Don't Give Away Your Power

During church one Sunday, I've approached a woman about her weight. It looked like she slimmed down, and she was proud to tell me that she had lost over 60 lbs in one year! What did she do to lose that weight? She just stopped taking a particular medication for her alleged diabetes. I say "alleged" because these days you don't have to have diabetes to be on diabetic medications.

Her doctor put her on metformin, which is a very common type of diabetic medication. The reason her doctor prescribed this medication to her was to help her lose belly fat -- plus, her A1C reading (which measures your blood sugar levels over a three-month period) wasn't good. So, she took this medication and had actually lost 14 lbs at first, but then the weight-loss stopped -- and she started gaining weight again. 

So, one day she decided to quit the metformin cold turkey. Sure enough, the weight fell off. She told me that she had to quit cold turkey. Weaning herself off wasn't helping. It was all or nothing. She feels good and she looks better.

She didn't get her doctor's permission to get off the drug. She just reclaimed her power that she had given to the doctor and made her choice to stop a medication that didn't seem to help her.

Now, it's time for you to reclaim your power. If you have given someone else control of your life, it's time to take that power back. Once you get back that power, don't give it to anybody else.

One time, my wife was telling me about a person who had successfully reduced his blood pressure by taking nutritional supplements. His doctor, however, was against him taking the supplements, so this man stopped the supplements and was put back on medication. Never mind that his condition improved with the supplements. This man had given his power to the doctor, and now this man may suffer for it later.

You see, only YOU know YOU. Only YOU know what works for YOU. Only YOU know what you need to be doing to make your life better. Giving your power to someone else who doesn't know you as well as YOU do would lead you down the wrong path.

One of the most dreaded phrases I hear is, "Let me check with my doctor first." Well, before you check with your doctor first, ask yourself, "What if my doctor said no?" What if your doctor doesn't approve of those oils, or vitamins, or that exercise program, or this, that, or the other? What if you know that what you need to do to improve your health will actually work, but your doctor says no? What would you do?

But, let's leave the doctors alone for a moment. What if you wanted to take out a loan for business, knowing fully well that you need to do this for business growth, but your accountant said no. Your accountant said you have too much debt and you can't afford another loan. Okay, valid point. But you know that if you just take out one more loan for a very particular business purpose, your chances of making a ton of money would be super high -- and you could pay off all your debts in a matter of months. Yes, you're willing to deal with the consequences if things don't work out the right way. Well, your accountant said no. What would you do?

Or, let's say that you have a personal trainer who put you on a diet that is supposed to make you lose weight. Well, you feel sick from this diet. You have, however, found a diet that you really believe would work for you. But your personal trainer said no. He or she is more of an expert than you are. So, what do you do?

Ultimately, you have to make the decision that would be right for you. While it's very helpful to have expert advice, you need to make the right decision for you. The only way to make this right decision is to not give your power to someone else.

When you think about it, you are just a number to your doctor. Should you drop dead, your doctor has hundreds of other clients to deal with. When that doctor goes home, he or she is not thinking about you or your well-being. In the same way, you are just a number to your accountant, your car mechanic, your personal trainer, your teacher, your college professor, etc. When they make decisions that affect your life, it doesn't hurt or benefit them. So, why would you want to give your power to people who ultimately don't care all that much about you.

Listen, my top concerns aren't you. My top concerns are my wife and kids. Whatever happens to them, whether good or bad, would ultimately affect me. But if I suggest that YOU do something, I don't benefit from it and I don't hurt from it. If I told you to do three hours of intense cardio everyday and eat only lettuce, it won't hurt me. When I get home, I'd probably forget that I told you to do all that crazy stuff to yourself. So, why would you give your power to ME? You know YOU. I know ME. I do what I KNOW is best for ME. So YOU need to do what YOU KNOW is best for YOU!

Whenever someone tells me what they're doing to lose weight, my attitude is, "Does it work for you?" or "What has happened since you've been doing it?" I can't tell you that I disagree with your decision unless I'm seeing evidence that whatever it is that you're doing is harming you. I don't want any of your power. I would be more than happy to give you my advice, but I don't care to tell you what to do -- unless you're my kids, of course.

If somebody is keeping you from better things, then it's time to reclaim your power. Don't have so much respect for someone so that you would give them your power. Remember: when it comes down to it, that person doesn't care all that much about you. Who cares about you as much as you do? Nobody! So, don't give your power to anybody else but YOU.

Make the decision that you believe is best for you. Only YOU would truly benefit if you make a good decision, and only YOU would be hurt if you made a poor decision. Let the decision be yours alone. Don't let your doctor, lawyer, teacher, mechanic, psychologist, etc., rule your life. You are more than welcome to listen to their advice, but at the end, the decision is all yours to make.