I finally get it!

Smilee3233
Smilee3233 Posts: 108 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am 36 years old and have been over weight since grade 5. I have spent minutes, hours, days and weeks every year wishing I was thin, healthy, sexy, energetic - the whole package.
Last night I couldn't sleep. All I wanted to do was go jogging, but I'm too out of shape to do it. I tried, lasted 3 minutes and just walked. I was so mad at myself. How can I be this fat when I want something SO DIFFERENT??? I honestly believe that I want it SO BAD that it should just be that way! And that's when it clicked..... I have to earn it! I never thought of it that way before. I can't will it into place, or eat well for one week and think I deserve it. I exercise for 2 weeks and think it should be enough. I haven't EARNED IT! I do want this badly enough to fight for every pound lost, it is worth everything I have to do to accomplish it! Why have I never realized this before?

So today starts a new day, and when I ask myself what am I going to earn today - it really changes my world from suffer, diet, too hard, to a shift of I can and will do anything to earn the right to be healthy, vibrant and happy!

Replies

  • donnasjohnson
    donnasjohnson Posts: 71 Member
    Great attitude! For me, it's all mental. It took WAY too long for me to also realize what I want physically has to be accomplished mentally. I see your picture includes your children...someone posted a couple weeks ago that "Children become a lifetime commitment. Your health is no different." I copied it down and have it posted on my mirror. For me, it really put it into perspective. I would NEVER consider just putting in short stretches of effort with my kids, or give up when the going got tough, pick and choose what I'm willing to do for their proper development...but some how I think I can reach my physically goals without the same lifetime commitment. I would never just wish for a better relationship with my kids, I will always take action to insure I have a great relationship with them. We both deserve to do the same for ourselves as well.
  • KBjimAZ
    KBjimAZ Posts: 369 Member
    We all have it inside of us.....sometimes you just have to dig it out. Keep up that great attitude and it will pay great rewards.
  • UrbanSpaceman75
    UrbanSpaceman75 Posts: 31
    That's a really interesting post. I think the 'Disney' myth that everyone can have what they want if only they want it hard enough is really quite dangerous in many ways.

    But while it's true that we need to earn what we want, and pay the price that it costs, I'm not sure about thinking about everything in terms of a fight or struggle. For me - and others may be very different - it's all about habit and routines. Break bad habits, get into good ones, and everything becomes much easier. And much less of a struggle.

    I sometimes think back to studying philosophy at university. Aristotle had some really interesting things to say about human nature, and his view was that the best character to have or the best person to be was one that did what was right, and did it effortless because he (but also she) enjoyed it. So it was better to be the kind of person who enjoyed doing good things, because it would be easier. By contrast, Immanuel Kant argued that an action had no moral value if it was something that you wanted to do, or did for a reason other than because it was right. I've almost certainly oversimplified that.

    I think this is relevant because I want to be the kind of person that Aristotle wrote about in my efforts to lose weight and get fitter. I'm finding lower calorie foods that I enjoy, and exercises that I enjoy. Of course, the danger with this approach is that I end up only doing the things that I want to. So there needs to be struggle, and willpower, and fight.

    But I think the Aristotle approach is the way to go - I want to lose weight and keep it off, and I don't think this can be done through a Kantian effort of making everything a struggle. I need to lose the weight, get fitter, and change myself into the kind of person who finds it easier and more enjoyable to live a healthier life to keep that level of fitness and health habits.

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