A Journey of a Thousand steps...

Well, you know I have been striving to get healthier over the past year.   I had foot surgery in June of 2011 and it has been a battle ever since.  I put on 20 pounds over the course of the past year, I became weak, flabby, I had the proverbial "flat tire" around my middle... I was a mess!  I couldn't exercise at first--of course, I could barely walk.  But as time went by, my foot healed more slowly than the doctor had led me to believe it would, and then I had scar tissue to deal with--painful scar tissue that is, and then I dislocated my knee and then I developed severe and chronic back pain... and then...

Are you getting the picture?  Physically I was really a wreck.  I was in pain.  I couldn't do what I had been in the habit of doing--running.  I could barely move once the back pain started.  What I now realize, is how much all of this impacted me emotionally.  My self image was of myself as an athlete--  now bring it down a notch!  I am not talking Olympic... just your average, everyday sort of athlete.   One day I was running, then the next I could barely move.  So my self image suffered quite a blow....

I recently really got how much I had pulled into myself.  I was embarrassed about my unhealthy body, I had no self image to replace "runner" or "athlete."  I had moved to a new city and was in culture shock here.  It is hard to stick to a plan to lose weight-- which I became fixated on--when there is so much going on emotionally.  Rather than do what I would tell anyone else to do--focus on little steps and overall health, not "losing weight," I did the opposite.  I focused on how out of shape I was, which only fueled my poor self image, which further fueled my, "how can I look you in the eye and talk about health, when I am so obviously out of shape?"

Huh.  So I reiterate what I said when I first started this blog a year ago--and now I REALLY know what I am talking about.  You have to get to some kind of positive place about your body.  You have to focus on what you have, not what you don't have.  You have to focus on what you want, not on what you don't want.

Do you know what woke me up?  A book called "The Compound Effect" by Darren Hardy.  Actually it started when I heard him speak at the Usana Convention.  He talked about how a small action, repeated over and over, will have a big effect.  For instance, if you take only 125 calories out of your diet every day, in 27 months, you will lose 33 pounds!  My reaction to that bit of trivia?  Wowy-Zowie! I CAN DO THAT!!!!  It was like a slap in the head.  It woke me up.  It jazzed me.  It helped me to focus on a positive step--cut out 125 calories a day.  Easy-peasy.  And do you know what happened?  I put my attention on a goal instead of on my declining health and I got healthier!  So...

     When I put my attention on the goal,
     I lost a pound,
     as soon as I lost a pound,
     I felt better about myself,
     as soon as I felt better about myself,
     I put my attention back on the goal of getting healthier,
     as soon as I put my attention back on the goal of getting healthier...

I recommend his book to all of you.  I think it is applicable to life in general.  It is packed full of information about how to live a more effective, balanced, successful life.  (Success being how YOU define it)  Check it out at:  www.thecompoundeffect.com

I am happy to report that I have lost 9 pounds since convention.  I am going to the gym and using the elliptical and the weights.  I am focusing on what I do have not on what I don't have.  And it is working!   I can continue to tell people to focus on what they want and to take baby steps and now I really speak from experience.  I feel so much better about myself, my health and my self image.  I will have to redefine myself--not a runner, at least for the time being, but a canoer?  Kayaker?  Walker?  I am sure I will figure it out!

So the question I would ask is this... what positive aspect of your body can you focus on?  What goal do you have to put your attention on?

You have to look to where you want to BE

in order to get to where you want to go!