Hi Journal & Friends,
One year ago today, it was bugging me that I kept reading on different blogs how this journey was supposed to be Easy. And for me, is was NOT easy. Changing was NOT easy.
My conclusion was: there must be something wrong with me!
Here are some snippets from that post from Sept 10, 2009:
I don't think it's very helpful to tell people just beginning on this journey to expect it to be easy...that is just setting them up for failure, for them to ask themselves the same I asked myself: if it is supposed to be easy, then what is wrong with ME???
Remember that saying: "Easy come, easy go"??
Well, I prefer this one: "Hard won, but permanent!!"
Maybe in a year from now, I will be singing a different tune...but for now, I plan to enjoy the journey whether it is during an easy time OR a hard time!. So there. ;-)
“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.” — Phillips Brooks
(Art by Retta, page from my handpainted book
illustrating Proverbs 31, ink & watercolor)
I'm not saying every day is this big drama, this big oh-woe-as-me struggle. But especially in the beginning, it takes effort and action to face our stuff instead of stuff our face!
But CHANGE is not easy.
Facing our innermost fears is not easy.
Choosing to change a lifetime of habit and give up our "security blanket" of the familiar is not easy.
NOT eating when everything in you SCREAMS for soothing food is not easy.
Anyone who says all that is "easy" is from a different planet.
I do think it GETS easier, once the changes become a part of who we are... after we make inner changes and they become our new reality, our daily habits.
But I still think it unfair to tell someone NEW that it will be "easy" as they get started on this wild adventure to a new, healthy life!!
What's wrong with telling them "It might be hard at times, but it's worth it. It might be hard at times, but YOU CAN DO THIS!"
Instead of trying to drum into their head how "easy" this is, why not drum into their head that they have the power to choose.. that they are capable... that they are the Captain of their own life and not a victim?? That they CAN do this, no matter what!!! They are Warriors!
Okay, I had planned to make this short, hoping ya'll would have time to read that original post from one year ago. Sorry...
Here it is: "What's Wrong With Hard".
From my comments after that post:
Maybe once the change inside me, in my thinking and "way of being" is complete, I will be singing the Easy Song, too. I sure hope so, that would be fine with me. :-)
In the meantime, I will believe for the strength to match the task, whatever comes my way...that way I'm covered either way...whether it be easy or hard.
In the meantime, I will believe for the strength to match the task, whatever comes my way...that way I'm covered either way...whether it be easy or hard.
So, it's a year later, and I believe it all the more! Whether it is hard or easy is not my focus. I choose this perception: I can do this!
From Dr Phil's book: "Require more of yourself...you can do this!"
My verse for today: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
My quote for today: "Perception is crucial to understanding. How you see, and what you see, determine how you will be. Your perception, or your view of reality, is the lens through which you see things." --John O'Donohue
Enjoy the Journey,
Loretta
=^..^=
9 comments:
Amen, sister, amen! Any time anyone says this weight loss gig is easy because all you have to do is x, I get angry.
Angry because I know that there was a time--and may still be a time--that would have crushed me to pieces, because it WASN't easy for me. I was struggling and falling and desperate.
My pat bit of easy advice? "As long as you never quit, as long as you get up one more time than you fall--you will beat this thing. You will find your own key to losing weight."
That's the best I can give--just keep at it.
Simple, yes. But if you look at weight loss sidebar tallies, you'll see that it's true.
You'll see gains and no losses and slow losses and big losses all mixed together. Over time.
It's taken me a year to lose 50 pounds. But I've lost 50 pounds. I've spent the whole time falling down and getting up, but in the process, I lost 50 pounds.
And I've learned several bits of information that have been invaluable to me, things that made the struggle less difficult. But mostly I've learned to be determined. Determined not to quit.
Great post, WLW,
We're doing this thing!
Deb
Loretta..awesome...Maybe..the weight loss if it is just for the scale...it is easy...if it is a true lifestyle change it will require hard work, dedication, and LOTS of changes in habits..not just a temporary food fix...
LOVE your blog...Please go to my site and pick up your Bombshell Award...I dub u the Lovely Loretta Bombshell!
JULES: Hey, I hadn't thought of it that way. Hmmm... I think you might be onto something there!
Thank you for the award... a bombshell!! How cool is that?!
Loretta
=^..^=
Couldn't agree with you more, Loretta! Anyone who thinks this path is easy is deluding themselves. :)
Simple yes - but not easy!
hehe
Love your blog!
Great post!!! It is not easy that's for sure. I do think it gets easier as the process continues. However....my irrational belief that I had it in the bag and it was not something that needed monitoring is the whole reason why I regained so many pounds.
It's tough, but worth it...
Definitely not easy but absolutely worth it :)
The beginning is definitely the toughest part! I can't imagine beginning this journey with the thought that it would be easy sailing. Once we establish new, healthy norms, certain parts of the journey become easy. For you, living without flour and sugar must feel much easier than it did when you first gave up my two best friends. For me, exercising like a crazy woman is now easy. So certain parts do get easier for different people, but this journey is still TOUGH. If it were easy, wouldn't we all be skinny?
The idea behind weight loss is easy: Eat reasonable portions of healthy food, and exercise. Actually DOING those two things consistently is TOUGH.
Great posts! Now you've got me thinking about how much my relationship with food has changed over the course of my journey. Thanks, Retta. :)
"It might be hard at times, but it's worth it. It might be hard at times, but YOU CAN DO THIS"
LOVE that quote! We can do this!!
Just last night i was struggling with some cravings...just wanted to eat, that would have been easy to do. But i choose to take my butt out of the kitchen & back in the living room and got my mind busy and it was not easy.
I agree,i don't like hearing that its easy either...
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