Story to share about habit change

THERE'S A HOLE IN MY SIDEWALK Autobiography in Five Short Chapters By Portia Nelson Chapter One I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost .... I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. Chapter Two I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I pretend that I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I am in this same place. But, it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. Chapter Three I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in ... it's a habit ... but, my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. Chapter FourI walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. Chapter Five I walk down another street.

Checking in

Dear Campers,

     

How are you today?  What a great blessing the rain has been today.  I have to tell you that it create perfect napping conditions for this girl and I enjoyed it so much.  Try to get in bed 30 minutes earlier tonight to ensure that you are well rested for tomorrow's workout.   Getting quality sleep is one of the best habits you can have.  Tomorrow will be the last day to get your T-shirt order placed, so be sure get with Martha at the sign in window.  I will see you dark and early tomorrow to share more mini victories.   

Blessings,

Amy

The Golden Rule

Dear Campers,

    

Great workout this morning!  I am so proud of each burpee I was able to complete and I hope you feel the same sense of accomplishment...it was stren-u-ous!   I just wanted to revisit the concept that I introduced to you this morning.

The Golden Rule of Change

1.  The cue (ex. - I am hungry) will always be the same.

2.  The process (ex. - I will eat an apple instead of a HoHo cake) has to change if you want a new loop to emerge.

3.  The reward (ex. - I am not hungry anymore) will always be the same. 

*In my opinion the reward is even greater when the desired process is accomplished.  It does not quantify this in the book, but I am taking the liberty to say that it does feel better to make new and healthier habits!   

 The ONLY thing that will break a bad habit loop is to change the process.  As I mentioned in workout this morning, maybe you need to take meal choices off the table in the beginning to help drive the new loop.  Establish a few "go to" meals to eat that do not require thought and simply create habitual behavior.  I know what my breakfast is going to be everyday without even thinking about it.  It's a habit.  If I start to "thinking" about it and put too many choices on the table, I get into trouble.   Maybe this new process will help you, I know it helps me.  

     

The habit loop has already transformed most campers at RBC.  Have you realized that RBC is now a habit for most of you?  The process happens when the alarm goes off at 4:25 you instantly get up, get dressed and get out the door.  When you change the process and stop to "think" about it, you end up hitting the snooze and skipping the workout.  Continue to explore the bad habits that you have and and the next time you find yourself saying, "I don't know why I do that," change the process and the reward will be fantastic.  I hope that your weekend is filled with family, friends and fun.  I will be praying for your safety, your strength and your success.  See you dark and early Monday.

Blessings,

Amy

Stren-u-ous

Dear Campers,

     

Congratulations on finishing such a strenuous workout this morning.  I am so proud of you.  I understand how hard it is to make new habits and to let go of old habits that have been holding in a pattern that has you stuck in a place where you do not want to be.  It was so much fun to celebrate so many "mini-victories" with you this morning.  

     

I would like to share our guiding scripture with you so that you can commit it to memory and draw strength from it when you need it.

Romans 12:12 - Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the daily renewing of your mind.  

This is one of my favorite scriptures and is a reminder to me that I can get out of a rut if I use the right tools.  One of the most powerful tools is a surrounding yourself with a community of people that want the same changes.  A community creates belief that change is possible and sometimes knowing that there is even a possibility is enough to disrupt the habit loop.  In his book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg writes, "Change occurs among other people.  It seems real when we can see it in other people's eyes.  Belief is easier when it occurs within a community."  We are so blessed to have such a fantastic group at RBC that wants to see the change in your eyes.  Keep your eyes on the prize and share your stories with the group.  We want to know what makes you tick.

     

The book that we are studying identifies a few particular things that are "keystone habits."  Keystone habits are those big habits that trickle into other habits in our lives.  I have identified three that I would like for you to focus on.

1.  Drink your water.  It's summer time in Texas.  Consume at least half your body weight in ounces of water each day.  Being hydrated will aid you in making healthier food choices and give your body the fluid it needs to function at peak performance.  

2.  Make your bed.  Bed making signals the brain that the sleep cycle is over and that you are ready to move through your day,   It creates order and encourages you to carry that orderly behavior throughout the rest of your day.

3.  Keep a food journal.  Research has shown that one of the keystone habits that changes unhealthy eating patterns is to log it somehow.  I am currently using the My Fitness Pal app and I would be happy for you to invite me to be your accountability community in this endeavor.  I already got one request this morning!  

     

Keep up the good work and begin to see your good habit loop beginning to shift from intentional to automatic.  Wouldn't it be great if eating healthy, exercising, and caring for our bodies was automatic and we didn't even have to think about it?  That's exactly what we want to happen.  We can and will make happen at RBC.  See you dark and early Friday.  

Strenuously,

Amy

Get ready for tomorrow.......

Dear Campers,

Just a reminder that RBC starts tomorrow, May 30. This will be another 5 week camp and will end with a BANG on the 4th of July! If you will be vacationing during this camp, remember that you only need to pay of the days you will be attending RBC! Each workout is $5.00. Make your commitment to be there even though it is the summer. We will be studying a book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. This thought process will help make you more FIERCE than ever before! I have missed you and am ready to get going again!

See you dark and early.
Blessings,
Amy

Wednesday gifts

Dear Campers,

     

Great job with the workout this morning.  You pulled, you pushed, you skied and you squated your way to fierce!  Remember you can either be sore tomorrow or sorry tomorrow.  I choose sore!   This week our focus has been on receiving gifts.  Gifts are  (and have been for centuries) a way to express love to other people.  In one aspect, gifts are a tangible item  that communicates that you were thought about by the giver while you were apart from each other.  What an honor and and true reflection of love that is.  Another aspect of gifts is to open our eyes and see the gifts that God has already placed around us to enjoy.  Enjoy the green grass, colorful flowers and the chirping birds.  Each of these are a gift that God wants us to enjoy.  And then there is the gift of your presence.  Just be where you need to be.  For people that are Quality Time 'speakers' the most important gift you can give is to be present in their lives in times of joy, celebration, sorrow or heartbreak.  Gifts come in many shapes and sizes, different dollar amounts and in the juggling of our lives to be able to give our time to others that need it the most.  *Oh, and by the way, I will be re-gifting those bands to you again before you know it!!  

     

I am so proud of you.  Your outrageous food pantry donation last week created a challenge for us.  There is LOTS of pasta sauce and NO pasta!  Can you scrounge your pantry and bring a package or box of dry pasta tomorrow, please?  I love creative solution seeking!  (Truly, I thought about the pasta thing, but it didn't seem heavy enough to put in a backpack!!!)  What a great gift you bring each time you come to RBC.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  See you dark and early TOMORROW (Thursday).

Blessings,

Amy

Physical touch week

Dear Campers,

     

Happy Monday!   As I am writing this email to you I am sitting in a room with nervous college students that are taking my final exam.  Since this semester has been like none other that I have ever had, I decided to make the test like none other than I have ever given.   I simply asked them to list 100 things that they have learned by being in my class this semester.  I requested that 70% of the answers be based in exercise science and allowed the other 30% to be about life lessons that they can apply to their future.  Before passing out the test, I gave each one of them the orange Stronger, Braver, Kinder, Unstoppable & Fierce pictures that are just like the ones that each of you have from the last camp.  I wanted them to know Fierce living is fantastic living.   I told them that they are now part of an elite group of people that live their faith first, lift their friends second and place high value on their fitness.  These are the future trainers, coaches and fitness professionals that will lead the next generation to the ways of a healthy lifestyle.   Keep your torches lit and show them the way.   Here they come!

    

This week our primary love language is in the dialect of Physical Touch.  Scripture tells us that Jesus used physical touch to heal, express love and show acceptance to everyone he encountered.  He truly touched the untouchable.  One way to begin to tap into this with people is to gauge their reaction to a simple handshake.  If the person holds it a fraction longer than normal, it is a signal to the world that they are a physical touch person.  It is similar to a blinker on a car.  It lets you know what direction they are traveling in.  If you are a physical touch person, you are already doing this without your knowledge!  If physical touch is the primary love language of your spouse, your children or your friends, use this dialect to draw them to you like a magnet.   It will help create that shelter to weather the storms of life. 

     

While you are creating your weekly shopping list,  please add spaghetti sauce and peanut butter to it.  Our Backpack workout will be this Friday.  These two items seem to be very helpful in creating meals for families that benefit from our Food Pantry.  Please remember to grab plastic bottles or cans.  Try to go as healthy as is possible, too.  If you have never done a Backpack workout with us before, follow these easy steps:

1.  Snag a backpack from anywhere. (Don't go buy one, let me know if you really don't have one.)

2.  Load it up with 8-10 pounds of spaghetti sauce or PB.

3.  Wear it during the entire workout on Friday.

4.  Donate the food to our Food Pantry as you leave on Friday.

 

See you dark and early Wednesday. 

 Lots of hugs this week, ok?

Blessings,

Amy

Don't interrupt

Dear Campers,

     

Great workout this morning!  Thank you for all three hours of Quality Time that we spent together this week.  I always feel like my cup has been filled after I have been with our group.  The last piece of the quality time puzzle is to close your mouth and not interrupt when someone is trying to tell you what is going on in their world.  Research says that most of us don't even give as few as 17 seconds to listen before we jump in.  As I told you this morning, this is one of my biggest hurdles to get over.  I am really working on it and would love to have each of you help keep me accountable.  

     

Next week (Mon.-Fri.) will be Daniel Diet week.  Let's get plugged back in to exceptional nutritional habits during week 3 of this week camp.  Hit the produce department to fill your basket and your stomach.  

     

There will be a group of runner and walkers leaving the Y tomorrow morning at 7:00.  We would love to have you join us.  Be sure to bring your water...it's getting hot!

    

I wanted to share the chorus of the Cory Morrow song that has anchored this session.  I love the vibe of it.  Sometime it helps me to read and see the words.

Love will hold us together

make us a shelter to weather the storm.

And I'll be my brothers keeper

so the whole world will know that we're not alone.

This is the first day of the rest of your life.

This is the first day of the rest of your life.

Even in the dark we can still see the light.

It's gonna be alright.

It's gonna be alright!

Enjoy your weekend.  Make some Quality Time happen if your people need it.  See you dark and early Monday morning.

Blessings,

Amy

Quality Time week

Dear Campers,

    

As I woke up this morning I couldn't help but remember that I, along with 80 of my closest friends, did 100 burpees yesterday!  What a blessing to be healthy and fit!  This week our focus has been on learning how to speak the language of Quality Time.  If you have discovered that your spouse, your children or your friends respond to that dialect then you need to get the tools that it takes to master the art.  So far we have covered three of the steps that allow fluency in that language to occur.   Here's the list of tools to get on your next Heart Depot shopping trip:

1.  Open Eyes:  Our eyes are the window to the soul.  Make eye contact and begin to see what the eyes are saying.

2.  Open hands: Drop whatever you have that is getting in the way of the Quality Time happening.  I am learning that there are lots of thing that the world has put in our lives to pull us away form those we love the most.  I know that this is a crazy idea to be delivered in an email, but maybe it's time for all of us to unplug from technology for a moment and plug into each others lives.

3. Open ears:  Listen for emotions that you are hearing in the conversation.  If you are confused about what you are hearing in the beginning, then ask.   This will become easier as you become more tuned into the person that needs the Quality Time to fill their cup.

4.  Observation of others:  Today I would like for you to begin to be aware of the body language of the people around you.  See if you encounter someone that has clenched fists, crossed arms, or a furrowed brow.  Pay attention to how much they are saying without saying a word.  *We will talk about this tomorrow at RBC.

 

 Here are a few reminders of other things connected to RBC:

 1.  It's never too late to bring a friend to Revival Boot Camp.  The doors are always open.  Remind them to bring water and a towel for sure...and dumbbells if they have them.  Let them know that there are so many different fitness levels and options available.  Also, remember that if the inability to pay for RBC is preventing them from coming, then it is not an issue at all.  Just come.

 2.  The Project Graduation 5K will be held on May 5 and starts and ends at the Y.  The group registration price of $12 per person is open until tomorrow.  Be sure to bring your check book or cash and get it turned in to Barbara Wallace tomorrow.  It would be so cool to have the RBC WEIRDOS there in full fitness force.  This is a great cause and a great event for our community.  It will also be Healthy Kids' Day at the Y, so plan on staying awhile.   There will be lots of fun activities for the kids, so make it a family fitness day.  There is a 1 mile run for you to run with your kids and then you can RUN or WALK the 5K.  You are a Revival Boot Camper...you can do this.  No burpees, I promise! 

 3.  Tonight at 6:00 at the square there will be a event that will help raise money for the little boy that lost his leg in the lawn mower accident last week.  There will be walking, running, cycling and lots of reflecting and prayer for this family as they begin to move forward.  Be sure to take your own water bottle.  If you are not able to attend tonight I will have an envelope at the check-in window in the morning if you would like to support the cause.   

 4.  Next week will be Daniel Diet week for the group.  If you don't know that language yet, we will teach you.  I have a shopping list that will guide that will help you. 

     

I want to express heartfelt thanks for the prayers that each of you have prayed for me and for the Newsome family during this time of sorrow.  My RBC family is a pillar of strength in my life and I am so grateful to call each of you my friend.  See you dark and early tomorrow.

Blessings,

Amy