In the second installment of his Real or Not Real blog series, Profile’s
Coach of Coaches, Chris Clark, explores the significance of the word "just"
and how empowering it can be to remove it from your vocabulary.
What an interesting word: just. How do you catch yourself using it? It
can carry meaning of being right, fair or proper. Mostly, we say “just”
to help us describe amounts. With that in mind, it feels like it’s
an easy word to work into negative descriptions. I want you to get real with it.
“I’m just walking.”
“I just lost 3 pounds.”
“It’s just one more cookie.”
“If someone would just help me out.”
None of those things is insignificant when it comes to what you are accomplishing
on your journey. You...went for a walk; that’s great exercise that
helped you burn calories. You...lost 3 pounds; amazing! You...made a positive
choice that led to another positive choice; don’t downplay it. You...need
support on your journey, and every step you take in the right direction counts!
I know, you think that walking isn’t doing you as much good as running.
What’s real for you right now is that walking fits your plan and
it’s helping you reach your goals.
I get it, a friend lost more than 3 pounds. Comparisons aren’t real
because everyone’s circumstances are different. What’s real
is that you made progress, and you are closer to where you want to be
because of it.
Cookies can be a hard thing to resist. What’s real is that even though
a cookie seems like a small treat, just one cookie can be a big deal if
you’re in Reduce. As you continue to make progress, I bet you will
be able to enjoy a healthy portion someday soon.
What’s real, though, is that this is your journey and that means
that you must do more work than anyone else – but you’re not
alone. No one at Profile gets there on their own. Your coach is here to
help you when you need support and guidance. There’s a network of
60,000-plus Profile members that are all living, breathing testimonies
to what you can do if you stay positive and follow your plan.
Here’s 4 quick tips that can help you get there:
- Observe: Jot down your feelings to build awareness about how you honestly
see and feel about your accomplishments (no matter how big or small).
Recognizing your progress can help take you to places you never imagined.
- Reflect: If you can become more aware of how you see yourself, it opens
the door to self-compassion.
- Self-talk: If you can have real conversations with yourself (yes, you talking
to you!), you might find yourself encouraging and loving that person instead
of knocking her or him down.
- Life minus “just”: My challenge to us all is to start noticing
every time we negatively attach the word “just” to a situation.
This will work to help you remove it from the way you think and speak.
There are people out there doing amazing things every day. Some of it so
amazing, we won’t let ourselves feel good about accomplishing anything
less than they did. That’s not a
just way to treat yourself (See what I did there?). Be true, be real, be
just with every little accomplishment. Even the smallest accomplishment can
lead to big things. Give yourself the credit you deserve. We promise you
will get there - believe in yourself and enjoy the journey for what it is.
Chris Clark is Profile by Sanford’s Learning and Development Manager,
which means he makes a real difference in our mission to Change Lives,
One Relationship at a Time.
Check out the first installment of his Real or Not Real series where Chris shares his take on comparisons.
