Transformation Is A Mindset
The Journey To Changing Your Input And Your World
By Dr. Franchell Hamilton MD
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Franchell Hamilton MD
During her time in bariatrics, Dr. Hamilton discovered that surgery on the mind was more impactful than surgery on the stomach when it came to weight loss. Thus, the 4 Pillars of Transformation came to be. Through analysis of medical, environmental, behavioral, and mental root issues she realized this approach can be applied to many aspects of health problems and when put into practice on a large scale could revolutionize and improve the current healthcare crisis in America. Since this realization, she now teaches this turnkey treatment approach to physicians looking to join her in her efforts to change the course of American healthcare and revolutionize the current practice of medicine.
Are You Set Up For Success Or Failure?
As a weight loss surgeon, I am in the business of helping people live well. And not just with their weight and other medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension but healthier in mind, body, and soul. We live in a world where we are plagued by worsening disease states such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, not to mention worsening mental health, rising suicide rates, and addictions. What is going on? There are so many fad diets and health experts and gyms out there and yet all of these problems are on the rise and projected to only continue to get worse. What is the right medication or the right diet or the right exercise? Is there a right way to live a healthier more fulfilling life? There is but it may not be how you think it should be.
Our current way of being has changed over the decades and believe it or not that has changed our overall wellbeing. The advancement and progress that has been made over the years have shifted the way we take care of ourselves and the way we see things and in turn has affected our health. And health is defined as a state of mental, social, and physical well-being, not merely the absence of disease (World Health Organization, 1948.) Many of us are walking around thinking we are the picture of health because we do not identify with one of the epidemic or medical problems being discussed on the news. And due to that we think we are “fine” but are we? Are you in good health the way it is really defined, mentally, socially, and physically?
Believe it or not many of our “health” problems in all categories are due to the lack of setting ourselves up for success. This can occur in so many ways further discussed in my book ‘Transformation Is A Mindset - The Journey to Changing Your Input and Your World’ but we will discuss a few scenarios here and how you can set yourself up for success in health to include mind, body, and spirit.
I once had a patient who I saw regularly come in for his follow-up with a weight gain of 20 pounds and elevated blood pressure. When I asked him what happened, he stated it was because of his cochlear implant surgery. I asked if he had had a complication and he said no, so then I asked well then why was it the surgery and he stated he started eating more after the surgery and eating badly. I asked if the surgery triggered some type of cravings and he said no again. At this point I was confused, I asked then why did you start eating bad foods and he said because he was depressed. Again, I asked, well, why were you depressed and he finally stated, he got the implant surgery so he could hear the music better because he was a dancer, but his family thought he got the surgery so he could talk better. He stated that he has been deaf for 40 years and was used to using sign language and did not want to talk better but hear the music better, but since his family gave him such a hard time about this, he became depressed, started eating bad foods resulting in the weight gain within a month and required blood pressure medication. His health problems stemmed from him allowing the family to take away the joy he had for getting the cochlear implant surgery. Hence his blood pressure and weight came from an imbalance in his social life and mental state.
This is actually the cause of many people’s “unhealthy lifestyle” it oftentimes is triggered by an imbalance in your social life and environment or mental state. What I had to explain to him and so many of my patients is that you hold the power to control this balance and prevent or resolve your medical problems. When you give control to someone or something else to influence you, you have given up your power to them. And why would you do that, it only causes you to be unhealthy.
The same is true if you find yourself being influenced by social media likes or posts, constantly trying to please someone even if it means inconveniencing yourself or giving in to harmful foods or habits for that temporary relief or feeling of elevation. All of these acts set you up for failure and all of these are forms of you giving up your self-control to someone or something else.
There are four areas that you need to focus on in order to set yourself to be the best and most successful version of yourself.
1. Self-awareness - being mindful of what you want and not what others want for you. Finding your ‘why’ and what motivates you and not using someone else's. What makes you unique and brings you joy and how do you hold on to that? You should be able to answer these questions about yourself with no problem and if not you need to spend more time getting to know yourself.
2. Self-control - you need to be in control and not give it to someone else. This is where your power is, in being able to be in control of you and you only. Controlling the cravings, the sadness, the anger. And how do you do that? By being in control of these 4 things: Your thoughts about yourself, your words to yourself and others, your actions, and your regular habits. What are some of these things? Do you think in the negative or positive, in the I can’t or the I can? Do your actions coincide with your words and thoughts? Do you have healthy habits that build up or destroy, do your words add value or take away? These are things that need to be pondered on daily.
3. Self-efficacy - the ability to believe you can. This does not seem hard but this is a driver for many things, and often is influenced by previous experiences and thoughts. Have you tried to lose weight, failed and given up, or what about stop smoking, drinking, or cheating? To fail is to learn from, not give up but figure out why it failed, fix it and try again because you know you can. Self-efficacy is key in being able to achieve a goal or overcome a health problem.
4. Self-maintenance - through self-care you can identify areas in you that are not well and fix them by doing something that brings you joy, adds value to yourself, and is long-lasting. I always use the example of maintaining a garden, what areas or people in your life need pruning, watering, more seed or sunlight in order for you to be your best self. The only way to know this is to be able to know yourself which is step one, then you can articulate it and be able to identify what is wrong or thriving within you and make adjustments as needed to stay healthy instead of letting things linger or have a bad influence on you and take your control away. When you are tending to self-care in this way, you have a tendency to be able to not lose control and regularly obtain self-efficacy in all you want to do.
Following these steps and focusing on these 4 areas daily will set you up for success and to be a better, healthier version of yourself. This method is just the beginning of being in control of your health to prevent future problems and it can even resolve current health problems if done right.
Embrace your superpower to take control of your health and set yourself up for success by having the right input!
An accomplished speaker, author, surgeon, and consultant, Dr. Franchell Hamilton is an influence in the health and wellness community. Through her years studying abroad, owning a private practice, and public speaking, Dr. Hamilton’s diverse skill set unlocks the potential in those who crave to reveal their best self.
Visit Dr. Hamilton’s website to learn more here https://drfhamilton.com