What Gets Measured, Gets Managed

 

  Happy New Year! Sorry, I stepped away for a bit. But in the meantime, an interesting shift has occurred for me—I’m becoming an adult (mostly). I turned 48 in December and, like many adults do, I went for a physical around the time of my birthday and had blood work done. In the process, I received a cryptic message from the doctor’s office (the day before Christmas) that she was concerned about my arteries and recommended some testing. Merry Christmas to you, too, Doc! I proceed to freak out (quietly) and worry whether or not my years of eating like I was still 21 had caught up to me (I shouldn’t have worried; I knew the answer was yes), and whether that meant drugs, or surgery, or what. All this hit right before a family vacation, too! So, I went on the vacation and decided this was my last hurrah—not literally, but in terms of being Les’s Former Dining Self. I’d pay the piper when I got back (through diet and whatever else the test results determined I needed to do). I returned from Mexico the heaviest in my 48 years. So, January has been about me re-adjusting my dining habits, and starting up the ol’ exercise engine again. I always exercise, but I decided I needed to really exercise. So the frequency and intensity has been ramped up. And, not surprisingly, I am losing weight. It’s funny—for all the billions of dollars spent, and millions of pages written, it all seems to come down to two things: diet and exercise. What you put in your body, and how you work it off. I've focused and improved what I do for each of those. So far so good for me. I have been weighing myself daily. To my wife this seems like overkill, but as I told her, “What gets measured, gets managed.” No off days. I don’t obsess over it—for example, Super Bowl weekend I ended up eating out three times. Guess what? I gained weight. So I got back on track this week. Not a big deal. But if something matters to you, measuring it is a great way to maintain the focus you need. Watching my waistline is akin to monitoring your practice. Want to sell more gift certificates? Write down your goal in big letters and track how you’re doing. Want to up your rebooks? Set a weekly goal and give yourself a star for every rebooking in a week . If you don’t make it, don’t give up. Assess why you are where you are, adjust, and re-commit. And the news from the doctor? Turns out it was a false alarm! All good. But I’m not going back to my former self. (Well, maybe the occasional cheeseburger. Occasional.)