Arts & Entertainment
From Jackie with love: How to make resolutions stick
Published
6 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Jackie Rainford Corcoran EBS Health Columnist
Authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey reference a study in their book, “Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization,” that found that even when doctors told heart patients they would die if they didn’t change their lifestyles, only one in seven complied.
Change is hard.
As a holistic health coach, I see this firsthand. My clients are smart, driven and successful people, yet many of them struggle with a change they’ve been trying to make in spite of knowing what to do and having a strong desire to do it.
Here’s the rub: changes that we can’t make stick are what Kegan and Lahey call “adaptive challenges,” meaning they are caused by unidentified beliefs, fears or values that block our efforts and make us immune to change. Instead of using an “adaptive solution” and discovering how hidden beliefs are holding us back, we use “technical solutions” that don’t work and leave us feeling bad about our seeming lack of discipline.
For example, if losing weight was a simple technical challenge, then following technical solutions like a diet plan and exercise routine would work easily and permanently for everyone. But they usually don’t.
Instead, we have to discover the hidden beliefs that are keeping us from change and appreciate that the subconscious has rooted them in our psyche in an attempt to protect us.
If you have an adaptive challenge that’s keeping you from change, here’s a New Year’s gift: a simple writing exercise that will help you discover your underlying blocks.
Draw four columns on a piece of horizontally positioned paper. Label them as follows: 1. Desired Change 2. Doing/Not Doing 3. Hidden Competing Commitments 4. Big Assumptions.
Fill in the columns as follows:
1. Write the change you seek and list the actions that will help you achieve this, i.e., that you want to exercise every day.
2. List all the behaviors that you’re doing and not doing that keep you from this change. You don’t need to explain or understand them. Define your actions, not your feelings. For example, one behavior might be that you don’t make time to exercise.
3. Here’s where things get exciting. Look at each behavior listed in column two and ask yourself what fears you have about doing the opposite. Go big here. Write worst-case scenarios. This is where you identify your hidden commitments. You can now see how you have one foot on the gas (column one) and one foot on the brake (column three). This is the immune system “protecting” you from undesirable outcomes, i.e., if you make time to work out every day, you fear your work will suffer and you’ll let your clients down causing them to quit working with you.
4. Identify what’s at the heart of your competing commitments listed in column three. Use “if ____, then ____” statements to help you identify your big assumptions, i.e., if you exercise every day, you’ll fall behind on work, lose clients and won’t be able to pay your mortgage, and ultimately your family will be homeless. No wonder you haven’t been able to make you exercise goal stick!
Now that you’ve identified your blocks to change, create small safe tests that allow you to discover if your big assumptions are true.
If you’d like guidance and accountability in discovering your immunity to change and support along your change journey, I’d love to hear from you.
Happy New Year!
Jackie Rainford Corcoran is an IIN Certified Holistic Health Coach, culture consultant, TEDx speaker and podcaster. For a complimentary health consultation, visit her website, corcoranhealth.com and schedule your meeting today.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
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Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
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(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
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The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd