We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tony Sherock a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tony, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Purpose seems to come from past experiences. Typically they’re created from struggles and barriers a person has to overcome and it changes them for the better. I put the mindset work in, the inner work to not look at challenges as “it’s happening to me” but instead “It’s happening for me, and how can I learn from this?”
My purpose is to help busy professionals add more years to their life and more life to there years. I’ve seen my parents and many relatives, coworkers, and friends suffer from chronic diseases that could have easily been preventable by slight changes to their daily habits. Helping moms and dads who have a lot on their plate with family, career, and those “mirky middle” years (40’s & 50’s) of taking care of children but also taking care of aging parents. That’s a perfect storm brewing for chronic stress while taking care of everyone else, yet forgetting about YOU. My purpose is shifting limiting beliefs of these adults surrounding health and wellness, primarily sleep hygiene, nutrition, physical activity, and connection with others, and incorporating tiny healthy habits that are built into their existing lifestyle. I want to help them realize getting older can mean getting stronger physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I grew up in an all Italian household. Incredible food, and lots of it!!! Overconsumption was a ritual in our home, and mom’s cooking was THAT GOOD!!! No issues when you’re young and active as a kid burning calories like nobody’s business.
Things changed after getting married. Our son was diagnosed with Autism at age 3. That turned our lives upside down living in a bubble for 8 years trying to figure things out. Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year of speech and occupational therapies, plus a home-based play project was all we knew. The hard work was worth it as my wife and I finally heard the first word from our previously non-verbal son. That stress, along with previously stated eating habits with no exercise led me to be on 3 medications, pre-diabetic, and 50 pounds overweight.
These events transformed me to start taking care of myself. This led to becoming a personal trainer and health coach. The game changer for me was becoming certified as a Tiny Habits coach because there’s a formula to why some people struggle with behaviors for decades and why some behaviors lock into habits quickly. This is especially true for health, but looking back, the same tiny habit formula worked to assist my son from non-verbal to where he is today at 21 years of age. He works, drives a car, cooks meals, attends college, and is an independent young adult. And oh, no more medications for me, reversed the pre-diabetes, dropped the weight and have tons of energy at 51.
Currently I am working with 1:1 health coaching clients and group coaching through my own business, Habits To Health. I’m also doing coaching work for Thrive Global. The goal is assisting busy corporate professionals to avoid burnout long term and in the short term. I also speak on the topic and enjoy digging deeper in workshops specifically designed for corporate professionals and how we can build in tiny habits that are transformational.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities that stand out to me are very obvious. First, realize emotions create habits. You can do a fitness program for 21 days and finish it, but if you didn’t enjoy it, day #22 will never happen and you go back to the same old lifestyle. Habits work like music. You listen to certain songs because you enjoy it, there’s an emotion you feel when listening. Same for habits. You’ll continue on if you feel successful!
Second, focus on the collection of 5-10 tiny habits that YOU choose now, and will serve you for the next 40, 50, or 60 years, and your goal such as weight loss is just a by-product of those habits. This has to be complete autonomy for each person. People have much more focus and success when they choose what they want to do, not told what to do. As one of my clients stated…the GOAL are the DAILY HABITS. This eliminates the common barriers such as time (there’s seems to never be enough of it), travel, and the Go Big or Go Home mentality.
Third, asking yourself the right questions. Our brains automatically think the worst by default and try to protect us. Usually that comes in the name of FEAR. Instead of fearing the worst and accepting (based on society and circle of friends/coworkers/etc.) that disease happens as we get older, How about changing the mindset. “I do deserve to be healthy! What do I need to do to make this happen? What help can I ask for? Who’s living a healthy lifestyle and not using age as an excuse?” Key point; BE CURIOUS!
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
One of the greatest challenges happened in 2022. My father battled sickness for 17 months and passed away in November. I will also add that my father-in-law passed away suddenly 6 months prior. While my father was going through many health complications, I sat in the cardiologist’s office with him as the nurse was going through all his medications. Sitting in a cold, dull, sterile office while the nurse took the next 20 minutes taking each medication out of bag and logging them into the computer was eye-opening. The thought of all the little choices my dad made and did not make leading us to this point was heartbreaking. Much of the suffering could have been prevented.
With that being stated, do all the things!!! Travel, connect with family, visit and call instead of just texting. Grow stronger physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as you get older.
I’m a big advocate of having a simple yet impactful morning routine. During the above-mentioned time I just tried to stay afloat by keeping things simple. For me it was meditation and walking outside. All I had most days was 40%, so I just gave 40% and was totally ok with it. Safe to say time is a healer to some degree, and that simplified game plan in a difficult life season kept me in the health game.
I HIGHLY suggest having an attitude of gratitude and make a daily practice of it. Stick with it. You’ll be thankful you did. It makes for a more joyful and happy life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tonysherock.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonysherock_habits_to_health/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tony.sherock
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-sherock-4199009a/
