Last night's episode of "The Biggest Loser" was a fantastic study in how people have limiting beliefs. It was also a great example of how they can overcome them.
The Biggest Loser isn't just a show were people lose weight; it's a competition. One contestant, Tracy, really brought out that element last night. She earned the right in the challenge event to choose which individuals would weigh in and represent their teams. When weigh-ins came, she chose who she thought the weak link would be. This meant that she could guarantee that she and her partner would not be up for elimination.
When it was all said and done, two teams were faced with elimination. Sean and Antoine, and Daniel and Shay. And at a time when the competitive aspect of the show was dialed up, Sean and Antoine did something completely non-competitive; they told the group to vote for them to be sent home. The reasoning was that Shay, more than any of them, needed the support of staying on the show. Antoine and Sean both felt that they could continue their weight loss at home. The group agreed to this, voted them off, and Daniel and Shay got to stay.
It was a beautiful, selfless act inspired by a selfish, competitive act. Pretty cool.
The saddest part of the show, for me, was listening to Shay talk about why she needs to stay on the show. She's got no support at home. She's got no confidence. At that point in the show, she had already lost 39 pounds, yet she felt that she didn't have the resources to continue losing weight if she went home. Now that's a limiting belief.
Sean and Antoine, on the other hand, had seen what they were capable of, and had shed their limiting beliefs. Home was where their weight had ballooned, yet now they felt confident that they could go home and still lose weight. And they did. The follow-up videos showed that both Sean and Antoine have lost significant weight since returning home.
So much of what we achieve is a result of what we think we can achieve. When we change how we think, we change how we behave. The Biggest Loser provides good examples of that every week.
You are so right! I have to catch myself in those limiting beliefs every day. I was so glad to lose 30 lbs this year after being diagnosed with diabetes (and after not believing I could for almost 20 years!). I started running which has been great, but just tore my ankle ligaments in a sprain. I am in a cast boot now and for a few days I believed all my hard work was going to go down the tubes. I had to turn that around. Great blog!
PS. I also did a full liveblog of last night's BL.
Posted by: Foodie McBody | September 30, 2009 at 03:39 PM
Hope you heal up soon. Keep up the good work. Your next success is right around the corner :)
Posted by: Paul Ramsay | September 30, 2009 at 03:47 PM
I am really hoping that Shay will win. It must be so hard for her! Anyways, I heard that Ali Vincent (of The Biggest Loser 3) will be doing a live chat with her fans next week. I think the site is called LiveCloud.com or something like that. Hope everybody will join.
Posted by: Raquel | September 30, 2009 at 08:11 PM