365 Days of Living the Dale Carnegie Principles
Day 109. Wednesday, July 13, 2011
I drove home on Tuesday evening, praying in a very direct way to God.
“Lord. Please fix me. I’m not in a good place.
I feel portly. I’m eating like a horse. I haven’t been to the gym in awhile. My clothes aren’t fitting. And there is chaos at work. I’m doing my best Lord—but things aren’t working. I feel like eating my way into oblivion. I know the answer is the gym. But I won’t go.”
The next morning I checked my Facebook and noticed a wall post. “Smiling Daffodil, I haven’t seen you in awhile at the gym…”
I didn’t expect a quick response from God—well, in this case, one of God’s tools—named Dr. House, my trainer.
I decided to look at the facts:
- I haven’t been going to the gym—so yes, I am out of shape.
- I had been working hard on a fitness program but most likely I have regressed.
- I have also been entertaining quite a bit of sugary foods. And then there are those trips to McDonalds I’ve been blogging about….
I wondered if Dr. House would believe that I had been working out faithfully but then I got distracted with my blog. On the other hand—I’m just giving excuses. That’s probably all he hears as a trainer—excuses. But surely I’m different? My excuse is valid! Ha.
I decided to just accept the inevitable. I told Dr. House that I am fully prepared to fail the fitness test since I haven’t been faithful to the gym.
As is the custom—he looked at me and said—“you’re not going to fail the test. You don’t fail at anything you do.”
Clearly I could not accept this statement—so I insisted, “no, no Doc—this time I really am going to fail.”
Dr. House wasn’t buying it. And I had no idea why. But I appreciated his confidence in me.
I took the fitness test on the treadmill—and not only did I pass—I improved from my last test in March. He also had scientific proof of why I’ve been eating a lot of sugary foods. My body has been craving sugar.
My trainer pulled me out!
I left the gym feeling 2 feet taller, 10 pounds lighter, with a spring in my step and a big stupid grin on my face.
I bet you’re wondering what Dale Carnegie principles I used in this story?
From How to Stop Worrying and Start Living:
Get all the facts.
Pray.
It turns out that I was doing so well on my fitness program that taking some time off didn’t cause me to regress back to my fitness level in March. I assumed I was very weak and had no self-control when it comes to sugar—but my system was craving it as a result of the intense workout program I had been on. I assumed I was in poor condition. My trainer said my heart was stronger than it has ever been.
I bet you're thinking I'm Winnie the Pooh. Actually, I'm the Viking.
I didn’t have all my facts before today. I just had a jumble of fears and concerns floating in my head that were discouraging me and stunting any chance for progress. And these feelings were seeping into my daily outlook.
When I got all the facts from my trainer—you can imagine my relief!
So remember, don’t jump to conclusions. Getting all the facts is the best way to correct a situation. Once you have the facts, you are able to come up with a sound plan of action. Can you imagine coming up with a plan with no facts? Or with incorrect information? This is not a good practice for home, work or anywhere.
If I had continued with my original intense fitness program—I would not see improvement. Based on my test results my program has to completely change in order to see progress. Now I have a new program and I should see results in a matter of time.
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Housekeeping / Notes:
Dr. House—thank you for stepping up to the challenge of pulling me out of my box and setting new goals.
Mustafa—thank you for conspiring with Dr. House for the “intervention.”
The Smiling Daffodil 