Thoughtfully Fit: Your Training Plan for Life and Business Success

by Darcy Luoma

Your mind is like your body. Train it right, and it’ll become stronger, faster, and more agile! Grounded in simple yet proven strategies, Thoughtfully Fit trains your mind to perform well under any challenging circumstance. It helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, maximize your full potential, and customize a plan for success. Developed by Darcy Luoma, one of America’s most highly credentialed leadership coaches, Thoughtfully Fit is the culmination of her lifetime work training leaders and teams to achieve peak mental fitness and overcome any hurdle effectively. Luoma is no stranger to life’s challenges, one of the biggest being her husband’s incarceration for a sexual assault case against a minor. Breaking down and giving up was not an option for her or her young daughters, so she relied on what she knows coaching and the Thoughtfully Fit® model revealed in her book. Through personal stories combined with concrete skills, Thoughtfully Fit draws on the same principles of being physically fit – like flexibility, agility, and strength – to train you to be mentally fit for life’s challenges, big or small. After reading this book, you will learn how Luoma has been where you are, and she will equip you to overcome whatever obstacles life throws your way!

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2021

About the author

DARCY LUOMA, CPCC, CSP, MCC, BCC, ORSCC, MSOD (Master of Science in Organization Development, Graziadio Business School at Pepperdine University) is the founder and CEO of Darcy Luoma Coaching & Consulting, a firm that specializes in solving people problems. She is a highly sought-after coach and consultant who has worked in forty-eight industries with more than five hundred organizations, impacting tens of thousands of leaders and employees over the last twenty years. Before Darcy began her firm in 2013, she served as director of U.S. Senator Kohl’s office for twelve years, did national advance work for the White House, worked for two U.S. presidential campaigns, and served as a trusted senior advisor and deputy transition director to a governor.

Darcy is one of America’s most highly credentialed coaches, including the prestigious Master Certified Coach from the International Coach Federation. She designed the rigorous Certified Professional Coach program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and served as the program’s lead instructor and then Director of Training and Quality Assurance since its inception. She received the esteemed Certified Speaking Professional® award from the National Speakers Association and has spoken at more than 500 events for audiences ranging from 25 to 2,500 every month.

Reviews

[Paul Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you ever hear the old adage "Think before you speak" and wonder what do I need to THINK about before I speak? Darcy lays out 3 core concepts that should be applied to your every day communications and interactions. We so often do not apply the proper processes to how we communicate with other people, and this brings to the forefront of your mind how adding a few steps to how you interact with others and how they perceive your message.

Darcy had to endure one of the most horrific events that ANYONE could have happen to her and her family and she put her experience and practices to the test during this time of extreme trial. She shows that using these core concepts can guide you through the most difficult times.

Just like any new thing, getting becoming thoughtfully fit does not occur overnight, but it does occur with practice and intentionality of becoming better at communicating with those people and, to be honest, yourself. Pick this up, give it some thought and practice to see where it can take you!

[Teri Hottmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtfully Fit is a fantastic read for anyone who is looking to improve your relationship with others as well as with yourself. Darcy beautifully braids together how to apply her Thoughtfully Fit Program to all aspects of life. She invites the reader into her own unimaginable journey and how she survived using Thoughtfully Fit principles. Using this method also brought her success in her triathlete training as well as in her business and her relationships.

It all begins with strengthening our core using “Pause – Think – Act” and then moving outwardly to strengthen our internal and then external muscles. It is a training plan that when applied will allow you to thrive in work, health and life.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at Mardel's and thought it was more of a plan but found it to be a three-step method. The author explains her Thoughtfully Fit method of living life, and how it helped her through her time of crisis when her husband was arrested.

I think there's good things to learn here, questions to ask of yourself, and perspectives to remember, I just wish it had a biblical worldview. I think because I found it at a Christian bookstore I thought it would have that.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book presents a useful, clear model for developing the skills to navigate situations and relationships with intention and consideration. Through the sharing of her very personal , painful, and challenging experience, Darcy demonstrates how she put the model to work in her own life and came through to the other side with her dignity, compassion, and integrity intact, digging deep for the strength that enabled her to make tough decisions to move forward. I want to add that Darcy was my instructor at the University of Wisconsin Certified Professional Coach program while the events she describes in this book were unfolding. I never knew they were happening as Darcy continued to show up in a focused, caring , professional way for us, her students. Thinking back on this now, I realize what a powerful demonstration this was of how the Thoughtfully Fit model can make a tremendous difference in how any circumstance is faced and handled, from the most routine to an unbelievable crisis. I would recommend adding this book to any collection on growth and development, whether you want new tools as a leader or want to explore better ways of handing your relationships and situations in your personal life.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Thoughtfully Fit, I realized how much control I actually do have over my life! Actively raising two teenagers can be an uphill battle some days...however using the practices and suggestions in the book have really helped me gain clarity and become a better parent. In particular I found the Agility: Responding Effectively chapter to be most helpful. I have become better at responding instead of reacting and it's made a huge difference in remembering that I have CHOICES as to how/when I respond and that can often make all the difference in the balance of my relationship with my kids.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, inspiring, real, practical! Darcy weaves her own story into a model for better relationships and better living in a way that’s compelling, helpful, and so relatable. I came away with new insights about my own behaviors, new challenges for myself to ‘strengthen my core,’ (no sit-ups required!), and profound admiration for Darcy’s willingness to share openly and vulnerably to help others grow through pain and adversity.

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that the book is presented in a way that you can easily work on any part of the Thoughtfully Fit model. I'm personally working on Stillness: Quieting the Mind. I've also engaged my 13 year old daughter with some of the concepts, like the chapter on Choosing Conciously when presented with a difficult/new situation. I'll for sure be referencing multiple chapters as needed in the future!

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quick read with content that will really make you think. I've read academic help books that preach about how to be better. Darcy Luoma uses extremely personal times in her life and lays them out and uses her tools from the book to help her through them. She doesn't profess to be perfect. It's clear that she wrote this book to truly help people, not just give opinions.

[Mirnaly Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing and very easy to read. What Darcy overcame using her own Thoughtfully Fit model was not easy, but still, impressive. Darcy is inspiring and the true definition of determination. My eyes and mind have been open. This Thoughtfully Fit training plan is my new lifestyle change for my personal and professional life.

[Mary Duerst Knueppel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're wanting a coaching book that's relatable and authentic, this is your book. Darcy makes her point with use of story telling, always leaning to 'kind' while making the story compelling. Easy to learn from her. Highly recommend.

[Nancy Turngren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtfully Fit is the most engaging personal growth book I have ever read...and I've read a lot! Not only do you learn life changing skills in self-management, you also find yourself cheering Darcy on as she navigates her own personal crisis.

[Smb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. Interesting, insightful, and inspiring.

[Amy Mangan-Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fabulous! I couldn't put it down. Darcy's stories are inspirational and relatable. This is so much more than a "business" book. A real game changer!

[C.G. Twiles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little bit of an odd book. It's 70% ad for Darcy's coaching program which, as you will hear hundreds of times, is called "Thoughtfully Fit." Lots of extremely vague exhortations like "The Thoughtfully Fit principles will allow you to get through anything in life!" or "It's Thoughtfully Fit that turned my life around!" etc without any specifics. I kept listening for them, but there were hardly any. The book is clearly just to push you to her presumably much more expensive coaching services.

Then there is 25% the author talking about her husband, who is a pedophile in prison. Yep, you heard that right. I felt terrible for the author who was judged and condemned almost as much as her husband was (you know that would never happen to a guy) and had to quickly figure out how to weave this horrorshow into her business because (I guess?) ignoring it would have been out of the question. I thought it was interesting that she claims her Thoughtfully Fit principles got her through this terrible time, I just wish I knew what those principles were exactly. Occasionally, Darcy sounds downright naive about her husband. She insists, for instance, that despite him being the stay-at-home father who took care of their preteen daughters and often had those daughters' friends over—the daughters' friends were NEVER at risk. oh really??? She didn't know her husband was a pedo, but she knows this?
She also intimates several times that she still loves her husband, yet she immediately divorced him.

Then about 5% is genuinely helpful advice on how to deal with difficult people, come through terrible times, move ahead when you feel paralyzed with indecision, etc. I wish that had been the entire book.

[BD Strub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darcy is personal, relatable and helpful as an author. This book draws you in, page after page, with stories and tips that lead you to self reflection.

One of many key points within Thoughtfully Fit is that it allows you “to save your energy for the things that matter most to you.”

Word can help train us and help prepare us for whatever life throws at us. This book outlines a plan for continuous improvement and ideas for ways to better handle challenging people in your personal or professional life.

A good book. A helpful book. A positive book.

[Larry · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a dumb book...
I flipped 26 pages and could not take it any more. Thoughtfully no brain...
Sorry

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book with personal and moving storytelling that can truly change your life. Thank you Darcy!

[Maureads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique blend of self-help wisdom and continuous autobiography, this book is thick but easy to read. The quality is a bonus.