Keeping Your Perspective Real

The week before this last week was a frustrating one for me. I wanted to lose 100 pounds, but didn’t. It felt like everything was at a stand still. I had to remember I am a work in progress. It is a process that doesn't happen overnight. It is going to take all of my life. Until this concept sunk in AGAIN I got very frustrated, down, depressed and was a total pitiful mess; which caused me to be tired and lead to not wanting to do what I knew I needed to be doing. I had the world’s biggest pity pot under my behind. Well, it took a couple pep talks and a few suggestions from a couple of friends and I began to do what I needed to do to get my butt off the pot and my mind into the battle. I logged my food intake, which kept me more dedicated to eating correctly. No “sneaking” a little of this and a little of that if it is on paper. I really never ate grossly, but I did eat small amounts of things I would have been better off without. I could have substituted more beneficial foods. So that is what I did. I have now reached the 100 pound goal. I wanted to reach it by June 20th and I did.

As with anything in life, we can get tunnel vision. I got tunnel vision about the progress I was making because I was measuring it by one expected standard. I shared with my friend some of the progress I have seen in the last 5 weeks and she put things in perspective. In the last week I had to buy some new clothes. I had to get pants in a size smaller (2” in the waist). In the last year I have gone down 10” in pant waist size, 4 sizes in underwear, 2 sizes in bras and have gone from a 4x-5x to 1x-xl in shirts. Now that is truly some progress to note. Well, in the midst of my pity party (one participant involved) I lost sight of that progress. Thanks to my friends I was able to see there was progress and it is a life long journey, not just a temporary sprint. I have to remember sometimes the big picture is too large and I need to take one small step today, and then one small step tomorrow, and then repeat.

This week I stepped back and discovered some perspective which lent to a better week. I made better food choices, better activity commitments and found myself in a better frame of mind. My positive attitude returned and the pity pot got put back in the dark closet of my emotional house. It is often a hard process that is part of life regardless of the situation (a new activity, a new routine, a new career, a new outlook, a new lifestyle, etc.).

I have one more month and I will be at the year mark for surgery. July 21st will be my girthday. Yes, you read that right, girthday. As my girth gets smaller and I get closer to my goal I will have to remember to give God credit for my overall progress and not get tunnel vision. I will try to leave that pity party throne in the closet. If it gets moved out, I pray I will be able to turn to my support system quickly.

I will also need to remember: When adversity strikes, it's not what happens that will determine our destiny; it's how we react to what happens.

I pray you look at the big picture of life and take the necessary steps to fill in the pieces of that picture one day at a time, one step at a time, one goal at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed by measuring your progress by one standard, but by the overall progress so far. As you approach the goal(s) you wish to attain I pray you form new goals to keep you moving and growing. Most of all, remember no matter what you are trying to attain, you are a work in progress and it doesn’t all happen overnight but takes a lifetime. If it is worth it, it is worth the sacrifices you will have to make, the changes you will have to accept and the time you will have to invest to reach that goal.

"The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them.
Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced
that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams."
~Og Mandino~