I have been reflecting lately on my life and how I have been able to succeed in making changes or accomplishing tasks that were the most difficult. Currently I have made changes so that I can lose weight. After leaving Alaska where it was just a part of life to be active and stay fit and moving to Hawaii where it is just a part of life to chill out and go to the beach I had gained 30 pounds. I was aware that I was gaining weight but thanks to my inner perception of myself as a skinny person I didn’t really see it until I hit 160 pounds. You see I was blessed with a fast metabolism and an adventurer’s soul so that gaining weight was never a concern for me. My adventures have kept me so active that the idea of counting calories never entered my consciousness.
So moving to Hawaii and settling into my new more relaxed lifestyle, I didn’t think about the fact that I was growing older and that I was much less active than I had been in Alaska. I was having a great time and continued as I always had eating and drinking whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Well I suppose my father was right when he told me someday my metabolism would slow down and I would not be able to keep my same habits and not gain weight. So here I am completely aware of the weight I have packed on and I have decided to lose that extra weight. I actually decided last year I needed to make some changes and work towards losing the weight.
However, last year when I made this decision I didn’t flip my mental switch. I did take some actions and started waking up at 5:30am three times a week so I could work out for a half hour before going to work and I did see some results and lost 10 pounds in that year. You could say I flipped the “I need more exercise” switch but it wasn’t the same as the “lose weight” switch. I wasn’t specific enough with my goal to understand how to run the controls to maneuver the correct switch.
Now sitting here a year later having lost 7 pounds in the last 5 weeks, I have come to new realizations about what I need to do to lose weight. It is the same thing I did when I quit smoking cigarettes, the same thing I did when I carried an 80 pound pack 100 miles through the Alaskan mountains across glaciers, and the same thing I did when I gave away the majority of my possessions and moved to Hawaii. I specifically defined what I wanted and I made the decision I would take the necessary steps to make it happen. In other words I took charge of the controls of my mind, found the right switch, and I flipped the switch. My new mantra is “it is our focus that determines whether we are going to make something happen or not”. (Bob Proctor)
Once the decision was made everything else has been simply a matter putting one foot in front of the other. I took the time to learn how to healthfully and effectively lose weight and developed a system that works for me. In my case I have found it most effective to restrict my calorie intake by eating between 1200 and 1300 calories a day and walking 10,000 steps at least 5 days a week. If I find myself extremely hungry as I have a couple times I eat more and don’t worry if I hit 1400 for a day. I listen to my body and stick to my plan. Since flipping my switch I have not found it difficult to turn down sweets or stop adding sugar to my morning coffee and tea. I eat what I want and simply moderate the amounts. If I want to have ice cream for dessert I will plan ahead and do it on a day I eat fish for dinner. I know this calorie restriction is only temporary and once I hit my target weight I can resume eating 2000 calories a day and I keep my eye on the prize.
I write about this because I believe we all have this ability. There is nothing special about me that makes me any more able than another person to make these kinds of choices in my life. We are all choice making machines and we are all a product of the choices we make every day (check out my power of thoughts blog). What is special about me is that I am very deliberate about the choices I make. This is especially true for the thoughts I choose to keep. It is not that I do not have negative thoughts enter my mind or that I am free from ever worrying but that I make a conscious choice to dismiss those thoughts that are not helpful to me (most the time that is, I’m still human after all).
What I do make a conscious effort to think about is the many things I am grateful for in my life and what I can do to make my life even better. Consider this: You are what you think. Do yourself the honor of defining who you want to be and what you want from life. Remember to be specific and then start making choices that align with your goals. You deserve greatness!!