When people set out to solve problems they often look for purely linear relationships between actions and results.
For example, when trying to lose weight you may identify your late night snacking habit as the source of those extra pounds you would like to lose.
Having found the cause of your problem you make a commitment to cut out all snacking after dinner.
Unfortunately even with your newfound vigilance, the pounds don’t seem to fall off, you become frustrated and end up giving up and actually gain weight in the long run.
Although this sounds like a worst case scenario, many people who embark on a diet often end up heavier than they started for just this reason.
So why doesn’t this cause and effect thinking work for something like weight loss?
The answer can be found in systems thinking.
Rather than looking for simple cause and effect relationships, systems thinking views results as the product of many complex interactions.
In our weight loss example above this would mean that your weight loss is not just a factor of snacking but also daily stress levels, activity, genetic makeup, societal expectations and pasts experiences.
The fact is you simply can’t control all the variables involved.
This is the main reason that what works for one person will not work for you!
This is the core belief we built our Virtuo coaching system around and the reason it is so successful for clients who feel they have tried everything to lose weight but haven’t reached their goal.
The bad news is that weight loss is far more complex than most marketers would have you believe, but the good news is that complex problems sometimes have simple answers.
When most people seek to solve their problems they often choose to maximize their strengths.
For example if they like to go to the gym and want to lose weight then they will commit to increasing the amount of workouts they get each week.
While playing to your strengths seems like the right move, this is actually the #1 error that will keep you from reaching your goal.
Based on systems theory, the time spent in the gym is only one piece of the puzzle and since you’re already good at it then chances are more isn’t going to help.
The key to stopping a speeding car is not more gas.
The secret to leveraging the complex system that is weight loss is instead to start by focusing on your biggest weakness.
At Virtuo we believe in figuring out the biggest change lever we can pull to start so that we get our clients the biggest results with the least amount of effort on their part.
This is the exact system we use with our clients to help them hone in on what that lever is and start seeing progress they never thought possible.
Start by ranking each of the following factors on a scale of 1-5 (5 being great).
Hours of sleep (8 is the goal)
Ounces of water a day (1/2 bodyweight in oz is the goal)
Physical activity each week
Mindfulness when it comes to food
Stress levels
Chances are some of the areas are falling far behind the rest.
Under normal circumstances you might try to pull on the familiar levers to create change, but now knowing that you’re going for the biggest bang for you buck what area would you seek improvement in first?
I’m willing to bet it’s the factor that you’ve ignored the longest.
Success is often found in the places we least want to go.
You don’t have to be a master of systems theory to understand that health and weight loss is a complex issue.
But you won’t start seeing any progress until you identify the parts of the system and pick which one to address first.
If you need help figuring out where to start, then I have a special gift for you.
Since you took the time to read all the way through this post, I’m going to give you access to the VIP offer we usually reserve for friends and family of current clients.
Click this link to claim your VIP pass and book a free strategy session with one of our coaches who will help identify exactly which part of your system you need to work on first to reach you goal.
These sessions alone have helped dozens of people lose weight, increase their energy and reduce stress without ever even signing up to work with us.
It’s our mission to help people take control of their health so they can go after their dreams.
And we’re committed to achieving that through free advice like blog and the strategy session as well as our courses and one on one coaching.
If you’re waiting for something to change, it won’t
Change requires action, so take action, take control and get on the right path today by clicking here.
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