Where Am I Going?

Where am I going?

The baseball great, Yogi Berra, once said, "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else." This is a theme I've been meditating on recently.

The path of least resistance always takes the easy way. For those of us on this journey to a healthy lifestyle, the easy way has not and will not work. There is no such thing as a quick fix. It's not just about losing weight, but about changing our lives. How will we do that if we don't know where we're going - if we don't have a plan?

For years, I didn't know where I was going. I let life take me wherever it would. My days slipped by, often unproductively, and turned into years. Before I knew it, I was 205 pounds and feeling hopeless, like my weight was beyond my control. My focus was on other things in life: getting married, having a baby, going to college. All these are beautiful life events - events I let overshadow my need for healthy living. I didn't have the knowledge back then to live healthy. I was putting my brain power into other things.

In the last ten years, I have learned a few things. Most recently, I have learned that if I don't choose a direction for my life, life will choose it for me. A wise person once said, "In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia." I've been performing those daily acts of trivia for far too long. The time for change has come!

I'm no longer satisfied with the status quo. Though it served its purpose for a season of my life, there is something more, some purposeful and meaningful I am being called to. All my life's experiences are calling out to me - "use me."

I know that God is calling on me to "prune" my life in order to be more productive. In two days, I will head to Tokyo for a symposium. For three days I will spend time focusing on the direction God has for me. Afterward, it is my sincere hope and prayer that He will give me the strength to cut out of my life whatever is obscuring my view of His goal, His will. I don't want to end up "someplace else." I want to be right where I'm supposed to be - doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Bring on the change!

Personal Tune Up

To keep a record of my history and attitude toward change is important to me.

Just like I have had a difficult time remembering to schedule oil changes or rotate my tires, I've also had a hard time reminding myself to take care of how my body runs. I've run out of my Synthroid and been off it for a month. I've neglected my nutrition and had long periods of exercise abstinence. It's over now. There are things I'm going to be doing on a regular basis to take better care of the body God has given me. I've already instituted some positive changes and others will come as I identify unhealthy habits.

Things I WILL do:

1. I WILL get consistent amounts of sleep.
2. I WILL have regular tests of my thyroid to ensure I'm on the right dose.
3. I WILL have my blood sugar and cholesterol tested tomorrow and on an annual basis.
4. I WILL take a multivitamin daily.
5. I WILL eat on purpose, making conscious decisions about what goes in my mouth.
6. I WILL do cardio exercise every day of the week except for Sunday.
7. I WILL do strength training 3 days per week, never two days in a row.
8. I WILL rest on Sundays - giving my day to God to glorify Him for the changes he's making in me.
9. I WILL spend at least 30 minutes, on nice days, outside getting sun.
10. I WILL maintain a schedule that leaves time for all of the above.
11. I WILL trust God.

It's all about choices. We must ask ourselves, "What is most important to me and what am I willing to do to see it happen?" What will you choose?

Things I WILL NOT do:

1. I will NOT allow myself to run out of my Synthroid prescription.
2. I will NOT allow others to derail my mission to get healthy.
3. I will NOT pretend that my decisions are the result of some mysterious force that I cannot control.
4. I will NOT make excuses to avoid healthy decisions.
5. I will NOT pass on unhealthy habits to my son.
6. I will NOT fail to lead the life God intends me to lead physically, mentally and spiritually.

Once we know what we ARE willing to do, and what we AREN'T willing to do, it's a matter of having the tenacity to stick to it. Are you willing to do that - to become tenacious?

These are words I hope will be accurate descriptions of me - of all of us:

Tenacious (persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired)

Determined (having reached a decision: firmly resolved)

Focused (to concentrate attention or effort)

Inspired (to fill or affect with a specific feeling or thought)

Faithful (strict or thorough in the performance of duty)

Honest (honorable in principles, intentions, and actions)