Wow! Day 16. Past the halfway mark. Today is critical to your success. Are you still with it? Are you giving 100%? If yes, way to go. If no, you can still get back on track.
There’s no shortage of reasons people join a challenge.
Many people use the challenge for health goals… specifically, eating healthy.
Let’s assume your goal was around eating. Where is your weakness with this?
Most people know where their weaknesses with food and drink reside. For me… it’s foods that have processed sugar like donuts, candy, cake and pies. You name it, I’m likely not going to be able to have just one bite.
After the first bite, my stinking thinking kicks in. “Well, you already messed up, may as well go for the gusto.”
A bag of chips, a box of donuts or half the cake later, I’m frustrated with what I did. The solution, abstinence. Some would call this deprivation, but for me, I call this smart living.
It’s the same with alcohol for me. In that I have abstained from alcohol for 34 years (you read right… 34 years), I won’t tempt the hands of fate to see if I can have “just one.” It’s not worth it to me.
You’re Better Than That
I’ve had people say to me, “Kathleen, you’re better than that. You’re so strong. You can resist.”
Actually, I’m not that strong and I know it. I also know, if I listen to others who try to convince me that I am, I would likely be 50 pounds heavier (been there, done that), have very little motivation to do much of anything, and be on the path to destruction.
Destruction shows up in a number of ways. Bottom line is this; destruction prevents us from being the best we can be.
It’s not about trying to be someone else’s best. It’s about being our best.
When we are at our best, we have a quality of life that allows us to live fully. We each define “living fully” in our own unique way. For me, it’s about being physical, having massive energy and peace of mind, it’s about getting through the stressful situations in life with ease and it’s about feeling younger than my chronological years.
- What does it mean to you?
- What Sets You Up?
Whatever it is that sets you up for failure, it’s best to avoid. Whatever sets you up for success, do more of it.
Most of us know what to do and what not to do to achieve the outcomes we want. Yet, for whatever reason, we choose to ignore the truth.
Often people will succumb to behaviors they know are not healthy only to say, “What happened?”
What happened is you tempted the hands of fate. You knew what would happen, but decided one more time, to test your resolve.
The Magic Day is an Illusion
As the new year is upon us, many people are thinking about what they will change when that magical day, January 1st, hits. Although this can work for some, most people don’t stick to whatever it was they said they wanted to achieve.
A better approach is to decide what you want to change and start as soon as possible. If you are waiting for everything to be perfect before you begin, you will never begin.
If you’re waiting for a time when there are not temptations or obstacles, you likely will never take the first step in making the change.
A common mistake is that people say, “When I get through the holidays, I’ll change my eating and drinking habits.”
This is simply delaying the inevitable. If you want (and need) to make a change, start now.
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