Memories

I will never forget the first time my leader skills were put to the test.  When going through Leader Training, the One Minute Motivation was a coaching skill that was taught to us.  It's a method to help members understand that a situation needs to change and what they must do to effect that change.  It stood out to me as what could be a most valuable tool.  Little did I know that I would be using it so soon after learning it. 

The week following training I was asked to fill in for another leader.  At the end of the meeting a member approached me and asked if she could speak to me.  She told me she was very near goal but had lost her motivation.  I asked why she thought this had happened and what emerged was a story that would have been a motivation killer for most people: she was a single mother of two young boys, she worked at a very demanding job in the health profession and had a very abusive boss.  As if that weren’t enough, her brother had just been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and was very sick.  At this point she began to cry.  We talked about how the situation really did call for her to be as strong as she could and that her determination would then affect all areas of her life, including her food choices.  She admitted that as a health care professional she felt hypocritical for not living a healthier lifestyle.  We agreed that losing the guilt would considerably lighten her burden.  I suggested that her children also needed her to be healthy for them.   I then followed up with the OMM, believing I had found the perfect opportunity to use it.  When asked ‘What needs to happen here?’ the member replied that she needed to be stronger.  She then followed up by saying not only could she, because she had done it before, but that she would do so because she knew it was what was required.  We shared a hug and I went on my way wondering how she would do.

A couple of months later I was asked to fill at the same meeting.  As the members were weighing in I suddenly recognized the very sad lady from weeks before receiving her Lifetime Award.  I rushed over to congratulate her.  She said she had decided after our talk that she had the strength and discipline to continue.  She was also surprised that I remembered her (as if I could forget!).  She also told me her brother was much better.  She was a very happy lady that day. 

I’ve used the OMM many times since then and believe, as I did back then, that it is a powerful tool, as are all the principles of weight loss that we offer our members.  I believe now more than ever that Weight Watchers changes lives.