A goal, if it\’s a worthy one, is the ultimate test of perseverance and all-out tenacity. It\’s often a perilous road, rife with potholes, pointless detours, inaccurate signage, walls, cliffs, chasms and all other sorts of calamities.
It can also be fraught with comfortable couches, warm and soft beds, really good television shows, and sinfully delicious food!
In either case, you can end up getting turned around, sidetracked, and miles away from where you need to go.
I\’ve lamented this fact in previous posts, but here I will share something with you that has helped me navigate these obstacles, stay the course and shed 137 lbs. (and slowly counting) in the process. It\’s actually very simple.
I find something to feel positive about. Everyday. Every meal. Every store visit. It\’s my mental armor.
Aren\’t you amazed? It\’s confounding that I haven\’t written a book, right? I should trademark that phrase before anyone else discovers it, right? Truly, all four of you faithful readers are too kind!
And yes, it is stupidly simple, but I\’ve found it gets me through the lean times, the hard times — the times when I\’m wandering down the cookie aisle, thinking, \”Man! Vegetarians can eat some of this stuff! Vegetarians can eat OREOS! Why can\’t I?!\”
It gets me through the times when I\’ve lost a pound in a month, or gained a pound this week. It gets me through the scary times when I have a little chest pain, or feel fatigued, wondering if it\’s going to eventually mean another trip to the hospital. It gets me through the times when I want to eat at an unaccomodating restaurant with my friends.
It works like this for me: if I\’m stuck on the fact that I haven\’t lost any weight for the past week, instead of getting depressed and freaked out, I\’ll sit down and take stock. How did it feel before I started this journey? What good things have I gained? Where are the positives?
Well, I can review my chart on loseit.com and see that steadily declining graph, detailing my weight from two years ago to today. Mine is over 100 lbs. Yours might only be five. So what?! It\’s progress! You can celebrate that!
I can look at my bloodwork results and see how I\’ve progressed, from a 220 total cholesterol two years ago down to a total of 99 today. I can focus on the fact that my doctor reduced my dosage on a prescription because I don\’t need as much anymore. I can focus on the fact that I had to buy new clothes because my old ones fit me like garbage bags.
Maybe you just need to celebrate having a good breakfast this morning, when you avoided the cinnamon rolls and decided on cinnamon-flavored oatmeal! Find your positive!
There is ALWAYS something to be positive about when you\’re moving towards a goal, and when you find that something, it will change your perspective in a tangible way. After all, why would you want to wreck a good thing?
The road to health is a journey. It\’s not an edited, half-hour special where you experience a backstory, a commitment, a montage of exercise and eating right, and lose 100 pounds before a rerun of The Simpsons. It\’s everyday, decision by decision, meal by meal, and thought by thought.
Make sure you stay focused on the positive ones.
What are some positive things you can focus on today?
I hadn’t worn my suit in at least a year. Today I had too forgetting that I had lost weight since the last time. Well I am happy to share my surprise. The suit didn’t fit! I could close my fist and turn it sideways then place it between my belt line and tummy with ease. The pants fell to the floor while done up! I couldn’t carry change in case it pulled my pants down! No diet, just better choices, more veggies, lots of water and smaller portions on my plate. I still have desert once in a while as a treat too!
Keep remembering your positive results to stay motivated. This was my latest one and I’ll carry it with me until I get another one!
Losing that weight is a great feeling, isn’t it? When I had to finally buy a new wardrobe, I felt like I was putting on a new me. Sounds like you’re doing great, Jim! So glad to hear it! Keep on making good choices, and thanks for sharing them.
Doy – For me that positives are also that LoseIt.com weight chart which shows the weight I could never come down from until that heart attack of 1/28/14 then the plant-based diet ever since. Also, I focus on my loved ones which I am still able to share time w/ because of the survival of the heart attack and the ensuing knowledge that I had to amass to learn how to better eat, sleep and manage stress in order that this not happen again. And last but not least, your posts are a big positive for my life right now ’cause you are proof positive that this lifestyle can be lived and maintained and that fullness of life was not robbed of us at all just ’cause we can no longer eat the cheesy pizzas, frequent amounts of ice cream, eat without worry that many fried foods sold at fast food places, etc. I happily avoid those inflammation-causing sources and from this freewill choice, I live much much healthier and better off. Keep up the good work & thanks! – Carl
That’s so awesome, Carl! You guys are a positive for me as well, holding me accountable (even when you don’t know it) to keep up the fight when it gets tough. Keep pushing, man! One meal at a time! Thanks for your comments!
Awesome article.