Saturday, July 25, 2009

Coming to a Fork in the Road~Can I Get a Witness?


A conversation on the difficulty in being our own cheerleader led me write this.


I was amazed how with such candor how many people struggle with giving praise to oneself & easy to another by citing different words (kinder words) to others and harsher ones to themselves... Somehow we've becomed so conditioned to believe if we give ourselves a compliment or praise that we are swelled head, boastful, prideful et al.


Where did we learn that? Should we take pride which in itself not a bad thing when we've done well? Or if we "failed" is it really failure? A favorite adage is "If I did all I could & did not succeed, at least I did not fail". Some do what they've seen or taught. And we are always being taught.


Make no mistake family, friends,associates,community, media you name it have a vested interest in making sure that conditioning continues. So do we... And it does not mean that intent is malovent perhaps when it is family or friends, buv how often have we heard the stories of ones who released weight made their goals and then people's attitude toward us change. And make no mistake, if you think well of yourself it can so rattle some, that they will be bound & invent at times to reduce you to how they see themselves instead of pulling out their own pom-poms.


Don't you let them do it.


And discounting our OWN emotional response to that attitude when all the things we thought should have happened once the weight was released is still there? Weight can be a reaction to a host of other things good bad or indifferent.


A a wise person said to me once when the weight peels off like thin membranes of an onion, what ever it insulated us from will still be there. Peeling away will like the onion bring tears, but it could be cleansing tears of release if we want.


I am a flawed person not always up but then I would need to be on medication :=) if I was way up there all the time. But I store away enough good cheer for myself to lift me up when I don't want to get up. Some already know this about me, I like to use is instead of the word weight "loss" is weight "release". It may seem awkward at 1st, but if you think about it when you lose something that means something to you, how much effort you put into "finding" it? And the weight DID indeed mean something,even if it does not now or matter as much!


So this is for posting your "atta girl" or "atta boy" for shifting the paradigm. If it is uncomfortable or you find yourself feeling you've "failed" how can you change that wording?


Example: I only lost 1 of the 2 pound goal I set, I've failed.


Rephrased: I lost a pound! Whoo Hoo!


Example: Although I said I would walk everyday, I only got in 2 days. I failed"


Rephrased: Maybe my original goal was not attained, but I DID get 2 days in" Whoo Hoo!


Or even looking at your body differently... How about thanking your body for carrying you all these years with whatever weighed you down? How about saying you're welcome when when your body respond with more pep when you nourished it? How about thank your body for breathing for functioning?


See how kind you are in your words to others, substitute YOUR NAME in its place, even if you do not believe it yet! It may sound silly in the beginning & some days may be more of a stretch then others, but you will indeed create new neurons & synapses in your brain, rewiring your thinking.


I did not want believe it at 1st but somewhere unbeknown to me my attitude shifted, 1st in somewhat small, subtle ways then in bigger ones. It takes on an average 30 days to undo and redo.


What will you have to lose?


Oh yeah weight!


A Chinese proverb states "Barn burn down. Now I can see the sky".

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