get Them (Healthy Living DIY)

Results. Every day, no matter what we do, they just keep showing up.

Sometimes we like them. Sometimes we don't. But either way, those results just keep pouring in.

Many of you know me as a pretty results-based person. Just like our little friend Yoda, who says, "Try not. Do or do not, there is no try."

It may surprise you to hear me suggest that the results you achieve on any given project or endeavor may not be all that important. But that's what we're up to today. Recoginzing that there is another factor so much more valuable that seeing its truth can render nearly any apparent failure inconsequential.

Here's the cool part. The best way to really identify this other factor is to rack up a huge lack of the results you were looking for. In other words, to bomb out, blow it, or "apparently" fail.

(The only real failure is when you quit. If you've really failed, you won't get this. Might as well go take a nap. However if you've "apparently" failed -- but not given up -- then you're still in the game and I'm talking to you!)

It's true. And that other factor is ...

... the other factor is understanding why you got the results you got. As luck would have it, this insight often comes most clearly when you achieve results you don't like in the moment.

Think about it.

If you win the lottery, you'll have a fresh supply of cash in the bank right now. That may seem like a good thing, until you realize you've got no clue how to create any more. You like the results, but they came from a chance occurrence and you really didn't learn much. In terms of the big picture, your financial education is still at ground zero.

On the other hand, if you'd made a bunch of money, then made a stupid mistake and lost it all, in the big picture you'd be ahead. Why? Because you'd have the experience of having made all that money in the first place. If you know what you did, you can repeat it -- minus the stupid mistake, which you'll surely not make again -- and put yourself in a very good place.

Apparent failure is actually a great step, then, as long as it teaches you to refine the results you achieve.

Let's go through a little exercise together, ok?

In your mind, identify some objective or project you set out for yourself recently. Maybe you wanted to acheive a certain weight on the scale, put cash in the bank, remodel the living room, replace your produce bill with goods from the garden, or something of the sort.

Ready? Let's begin.

First question: How did you do? How well did your results match your expectations and intentions?

Second question: What did you do well? Identify the areas where you were successful.

Maybe you created a really great garden plot and put all the plants in the ground.
Maybe you found an exercise buddy and looked up some great new healthy recipes.
Maybe you did some research for that business you thought was going to be a sure bet.

Third question: What qualities, habits, or practices enabled the success you did achieve? For example, are you persistent, a good networker, or flexible in the face of changing circumstances?

Fourth question: What, if any, undesired results showed up? What results did you produce that did not satisfy your intentions? For example, your scale weight doesn't match the number you wanted, your eggplant crop failed, or your sales figures for the quarter fell short of your boss' goal.

Fifth question: What qualities, habits, or practices interfered with the success you were looking for? For example, did you get bored with the project, get discouraged, get distracted, or simply fail to ask for support when you needed it?

The answer to this fifth question is the gold you're looking for. Answer it honestly, and you'll be well on your way to achieving that intention you desire. Blow it off and, well, I guess it's obvious that you'll very likely stay stuck right where you are until you suck up the courage to take it on.

Finished? Some of you will have just had an enlightening insight about where you tend to get off track. That's a great step!

If you're like most of us, though, remember that the insight is just the start. In order to make your way clearly through the fog of those ingrained unproductive habits to a successful place, it's very helpful to put yourself in the path of as much ongoing support (think Wellness Coaching) as you can muster up.

Elizabeth Eckert can help you explore how simple everyday choices create health — or undermine even the best of intentions. With a background that ranges from energy medicine to structural bodywork to developmental psychology, this "Stick-To-It Coach" has the experience to support you in creating the healthiest possible expression of — you!

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