We all have something inside of us that we never knew was there. It is a force…an inner strength that is sleeping, just waiting to be wakened. You may not know it’s there, but it is. All you have to do is find that “why” and it will wake up!
The Biggest Loser allowed me to find out things I never knew about my resolve.
It all happened when I found my “why.”
You may ask, “What is a ‘why?’”
It is that reason…that event when you finally decide to go the distance no matter what. It is when your priorities change and that hurdle that was blocking your way seems a lot shorter and easier to get over! We’ve all found it at one time or another. I found one of my first “why’s” at 15 years old. I didn’t have a girlfriend my sophomore year, but all of my friends did. I went home in May of my sophomore year and returned a Junior 75 pounds lighter! Ask any one of my high school buddies! I remember hearing “Is that Danny Cahill? Oh my gosh! Wow!” It was like finale of season 8 when I came bursting through the paper! I didn’t even look like the same person! A girlfriend was my “why!”
When you find your why, you then apply that force that awakens the fire within you to change!
Imagine two sticks. They just lie there on the ground. There is nothing too powerful about two sticks. But when you rub them together with great speed and force, you create fire. We are all sticks lying there waiting for that “why.” When we find our “why,” we can then tolerate the “how” of doing anything whether it is quitting smoking, saving a marriage, starting a business, and yes…losing weight.
Find your “WHY” today and apply that force that makes two inanimate sticks burn with the intensity to change the world!
Danny Cahill of the Biggest Loser Season 8
The Biggest Loser…EVER with 55.58% body weight lost!
Now, after you’ve defined your goal, it’s time to take action. When I decided to get on The Biggest Loser, I had a goal in mind. I wanted to win the show – so I did a little research!
My goal wasn’t about anyone else; my goal was about ME. During your path to completing your goal, keep your focus on what you can control – YOU! Don’t worry about the things you can’t control, such as others, circumstances, etc. During your journey keep your focus on you.
My research was simple: What does it take to become the Biggest Loser? I looked up past results for the winners of the show. The winner is decided by total percentage of body weight lost during the season. My question: “What percentage would make me the Biggest Loser in the history of the show?” If I could answer that, I’d have something to shoot for! At the time, the biggest percentage to date was 52.58% (214 pounds lost) by Season 3 winner Erik Chopin. Now, the extreme guy that I was shot for 58%! If I hit that mark, no one would beat me! So I made my goal weight 180 pounds (250 lost).
I decided that I would try to lose as much weight on the show, and try for a minimum of 10 pounds per week! To do that, I’d have to burn a 35,000 calorie deficit per week, or an absolute minimum of 5,000 per day! Now I knew what to shoot for! Each day I burned 5,000 more calories than I ate! You have to break your goal up into smaller steps – waypoints. That way, you can stay on track and celebrate the small victories! Your momentum and motivation will increase as you go! I ended up losing an average of 12.91 pounds per week while at the ranch, putting me ahead of the game! After I returned home, I wanted to burn a minimum of a 3,500 calorie deficit a day for the next 60 days – or lose 60 pounds. I lost 59 pounds in 60 days with the help of accountability partners and self discipline.
When the show had ended, I didn’t reach my goal of 180 pounds, but I did hit 191, losing 239 pounds in 6 ½ months or 55.58% – which is still the largest percentage in the history of the show making me the Biggest Loser EVER!
So set your goal, find your direction, and then break that goal up into smaller, daily or weekly steps you can measure to stay on track. Get accountability partners to help you and keep yourself motivated each day! And practice self discipline, because as I said last month, “Don’t give up what you really want for what you want right now.”
Dreams are the best thing for a future vision of your life! In fact, I spend time each day meditating on my future dreams, which often change as time goes by.
Dreams dictate a direction, while goals dictate a path.
Think of it like this: If I want to drive to Calabasas, California (the location of the Biggest Loser ranch), I can start off by just simply heading West on the highway! I’ll make progress to that long-term destination, but I will have to adjust my path and plan my steps to make it to Calabasas! It would do me little good if I ended up in San Francisco.
This is why goal setting is so important! Goals are the steps to your dreams, and without them progress can be short lived and sometimes in the wrong direction! There are 4-different areas I use to set goals: personal goals, financial goals, spiritual goals, and relationship goals. Personal goals are for you – such as “lose 30 pounds in 4 months” or “spend 15 minutes at the beginning of the day scheduling my activities.” A financial goal might be “Make $5,000 in additional income in 3 months.” A spiritual goal could be “spend 10 minutes a day praying for my friends’ dreams.” A relationship goal might be “spend 20 minutes minimum a day with each of my kids on their homework.”
There are similarities for each of these goals I have written above. They are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. I got this from Paul Meyer’s “Attitude is Everything.” He calls them “S.M.A.R.T. goals.” The goal cannot be “lose weight” or “make more money” or “pay off my debt.” It must say how much and how fast! How much debt are you paying off and by when? How much weight will you lose and by when? How much time will you spend with your kids and how often? By describing these things and writing a “goal statement,” then displaying it on your mirror, in your office, on your phone, and anywhere you are to remind you of what you want to accomplish, you’ll stay focused on achieving that goal. I heard it once said, “Don’t give up what you really want for what you want right now.”
Have you heard something like, “It’s better to give someone a hand up than a handout”? Well, contrary to societal opinion, it’s not a mean or cruel statement. It’s wisdom, because it strikes at the heart of human nature. Sure, there are times to give freely to people in need because we’ve been so blessed. I believe we’re called do so and I bet you do just that. But, when I put my hand out—feeling entitled, deserving, and play the victim—there are clear consequences:
- I become lazy
- I get angry
- I fail to contribute
- I don’t serve
- I stop learning
Let’s look at these briefly.
- I become lazy.
If I am handed stuff, why sweat, labor, and toil? Even though we were created to create and designed to work, any person given all he or she needs will find the path of doing nothing an easy one to tread. I simply become lazy.
- I get angry.
When I believe I’m entitled and then don’t get “what I deserve,” my thoughts are, Hey, not fair! and Why would they do this to me!? And because thoughts drive feelings, the output can only be one thing: Now I’m mad! Anger is generally an unhealthy place to be, serving none of us well.
- I fail to contribute.
There’s not a “motivational speaker” who hasn’t said, “What goes around comes around!” and “To get you must first give!” Well, no matter your view of these sweaty people on the platform, they’re right. It’s just the way the world works. It’s forever true: we reap what we sow. Truly, when my hand is out, I’m not using it, nor my feet, energy, or talent to add value to anyone else’s life. Fail!
- I don’t serve.
This sounds like contribution, but it comes before. Contribution is the result; service is the act. The act of serving feeds our soul, ignites our spirit, and creates joy–in us. When engaged in victim thinking, there’s about zero chance I’ll be serving and thus contributing to anyone–not even myself.
- I stop learning.
If I am lost in the forest, have never been a Boy Scout and want to survive, I would have to learn and learn fast! There would be no time for the traps victim thinking leads to: complaining, blaming, and procrastinating. I would work–intensely—to find food, water, and shelter. I may lack the skills, but the desire to learn would envelope me. If you hand me all that I need to make it, I would learn nothing.
So honest question: Have you ever found yourself in any of these places?
Too often we associate “fault” with something negative. Let’s change this up.
- Where you are in life right now is your fault.
- Your great marriage is your fault.
- The position you have at your job is your fault.
- Your great kids are your fault.
The great relationship you have with your spouse is the result of work, great choices, discipline, humility, patience, and commitment. The position you hold at work is a result of your hard work and high personal standards. Your kids are the result of the investments you’ve made in them.
At some level, everything good that you experience in life is your fault because each good thing that you have that is lasting is the result of focus that you’ve devoted to it.
What have you been investing in?
What will be your fault today?
