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NoVA, United States

06 May 2009

more resolute

so it is the beginning of august. the year is officially half over. it has been 7 months since most of us have pledged to reach some sort of goal by the end of the year. i was just thinking that this would be a good time to check in and see how everyone is doing with those. with roughly 5 months left in the year, there is still time to catch up if you have been slacking lately so now is the time to evaluate. have you been working on reaching your goals? if not, why not? did you have a plan? is it working? maybe it is time to change it up a little. is anyone holding you accountable? that is a very important part of meeting goals and if you don't have that, consider this your wake up call and a friend saying, it's time to get back on track.

i set some goals, or "new year's resolutions," for myself at the beginning of the year. some of them were quite ordinary while others were more for fun and possibly enrichment.
  1. lose 15 lbs by eating healthier and working out 3-4x/week
  2. read at least 1 book every month
  3. get out of credit card debt
  4. find a new and satisfying job
  5. become ambidextrous
i'm doing well with some of these and not as well with others and if i'm going to talk about being accountable, i need to share my struggles. so for today, well tackle number 1.

1. i have currently lost almost nothing. that is pretty pathetic after 7 months. i have been at a point where i was close to my goal weight but then it shot up again and i am back to where i started. but it is to be expected since i am not working out. i started off the year being consistent as most people do and then i just let it go. i have been eating healthier but on a very inconsistent basis. i go through phases where i only buy healthy foods and stick to a good plan of moderation. but then, for reasons that range from stress to needing to be cheap, my healthy regimen goes down the drain. i really have given in too much and not been hard enough on myself. or maybe it isn't about being tough on myself but more about being good to myself. when we become unhealthy, we are only hurting ourselves in so many ways. those snacks that we give in to aren't really being easy on ourselves or making us happier than the healthy foods. they make us sluggish and overall, more miserable with ourselves, making it more difficult to get where we want to be. they may be what we are craving in that minute, but later, we feel gross and look in the mirror and don't like what we see. that can either get us motivated to get back on track or hopelessness settles in and we decide we can never make a change. ugh.

so how can we beat the cravings? some say you should let yourself have some of the things you want but in small amounts. i find that if i give in at all i have no control to stop where i should. it needs to not be in the house period. control for me needs to start at the grocery store. we shouldn't buy it for ourselves, for anyone else in the house, or let them buy it for us. accountability with the people we live with is a very important part.

but there is still another part, and that is the work out part. i have not consistently worked out since i was in college. i did then because the gym was free and right out my back door. i also had friends that went with me to keep me motivated. things are a little different now. if you want to go to the gym you have to pay, get in the car and drive over there and back when you are finished. i suppose i was just spoiled. i need to look at it as a matter of life and death. paying money for my health and taking extra time to work on it should be worth it. it should be a priority. and if i want to get really serious about it, it is part of being a good steward and taking care of what God has given me.

so how can i make this goal more attainable? how can i break it down so the plan works? setting more specific objectives for myself would keep me focused. so, my first objective for being a good steward of my health/body is to stick to the list at the grocery store. the second will be to put on my walking/running shoes everyday when i get home from work and get outside. (i'll explore the gym option later.) hopefully this specific plan will yield some results.

but i also can't help but think that all of this is something that truly starts with a change of mindset, a change of heart. it should be something i believe is important. so i think about the things that are important to me...my relationship with God, my family/friends, living a life of love and passion for others... maybe i should start seeing my health in relation to these things. i think we all agree that being healthy is part of being a good steward but what does that really mean? our bodies don't work well when we don't eat well and get exercise. i could go into how nutrition and exercise affect our brain and overall function of the body but to keep it simple, when we don't eat right and do not exercise we become tired, irritable, and even depressed. how can i live my life in a way that is pleasing to Him when i don't even feel like getting out of bed? no matter what is going on in my life, i would be able to see God in the moment if i was healthy and focused rather than clouded with depression. i would be more effective in my job even if i was frustrated with it. i would be more passionate about life and sharing more love with my friends/family.

so, for me, i know being healthy is something that i need to pray about and see it as a direct connection to how i live my life for the Lord. i need to have a desire to be healthy in mind, spirit, AND body. they are all connected to each other. i think that seeing it in this way will help me to be more motivated to reach my goals of attaining a more healthy weight and an overall standard of healthy habits in my life. so my last objective is to pray about my health and continue to be resolute in making connections with my quality of life and relationships and my physical health.

(more thoughts on my resolutions to come...)

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