Sometimes in life we have to get downright miserable with what we are going through or creating in our lives to want to make a change. This was me a few months ago. My health struggles continued to get in the way of my business and personal success.In the Slight Edge, Jeff says “Success doesn’t come from nowhere; it can’t be conjured up out of thin air. It comes from a very small, tiny beginning-but there has to be a beginning. That beginning is the thing people miss, the thing they don’t see. And they don’t see it because it’s so tiny, it’s almost invisible.”
Fear
When I sat down and made my plan I was saturated with so much fear. This would be my 33rd time in 30 years trying to regain my health and gain control of my food addiction.
With small shifts I believed I could manage this; with continual effort I made progress each day. Yes, it was an hour by hour process for me. I was so deeply afraid of failing again. Have you ever felt that way?
I made sure and drank all 8-8 oz. waters every day and I stopped snacking after 7 pm. I also used a lot of positive self-talk and prayer.
Focus
Through this entire process I continually asked myself these questions when my wrong food choice was/is larger than me (which flipping happens a hundred times per day): 1. Will this decision empower or dis-empower me? And 2. Am I worth this?
I have to remind myself daily that 3 years from now I will still be here and these correct choices are changing my future. Ugh- it is so hard!
Faith
I kept/keep reminding myself that my body is a temple. I had to cut back on my schedule so I had more time for self-care. I printed some inspiring quotes about not giving up and taped those suckers to my bathroom mirror and just keep on having faith that I can do this!
Faith: allowing yourself to take the first step without seeing the staircase
Here are my before and after pictures of my last few years using The Slight Edge principles:
Kris before in 2008 / In 2017