Rely on your strengths
Many of us can be successful in one area of life but not so
successful in another. One of my patients who is also a good
friend, Andy Fickman, is a very confident and successful
movie director whose works include “
She’s the Man
,” “
Race
to Witch Mountain”
and many other popular films. He’s
agreed to share his story here.
Andy Fickman on set.
Andy and I have talked about the difficulties of shooting a
movie and all the daily setbacks that occur. We discussed
how he handles all the different
challenges he deals with
every day — personalities, schedules, budgets, weather,
rewrites and much more. He told me he’s developed a
routine approach that no matter what happens today, he
adapts and gets it done tomorrow. I asked him if he learned
this approach on the first day he was shooting his first
movie. His reply was, “Oh gosh, no, Doctor – it took me
years to learn this!”
However, when he tried to change
to a healthier diet and
incorporate regular physical activity into his day, he wasn’t
successful. He’d often get discouraged and just try the same
approach the next day, only to fail again. He didn’t realize
he was leaving the problem-solving skills he’d acquired in
moviemaking completely untapped.
Once he realized that he could take what he learned from
directing movies and apply it to
things like diet and exercise,
his world changed. He started applying his approach of
adapting and overcoming to the challenges of healthy
eating and exercising while on set. He gradually built his
small daily successes into a long-term goal accomplishment.
Reflecting on what worked for him, he told me, “I have
certainly tried diets and fads over the years, but none
connected with me.” He said
that he had a little success
with one particular program but found that it had everything
to do with the fantastic woman running the program. When
he moved and tried the same program at another location,
his interest faded and he had a hard time with the system.
“Now that I’m doing it my way, I am trying to learn
something new each day healthwise,” he says. “Being
responsible for my own shopping while away from home is
helping to educate me — and helping me find
items I really
enjoy. I ask my wife a lot of questions every day about
different foods and beverages, and she talks me through
them. In the 40 days since I started making changes, I
haven’t had a day I felt hungry or deprived.” In fact, it’s the
opposite, he says. He felt very motivated.
In addition, he established accountability by sharing his
weekly weight loss with those close to him.
It was a good
mental step for him and a way to celebrate his success.
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