Australians spend about $800 million each year on quick-fix weight loss schemes, despite research showing that 95 per cent of people who lose weight on a crash diet return to a similar or heavier pre-diet weight within three years.
And yet how much time and effort do we invest in understanding our strengths and interests - and finding the work we love?
As I reflected on the key principles that we need to understand when we want to make big career changes, I found that trying to change your work life follows similar principles to losing weight.
Principle 1. You really need to feel the tension between where you are now and where you want to be. With weight loss, we may see a photo where we are shocked by the sight of ourselves and we think ‘that is not who I am. The outside does not reflect the inside.’ Or we jump on the scales and think ‘I am not a person who weighs more than 100 kilograms’. And we fast forward to the future and we realise that we are not heading in a direction we like.
It is the same with your work. It is important to really feel the tension between what you are doing and what you want to be doing. Are you working to your strengths at work? How are you feeling at work? Energised, motivated, enthusiastic? If you stay in your current situation, what will you be doing five years from now?
You need to feel the tension between where you are now and where you want to be.
Principle 2. Think about personal themes or ways of being, rather than specific goals. Weight-loss goals don’t work. Or, they may work in the short-term, but they are not sustainable. Sixty-five percent of people on any diet return to a similar or heavier pre-diet weight within three years. And, as I mentioned earlier, if it was a crash diet, make that ninety-five percent.
The sustainable way to lose weight is to change your perception of who you are. To frame your goal as a life theme. ‘I am a healthy, fun-loving, energetic person who eats food that nurtures her body’ is more sustainable and motivational than ‘I have lost 5 kilograms by 30th October’. With weight-loss, you might have an inspiration board with photos of healthy people, healthy food, outfits you want to wear, and wonderful holiday destinations. These all reinforce your themes.
This is exactly the same when changing careers or even starting your own business.
You need to think about your themes rather than a specific goal. Goals are tricky to define in the first place. You might deviate from your goal. Goals have their place—but when you are first thinking about starting your business, you are much better to frame your goals as themes. ‘I help people do the work they love’ is easier to keep moving forward with than ‘I have delivered 20 workshops and written 20 blogs.’ It also allows you to be open to different ideas and paths that help you live your themes—rather than strictly sticking to one specific job or business idea that may or may not work. And same for the inspiration board.
You want to think about people who are doing the work you love and the effect you might have on people—not hard business goals or one specific role.
Principle 3. You need to address the beliefs, assumptions and mindsets that are holding you back.
With weight-loss, you need to reflect on what mindsetsvyou have that are holding you back. For example, I have no time for exercise, it’s impossible to make a healthy meal every night, I don’t have time to cook, it’s really hard to get healthy takeaway food, I have three kids and no time for myself, I have an addictive personality. The list goes on.
With your own business, or changing your career, what assumptions are holding you back? I know one of my beliefs was that I had to come up with the best business idea and a full business plan before I took the plunge. Not true. One of my beliefs was that if another business was doing what I wanted to do, that idea was taken. Clearly rubbish. Booktopia have started a bookstore to compete with Amazon, an American-based alternative. And they provide an amazing service.
Principle 4. Supportive others make it easier.
With weight-loss, the actions and reactions of the people close to us play a significant role in whether or not we succeed. If we have a close friend or family member supporting us, and even taking the journey with us, we are much more likely to succeed.
Again, this is the same with starting your own business or making a career change. If the people around us are supportive, reassuring and encouraging, it is much easier to succeed. In contrast, if they are negative, questioning, and potentially sabotaging us, it is difficult to succeed.
So, surround yourself with supportive friends and family.
Principle 5. You just need to commit.
There is always a reason to delay another day. For example, with weight-loss, excuses might include ‘it’s the silly season and I’ll need to attend a lot of functions’. Or ‘I have a lot of birthdays in the next few weeks so I want to be able to eat what I want’.
With changing careers or starting your own business, excuses might include ‘I might have another baby so I want to stay for maternity leave. I’m too old to do something new. I’m two years away from my long service leave—I’ll wait for that. I’ll be giving up my full-time income. How will I make money?’
But with business, as in weight-loss, you just have to commit. It helps to think about the worst-case scenario, once you’ve accepted that—in the words of Nike, ‘just do it’.
These five principles—feel the tension, themes not goals, challenge beliefs, supportive others, and commit—will serve you well with any change to you want to make. Now is the time to invest time and effort in doing what you love!
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