“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”I've got the decision down pat. In fact, I've made the decision [to lose weight] at least a hundred times in the last 56 years. And I've actually lost weight several times, so "acting to change and control my life" is not out of the realm of possibility.
~ Amelia Earhart
I experienced that "the process is its own reward" while training for the half-marathon. I loved the training. I felt like I really was working toward an achievable goal, step by step, making discernible progress week after week. I trusted the process [Runner's World's Smart Coach] because it seemed to be based on good science and lots of experience.
I haven't thought about the paper tigers as they relates to busting lard. I'd like to think I have no fears about having a normal BMI, but perhaps I do; perhaps that's what's holding me back.
The tenacity is definitely missing in action. I can read an article or a blog post and think to myself, "YES! That's what I want!" But by the end of the day, the thrill is gone. I need to learn to be tenacious 24/7, not just the first six hours each morning, when I'm blogging, busy and not especially thinking about food.
The sad thing is, I don't do anything – work outside my home, take care of children, support elderly parents – that needs rewarding. You know what I mean, don't you? I can't use my stressful life as an excuse for making poor food choices. The rigors of daily living aren't making me so tired I have to spend my spare time on the couch. I don't have any stress! If you listen to the news, you might think I'm the only person in the U.S. who doesn't.
Tenacity. I wish someone would bottle and sell it. I'd be first in line.
3 comments:
"I don't have any stress! If you listen to the news, you might think I'm the only person in the U.S. who doesn't."
Wow, I thought I was the only person in the world that felt this way, but I'm happy to find out I am not alone.
I do have a job that occupies me about 50 hours a week and I do work with the same discipline as I exercise and sometimes it causes stress. But, working in sales, if I allowed work to control my self-esteem and outlook on life, I'd either be perpetually miserable or suicidal. My lawyer friends tell me it is because I don't work hard enough, I like to think it is because I'm very efficient.
Nonetheless, as a firm believer in free will I think the "stress overpowers my will to do things for myself" is just a cop-out. Or maybe I'm just unsympathetic.
I actually function best when under at least SOME stress. I do well when under a LOT of pressure, I hate to admit.
Boredom also causes excessive eating, not just stress.
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