Hello fellow AZAADE members! I recently met with a client who was very receptive to the concept of setting goals related to starting her insulin pump, and it got me thinking a lot about how goal-setting is with clients is one of the most important strategies we can partner with them on to be successful with their diabetes. It also reminded me of the time I attended a ‘meet & greet’ event for one of my favorite bloggers, Matt Frazier. It was, without a doubt, a remarkable experience, and the take-away messages truly hit home for me and are ones I can use both personally and professionally in life.
TAKE AWAY MESSAGE #1: Being passionate and agile are invaluable necessities (of athlete and diabetes educators, alike).
Matt is an ultra- marathoner and founder of www.NoMeatAthlete.com. Not only was it awesome to be in a room filled with like-minded veggie lovers and dedicated runners, it was amazing to hear an inspirational message from Matt Frazier and his co-author, registered dietitian Matthew Ruscigno, MPH, RD, on adapting a plant-based diet as an endurance athlete. Yes, the audience lovingly named our honored guests ‘Matt Squared.’ (For the purposes of my post, I will refer to them as Matt F. and Matt R). One characteristic that made the event unforgettable was Matt F’s approachable and no-nonsense demeanor. I shouldn’t have been surprised by this, as my fellow running buddy, RD colleague and veggie advocate heard him speak as well and raved about how friendly and down-to-earth he was with the crowd. After experiencing it for myself, I have to agree…Matt F. had a truly genuine and non-intimidating rapport with the crowd—an approach that parallels that of successfully adapting a plant-based lifestyle and being an effective diabetes educator.
Matt R. spoke on the evidence-based research that supports plant-based diets for endurance athletes, and stated that we’re learning more everyday about the health benefits of living a vegetarian lifestyle. His knowledge was apparent; however, he was quick to mention that nutrition is an ever evolving science, so we must be adaptable and open to embracing change. As diabetes professionals, we are used to staying abreast new research, medications, therapies, etc., and part of what makes us impactful is our quest to learn all we can to best serve our clients.
TAKE AWAY MESSAGE #2: Being open-minded, realistic and relatable can influence clients and provide endless opportunities to engage, enlighten and educate them.
Take for example, how many times you’ve encountered people (friends, family members, colleagues, clients and even strangers) who aren’t too savvy with what a plant-based diet truly entails. Sometimes people are just naïve to it, others scoff at it, and even a few may be interested in it and not even know it. How do you handle this: 1) Defensively or 2) Opportunistically?
I attribute one of the (many) reasons why Matt is such a recognized (and respected) blogger is due to his demeanor, personality and non-biased approach. It truly resonated through the crowd and is very endearing. And, it’s not just good personality trait, it’s an essential component to meaningfully impact people’s thoughts, choices and actions. As diabetes educators, we must be open minded and practical with patients when the question about plant-based nutrition and diabetes enters the conversation. It’s the opportunity to present evidence-based information in a way that offers credibility and welcomes an introduction of the concept.
TAKE AWAY MESSAGE #3: Setting (almost unattainable) goals is a major key to success.
This message struck a chord and resonated with me. How often do we set goals? Advise clients to set goals? Evaluate our goals? Go back and set new goals? Reevaluate these goals? And so on. What made an impression on me is when Matt F. spoke about setting (almost unattainable) goals. He described the continuum from setting easy goals—just so we can cross them off our list, to setting impossible goals—those we know we humanly can’t achieve. He explained some benefits of setting (almost unattainable) goals, including: making a plan of action and actually sticking to it, completing small triumphs on the longer road to the ultimate goal and having setbacks. Easy goals that we can achieve in no time lose their attractiveness once we achieve them and impossible goals are so daunting that, often, we don’t even set out on the path to achieving them. But, (almost unattainable) goals are those just outside of our reach, and for most people, the road to achieving these goals are filled both small victories and setbacks, which often propel us forward and help us realize really how attainable those (almost unattainable) goals can be.
The event was a great opportunity to quench my personal thirst about plant-based nutrition for endurance athletes; however, I ended up taking a lot more away from it than I initially thought I would. It was invaluable to see the impact of passionate speakers deliver their message in such a way that engaged, educated and challenged the audience—a way which mirrored that of many thriving diabetes educators I know.