Brooke Castillo

Keeping Decisions

It's one thing to make a decision.

In fact, making a decision is somewhat easy.

"I'm going to start working out."

"I am going to stop drinking alcohol."

Decisions like these are made all the time.  (Usually when buying bikini's or nursing hangovers.)

But, often, as soon as there's cake or an open bottle of wine, the decision is unmade. Again.

The secret to keeping  a decision is to have a collection of thoughts that support it.

Reasons that feel good.  Reasons you want to think and keep. Reasons you keep thinking on purpose.

I can create the life I want.  I am capable of what I want. I decide what actions I take.

And the second part of the secret is to monitor the thoughts that don't support your decision.

Thoughts like:  Just this once. This won't really make a difference. I have no willpower.

It does make a difference.

Your decisions do matter.

Keep them.

Family

The older I get, the more I love my family of origin.

They haven't changed.

No, really. If anything they have gotten more set in their ways, more opinionated about my life, more free with their commentary.

But, I have changed.

I have grown and expanded.

I choose not to be easily offended or upset.

When they start, I know what to do.

I choose to be curious and fascinated. Kind and amused.

It makes it a pleasure to be with them and visit for the holidays.

My kids love my parents in a way I wasn't able to at their age.  

It is amazing to watch them have a beautiful relationship that has nothing to do with me.

Coaching has done this for me.

When anyone tries to minimize the power of coaching in the world by discounting it as a "soft" career, I think about what it has done for my relationships.

It has turned frustration to love.

And that is about as close to magic as I have ever come.

May your holiday bring you  you bring your holiday magic...

An Example of What is Possible

I am at the Nashville airport right now, on my way home from working with Susan Hyatt.

Susan is my long time student, client, colleague and friend.

Each year we do a Weight Loss event together, but this year we are creating something epic.

As I hung out with her and laughed with her and talked to her about life, I was so amazed at how far she has come.

She is truly an example of what is possible.

She started as a brand new coach. No clients. Overweight. Frustrated and upset about many of the things in her life.

She now has a thriving practice, an ideal weight body, and an outlook on life that is refreshing and an amazing pleasure to be around.

We laughed so much and smiled even more. I must have looked into her eyes twenty times while we filmed and talked and recorded, and every single time all I saw was love, excitement, and knowing.

For people who just meet her now, it will be hard to believe that she was once overweight, tired and frustrated.  But, I assure you she was.

She is now an author and a Master Coach, but more importantly an example of a life well-lived.

In her book, Create Your Own Luck, she says (in summary):

I want to be on the team that has the courage to go for it every damn time.   The team that plays when there is still time on the clock. Fear of fumbling is a pretty lame excuse not to go for the biggest win you can.

I couldn't agree more. 

If there's time, I'm going to go for it.

Every damn time.

Game on Girl!

Being Conscious

How do naturally thin people know they're going unconscious in their lives?

Seriously.

I know I'm going unconscious when I overeat or eat when I'm not hungry.  It's my signal. My reminder.  My alarm.

Whenever I have even a hint of it, I stop and consider my mind and what I'm trying to avoid feeling.

I can usually find it.  (I've had lots and lots of practice.)  Then, I do my work to get back on track and conscious of my thoughts and my feelings again.

Now I hear the signal after about three bites of eating when I am not hungry.  When I first started, I would become aware only after I had gained five pounds.

But how to naturally thin people do this?  They don't overeat when they go unconscious.  They don't have a signal as clear as an overfull stomach or weight gain.

 I now know.

After years and years of coaching people from all over the world, I know that we all have our signals.

For some, it's drinking vodka. For some, it's buying stuff they can't afford. For some, it's sleeping with random partners.  And for others, it's raging, cutting, drama-ing, overworking, cleaning, or drugs.

We all have our signal that we've become unconscious.

That we're doing something that will ultimately not serve us, in order to dull the vibration of being alive in this moment.

I love that food is my signal.  What I used to curse, now I love.  It is my consciousness creator.  It's my gift.

What's yours?