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The picture didn't display as nicely as I hoped, but it shows 174.8 pounds. This picture represents the attainment of a goal that I set for myself in 2013.?At the time, I weighed 193 pounds.?I’m not a large framed man, so this wasn’t optimal.?As a former athlete, I knew that I was neglecting my health and fitness, and that something needed to be done about it.?But, as we all know, inertia is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.?I had positive inertia in the health and fitness arena until my mid-40’s when the kids started getting into activities and there wasn’t enough time to devote to it.?About 10 years of negative inertia followed, that is, little exercise and not reducing caloric intake accordingly.?Gradually the pounds started to accumulate, and they all went to my midsection.?My youngest daughter, Victoria, has the gift of directness.?She would say something like “Dad, are you going to be the mall Santa Claus this year?” or she’d stick her finger in my belly and say “Dad, that’s just like the Pillsbury Doughboy!”.?Those comments were definitely not appreciated, but they did get my attention.?That triggered a momentum shift that began to slow the negative inertia.?This occurred around 2012.

?When we relocated from Richmond to Atlanta in 2006, my boss, Elaine Guanci, forwarded an email newsletter to me that was sent by Dr. Alan Zimmerman.?It was called The Tuesday Tip.?That particular edition contained some really good advice on keeping a positive attitude.?I decided to subscribe to The Tuesday Tip, and I still read it every week.?Over time, the information in those motivational newsletters helped me improve my personal effectiveness.?I learned that Dr. Zimmerman hosted a seminar called The Journey to the Extraordinary, and set my sights on attending it one day.?In 2013, I finally attended the Journey, and it was game changing.?(I enjoyed it so much that I went back a few years later and took my direct reports with me.)?Dr. Zimmerman challenged us to set goals and use positive affirmations to program our brains and attitudes to attain them.?My first positive affirmation was “I weigh 175 pounds.”?There were several others as well.?Honestly, I didn’t think there was much hope of ever attaining it, but that was the weight I really felt was the healthiest for me.?Dr. Zimmerman recommended that we repeat the positive affirmations multiple times every day, and told us that we would see results if we maintained that habit.?Well, thanks to Victoria I had already lost the first 5 pounds before I attended the seminar, but I was plateaued there and unable to make more progress.?After attending The Journey, the positive affirmations helped me break through that barrier and continue driving my weight down, as the constant repetition of the goal really helped me focus on reducing my caloric intake.?I gradually dropped 5 more pounds over the next 5 years, but I was still 8 pounds from my goal.?The positive affirmations kept me from getting discouraged.

?In 2018, I early retired from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and got a job at 1st Source Bank in South Bend, Indiana.?I commuted to South Bend regularly for that job, and decided to utilize my time on the road more efficiently to start hitting the hotel gym.?Again, the inertia was challenging to overcome.?The first time I went into the hotel’s small exercise room, I saw that there wasn’t much equipment, but there was enough to get me started.?There was a bench, a small rack of dumbbells and a treadmill.?To incent myself to get started, the first workout consisted of walking on the treadmill while watching Monday Night Football and enjoying an adult beverage.?I know, counter-productive!?However, it worked for me.?Once I got started, the inertia became positive, and soon I didn’t need to incent myself with the adult beverage any longer.?Then I started adding weights to my routine, and more pounds starting coming off, while belly fat was being replaced with muscle.?I got the next 5 pounds off in 2018 and 2019, but there were still three pounds to go.?By this time the positive inertia was full blown momentum, and I wasn’t happy when I missed a workout.?There was a brief hiatus in 2020 when I had a hip replacement and a knee surgery, but they were speed bumps and I was able to get the final three pounds off since October of 2020 when I got my current job with xScion Solutions.?I’m a full time remote employee with xScion, and the time I save on commuting has allowed me time to work out at a local gym.?This full service gym has all the equipment needed to do a robust cardio and weight workout that made the difference in getting those final 3 pounds off.

?So, thanks Victoria and thanks Dr. Zimmerman.?I look and feel much better now.?I also know that I can achieve things I didn’t think were possible by not giving up.?I attained some of the other goals as well, and there are others I’m still working on!?The Journey continues…..

?Dr. Zimmerman’s final presentation of The Journey to the Extraordinary will be in the Spring of 2022.?If you go, it will be the best investment you could make in yourself!?Either way, you should subscribe to The Tuesday Tip.?Just visit his website at https://www.drzimmerman.com/.