SUNDAY 13TH NOVEMBER 2022
The calm after the storm. A week of just plodding away with no drama has been a welcome change work-wise but it did free up a bit of head-space for me to look at my personal life again and come to a sorry conclusion: I thought I’d be doing better by now than I am. All these alcohol-free weeks under my belt, not to mention 10 weeks of regular exercise, and still my weight hasn’t shifted and still I’m not feeling the boundless energy that I believed would be mine by this point.
MY WHY
In the past, lack of results has been all the excuse I’ve needed to revert to my old ways but not this time. Earlier this year I read “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and my main takeaway from the book was something along the lines of this: People don’t rise to the level or their goals, they drop to the level of their habits. Not a direct quote but you get the gist! I have consoled myself through my doubts this week by reminding myself that I have now got some really good habits in place and I just need to keep at it. I loved his analogy about the ice cube: An ice cube will stay solid as the temperature around it starts to rise until finally it reaches a certain point where it starts to melt. The melting wasn’t caused by that single degree of change, but by the cumulative effect of all the degrees leading up to that point. I wish I had the book to hand to quote that properly – he said it so much better! Still, that image has stayed with me and given me inspiration. I was also recently led to a book in the library called “Ganbatte!: the Japanese art of always moving forward”. It was short, sweet and inspiring and clearly came to me for a reason because since I read it, I find myself saying “Ganbatte!” whenever something starts to get me down. It basically means “do your best, keep going and never give up” – what a great sentiment! So, for now, I’m shifting my focus off of results and goals and just concentrating on putting my best foot forward every day and keeping the faith that it will all pay off. The best part is, I’m not even half way through my alcohol-free year yet and, despite my concerns about weight loss and energy – which I know will come eventually – I’ve already come so far and I’m excited about what the next few months have in store for me. This is exactly what I need to be doing in my life right now and I’m so happy to be on this journey.
Theme Tune: Hold On For One More Day by Wilson Phillips