Ask For What You Need

This week’s podcast guest is Jamie Hess: wellness expert, television personality, and founder of a breakthrough weight loss program called the Big Ask Method. Jamie’s platform is all about helping women whose shame around food is crippling their quality of life. Jamie – who previously suffered with a severe eating disorder herself – knows firsthand the importance of setting up a framework of accountability.

Jamie cited a study of 3000 people that was recently done by the American Society of Training and Development. Each person had a goal or task in mind, and researchers looked at actions that affected how likely they were to complete what they set out to do.

By just wanting to complete the goal, they were only 10% likely to follow through.

If they put a deadline on their goal, their odds of completing it jumped to 40%.

Sharing the goal out loud with someone else raised the likelihood that they would achieve it to 65%.

But if they had regular check-ins with an accountability partner, their odds of completing the goal or task were a whopping 95%.

The numbers don’t lie, but I know from my own experience just how important other people are for getting things done. I’m proud I’ve climbed some of the world’s most extreme mountains, but what has really made it special – and possible – is getting to share the journey with fellow climbers and people just like you.

Try it yourself:

• Tell people exactly what you need. I’ve yet to be in a situation where people aren’t eager to help. They just don’t always know how. When I’m on the phone with my mom and looking for sympathy rather than a solution, I might preface the conversation by saying I’d like her to listen rather than provide advice. If you tell people exactly how to support you, they’ll know how to participate in the conversation.

• Find hyperlocal accountability partners. One of Jamie’s core accountability partners is her husband. Early on in her health journey, she had identified that one of her trigger foods was ice cream. If it was in the house, she was going to eat it. She asked for his help keeping ice cream in a locked freezer in the garage. It might have seemed like a small thing to him, but it prevented her from having to do mental gymnastics (“Am I going to break down and eat it, or will I stay strong?”) every time he was away for business. Having support from the people closest to you is critical; after all, you can’t hide from them.

• Join a community that shares your goal. Late last year, I launched a Vertical 40 Challenge where my community and I climbed 15,978 vertical feet (the height of Sumantri, which is the second highest mountain in Oceania). The 40-day program focused on getting curious about our habits and improving ourselves through a fun challenge. Like climbing an actual mountain, the entire group was motivated around one common goal and could lean on one another for accountability. Stay tuned… a similar program is launching soon!