For the most part the people that I know are doing just fine in this economy, thank you.  But there are a few who are having some problems.  Of the few there are some who are doing a great job of dealing with their problems and things are starting to get better for them.   But there are some where things are just not getting better and I see a disturbing pattern with them that they seem to be unable to shake.  It goes something like this:

• Things are not going very well, but I’m going to try and keep it to myself and live as though things are fine.
• Whenever anyone asks how things are going I’ll tell them that things are good.
• When people begin to figure out that things aren’t really good and offer help I’ll refuse to accept it.
• I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done because it used to work.  When people suggest I look in different directions I’ll ignore them.
• I’ll become overwhelmed with the problems that are piling up around me and become incapable of action.
• I’ll finally tell people that things are not good – in fact things are terrible.
• I’ll begin to solicit and accept help.
• I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope that things turn around.

That’s it – basically an 8 step process leading to disaster.

We’ve all been in situations where things were turning to shit around us – it’s not something that can be avoided if you live long enough.  The thing to avoid is letting your pride get in the way of fixing whatever the problem is.  Reality is reality whether you choose to accept it not.

Something that someone much smarter than I am told me years ago was that doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result, was the very definition of insanity.   This happened during one of the “my life is turning to shit” periods for me ane what he said resonated.  Why did I think if I kept doing the same thing I’d get a different result?  What would happen if I tried something different?  Could it actually get worse?  (Hardly – at that time things were seriously turning to shit.)

Anyway – I listened and tried something different.  In fact I tried a lot of different things until I got the result I was looking for – then I kept doing the things that got me the good results.

If things are turning to shit for you now remember that things will get better.  You don’t need to take the elevator all the way to the bottom floor before trying to change things.    Remember, if you keep doing what you’ve been doing you’re going to keep getting what you’ve been getting.  If you want something different – do something different.

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I ran into an acquaintance at the gym this morning that I hadn’t seen since October.  We met at the gym in late August last year and in talking I learned that his goal was to lose a considerable amount of weight.  Our gym visits tended to overlap so I was able to track his progress for the three months that he was going to the gym.  It was easy to track his progress, as there was basically none.  He didn’t appear to be losing weight, nor did he appear to be trying very hard.

This morning as I was finishing up he came back in.  He was standing in front the counter, checking in and I could only see him from the chest up but I was fairly sure it was him.  Then he saw me, waved and walked around the counter to say hi.  I nearly fell off the machine I was on when I saw him and noticed how much weight he had lost.  I was so stunned I lost any attempt at tact and simply said, “Oh My God, you’ve lost some serious weight!”  Thankfully he was pleased and more than willing to tell me what he had done and how he had done it.

First a bit more background – I’d guess he’s in his late 20s.  Maybe 5’7″ and when we first met he was probably about 100 pounds overweight.   He’d begun to experience health problems so he decided that he would lose some weight.  His actual plan was to start exercising and if that didn’t work he’d have stomach reduction surgery.  Well, the exercise didn’t work and his insurance company insisted that he have a psychological examination and meet with a nutritionist to be certain that he was a good candidate for the surgery before authorizing it.  When meeting with the nutritionist he learned how he would need to eat following the surgery.  That caused a light bulb to go off for him.  If he was going to have to eat less after the surgery maybe he should just skip the surgery and start following the post surgery eating plan immediately.

He worked a bit more with the nutritionist and came up with a plan, that in a nutshell, was to eat six small meals a day and to stop drinking alcohol and eating deserts.  Seems logical doesn’t it?  How many people have told themselves they were going to go down that path and it didn’t work for them?  I’d guess a fairly large percentage.

Well he correctly realized that if he wanted to lose the weight, and he really did, following this plan might enable him to skip the surgery.  So he started this new plan.  Not just started, but he REALLY started the new plan.  It was not a half-assed attempt at starting to see what would become of it, but he made the commitment to start this new way of eating and the change has been incredible.    In less than 8 months he has lost 83 pounds and he still wants to lose another 17 by his birthday in late June.  He seems extremely confident that he’ll be able to do it.  He said he got no exercise, beyond normal living during that time period, and attributes the weight loss to eating responsibly.  He’s coming back to the gym now because he realizes he needs the exercise and because the gym offers specials during the off season that make coming more affordable.

When I pressed him for details on his diet and how he would advise others he shared the following:

• He started with a nutritionist and got a good plan at the start
• He eats six small meals a day and is committed to eating less than 2,200 calories per day.
• He doesn’t try and equalize the calories during the day but he does try and stay under 1,400 before 5:00 PM. That    makes it easier for him to have reasonable dinner.
• He uses a website (http://caloriecount.about.com/) for tracking his caloric intake.  He said the site contains a wealth of information but he basically uses it to enter his meal information to keep track of his daily calorie intake.

That was basically it.  He’s in the process of achieving an incredible goal for himself.  For him, making the decision and “really” starting was half the battle.  The rest was just sticking to the plan.

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My thinking before walking on to the grounds at the Augusta National Golf Club was that the beauty of the course couldn’t possibly live up to the expectations that were set from watching the Masters on television for most of my life.  There was absolutely not way reality could match the unreality of HDTV.  Wrong!

Photo Credit - Julie Campbell

I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of the course.  Watching at home, on a great HD television does not come close to providing the sensory overload you get from just walking around the golf course.  Until we arrived I couldn’t begin to appreciate how incredibly well cared for the course and all the facilities were.  We walked each hole of the course during a practice day and didn’t see anything that wasn’t perfect.  My father in law, who has been there twice, has told me about it for years but I didn’t really “get it” until seeing it.

My wife and I went with my parents and spent just a single day there, the Tuesday practice day.  If you have the opportunity to go consider going on a practice day.  The tickets are much less expensive and you can take a camera.  My wife, who is a bit of a camera bug took hers and got some great shots.  The shot above is one of hers.

One of the things that kept running through my mind throughout the day is how great it must be to work at a place where everyone cared so much about how things were done.  If one person had done a half-assed job anywhere it would have jumped out at us.  The standards are obviously very high at Augusta National and everyone I met that worked there seemed to be thrilled to be a part of it.

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