Influence Change

How to Influence Change

School has gotten the best of me! Nine days and counting!! I walk in Las Vegas on June 7, and then I am DONE DONE with school on the 9th! I have a major project due that day, so there has been no rest for this twinkletoes princess!! 
But that hasn't stopped me from running. We have tried to get back on the bandwagon of training 3 times a week at the gym, and that has been going well.  A friend of mine, Colleen, has invited a bunch of ladies to train together virtually and set a goal of a September half marathon. So I'm in on that. It should be fun. Plus, D and I still have our runDisney half in November. 
runDisney also just announced that they are doing a Star Wars themed race in January 2015... so yeah, we're dreaming of doing that one too. Next year we are hoping to do two runDisney runs. We have 4 to chose from now- Star Wars in January, Tink in May, the DisneyLand Half in August, and then the Avengers run in November.  

But I have to say that my eye is on the prize of graduating right now.  Training has taken a back seat to being able to keep the Work-Life-Mommy-Runner balance. I am still going good, but not as strong as I would be if I were fully training. I am certain that it will pick up come June 10!!! School for me has been a six-year long marathon, and I'm not sure how I have done it.  You could say that I'm crazy.  A lot of my friends, family, and coworkers have asked me how I find time for it all. And simply put, I just find time.

"Influencer"  

I remember in a class that I train, called Influencer, we all were talking about eating right and exercising. And I remember thinking that it would be so hard to add that into my already crazy life.  The class is about getting the Personal, Social, and Structural factors all on your side.  Personal meaning Personal-Ability and Personal-Motivation. Social meaning Social-Ability and Social-Motivation. Structural (or physical) meaning Structural-Ability and Structural-Motivation. 

Of these six factors, the more factors you can hone in on, the more likely you are to influence yourself and those around you...  In the class we ask participants to come with something that they have tried to change but haven't been able to, and people ALWAYS come with eating healthy or exercising... at least half the class comes with this so it always is part of the conversation.  Plus its easy to relate to. When I was certified to teach the class we had to also TAKE the class, and that was mine.  And it just seemed impossible. 
But let me just lay out my six factors: 

Personal Ability

I KNOW how to exercise, I KNOW how to eat right... so I had the ability. For your goal, think about if you have the knowledge and skills or willpower to accomplish your goal. If you don't, this should be your first starting point. 

Personal Motivation

I thought that I had the proper motivation. I wanted to lose weight and be healthy. I wanted to teach my kids how to exercise. I wanted to have a great body... but Apparently I didn't have the proper motivation because I still wasn't going to the gym. I needed to find proper motivation. This didn't come until I found out about the Tinker Bell Half Marathon and I HAD to go. This is where my "want" turned into "motivation". We found the time, we found the will, and we did it. 

Social Ability 

This is tricky to identify.  Think of this as the "gate keeper". Is someone else giving you the ability? Do you rely on someone else to take you? This came in the form of my tiny humans who rule my world.  They either gave me the ability or denied me. We had to find a way to care for them while we worked out. We couldn't just go running together in our neighborhood, because who would watch the kids?  This was fulfilled by the gym's daycare. At first we didn't fully trust it, and D only felt comfy taking our 2 year old there if our 6 year old was also there. So that meant that he also had to be available. 

Social Motivation  

Think of this as Peer Pressure.  If someone at the office brings in a box of donuts and offers you one, they aren't forcing it on you, but simply asking.  And you feel the pressure to oblige. We are surrounded by peer pressure more so as adults than we were as kids.  My favorite story of this is if you are going down the soda isle and the Pepsi guy is restocking there, but you normally only buy Coke products. But because he is there, you grab the Pepsi.  He didn't force you, but you felt that pressure simply by him being there.  haha It happens! Its our inherent need to please those around us. My peer pressure was my husband. I needed him to be on this journey with me. If he wasn't up for it, I would not have been successful. For you, it may be a friend or gym buddy. It could be that you tell a friend to ask you every night "did you work out".  Some people fulfill this by announcing on FaceBook that they are going to start running. And by doing so, you feel the need to now "report" on FaceBook everything that you are doing in accomplish that goal. This comes in many forms, so keep an eye out. Right now, my coworkers like going down to Farr's, the frozen custard shop two steps away from the office. And they ask me every other day if I want to go. Must.Stay.Strong!! I must not give in to the peer pressure. haha

Structural Ability  

What things "physically" are giving you the ability to accomplish your goal? The proximity to the gym is mine for this goal.  If it was far away, then we would be less likely to go.  Here is another example. I wish I was better at bringing lunches from home. I really do. I would save money, and likely eat WAY better. But I always forget it.  But now, if I go to the effort of making my lunch and putting it in the fridge for the next day, in order to remember it- I put my car keys in the fridge on top of my lunch. I can't go to work without my keys, so I'll remember to grab my keys out of the fridge, and along with it- my lunch. 
Another Example: You have a fridge and you mostly eat frozen, ready made foods.  Frozen burritos, frozen dinners, ice cream, etc.  Your fridge craps out on you and you buy a new one.  All of a sudden you start eating better. Fresh fruits, veggies, left overs, etc.  What changed? It wasn't your buying habits. It wasn't that you wanted to start eating better... what changed? The placement of your freezer vs. your fridge.   Previously, your freezer was on top. But now your freezer was on the bottom. So when you open the doors, what is at eye level is now different. Before, at eye level was the frozen goods. Now with the fridge being at eye level you are more likely to eat fresh foods. This is a structural ability. Kind of funny, huh?! Other things can be walls,  systems, policies, laws, voice mail being full, your Spam filter being set too high, etc. Structural abilities are all the things that are in your environment that make you do what you do. Sticky notes, reminders on your phone, your clothes lying out for you, the "sale" sign at your favorite store... these all influence you to look and do what you, or others, want you to do.  

Structural Motivation

This is probably the easiest one to identify.  These are the rewards that motivate you. It could be monetary or not.  Put a dollar in every time you work out. Mine is the fact that I've invested in the registration for the races that we go to. I've already put money into my race in November. So I can't just let that go.  I think it's good that registration happens a good six months before the race. This keeps me motivated to stay on course. And of course, I love getting my big, shiny medal for the race, too! But find something that motivates you or rewards you to stay the course.  
Before racing, we had our "Buckle Challenge".  If we continually worked out month after month on our schedule, we would reward ourselves by going to the Buckle and getting a new shirt or pair of jeans to keep us going. 

If you can identify as many of these 6 as you can, you are more likely to influence the change you are seeking. The research shows that if you can identify 4... only FOUR... then you are on the right track. Projects that had 3 or less typically failed. So what are your 4-6? 

Here's a fun video that explains it. It puts it into terms that we all can relate to. 

Back to my story... 
When I first started teaching this class, it seemed impossible. But as soon as I had the few KEY things on my side, I was able to see that I could do it, and it happened.  Now that I'm doing it all, working 40-50 hours a week, being a mom and wife, and full time student, I can't see my life any other way. I really don't know what I'm going to do with myself.  My boss told me the other day that I need to quickly find something to replace that time or else it will get eaten away with other monotonous items. Take up knitting again? Read recreationally? Sleep? I don't know yet. I'm just excited to be done with school.   

Love ya!