Make the Shift with Tory Johnson
Tory Johnson: Make the Shift
Free Teleclass with MA Conference for Women
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM (EDT)
Never underestimate the power of colleagues at work to influence you in big ways. I spent my whole life unable or unwilling to do anything about my weight. Friends and family encouraged me to try diets. My doctor gave me the name of an obesity specialist – without me asking for one. I never went to the specialist and I avoided the doctor for a decade. It wasn’t until my boss told me to lose weight that I did anything about it.
For seven years, I’ve been a contributor on Good Morning America. Eighteen months ago, an ABC executive told me my clothes didn’t do me justice and she wanted to send me to a stylist. But I knew this wasn’t about clothing. I was fat and needed to lose weight, even those words never entered the conversation.
There was something about the way she talked to me – with grace, dignity and respect – that made me want change once and for all. Sure, I thought my job was on the line – TV is, after all, a visual medium – but I was much more worried about letting her down.
Over the course of a year, I lost more than 60 pounds, a journey I write about candidly in my new book, The Shift.
Writing The Shift forced me to relive all the chances I lost to meet so many people who could have been my friends and influenced my career. I routinely avoided invitations to dinners, parties, dances and receptions, the places where deep bonds are formed, simply because of my weight. I didn’t like the way I looked and damned if I was going to be the only woman in a pants suit while all the other women wore beautiful dresses.
During my Shift year, I learned that what I put in my head was far more powerful than what I put in my mouth. That helped on more than one occasion when well-meaning colleagues would try to convince me to indulge in sinful deserts. It allowed me to laugh at the lecture I got from another friend that not eating was no way to lose weight. Uh, hello? In the past, I would have used objections from people around me as the perfect excuse to throw in the towel and get back to eating with abandon.
Whatever big change you’d like to make in your life, be careful to not allow those closest to you – often well-meaning people — to sabotage your success. Instead, cling to the ones who’ll motivate you to the finish line.
When I told another colleague about how it took my boss to finally motivate me to lose weight, she said, “I wish my boss would order me to lose weight because I’d listen to him. I don’t listen to my husband or doctor, but when it involves my paycheck I would.”
I did – and I’m happier and healthier for it. Would you?
Join the Massachusetts Conference for Women and for a Free Teleclass Tory Johnson: Make the Shift Wednesday, October 23, 2013 from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM (EDT)
Good Morning America contributor Tory Johnson helps women make great things happen. Tory made the shift from employee to entrepreneur and built two multi-million dollar career-focused businesses after a painful firing. Now, after a second major shift—losing more than 60 pounds in a year—Tory is on a mission to help others change their mind for a better life. A New York Times bestselling author and contributing editor to SUCCESS, Tory lives in New York with her husband and their teenage twins. Connect with her on Twitter @ToryJohnson. Tory will host a workshop titled “The Shift: The Moment and Method for Reinvention” at the Dec. 5 MA Conference for Women. Click here to register for the conference.