Showing posts with label shifting perspective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shifting perspective. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

October 21st, 2014 Finding Our Normal

October 21st, 2014 Finding Our Normal

One of the things I've given a lot of thought to lately is, what does it mean to be "normal?" I've concluded "normal" is a relative term. Your normal isn't my normal. We're all different.
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This guy wanted to be normal. He wanted to have a normal relationship with food. He had fixed in his mind a vision of what it meant for him to be normal, you know, like people who are of normal weight with normal eating behaviors who wear normal clothing. To him, in order to be normal, he had to simply eat less and exercise more, yeah--that would be some kind of normal. 

What this guy failed to recognize is, he was already normal. He was his normal. In order to achieve weight loss success, the perspective on "normal" had to change. It couldn't be someone else's normal, it had to be his own kind of normal. He could mimic someone else's normal for a while, but eventually his normal would override the abnormal impersonation of normal--and everything would go back to being his normal. 

Okay--enough of the third person--it's annoying. What I had to embrace was my normal. I had to let go of the idea that I wasn't normal because in that, I was constantly suggesting I wasn't good enough or something was wrong with me. I am good enough and there's nothing wrong with me--as long as I'm not trying to be someone else's normal.

My normal is: I'm addicted to sugar and if consumed, it triggers bio-chemical reactions that send me searching for more and more--and not just sugary items--I'm talking loads of carbs and high fat-- it's on!! Nothing trips my trigger like sugar--it is my normal. So I abstain, one day at a time--and it's my normal and I'm okay. 

I enjoy a drink of alcohol on rare occasion, perhaps once or twice, maybe three times a year. It doesn't negatively effect me beyond a slight feeling of intoxication. It doesn't trip anything for me. That's my normal. I have close friends with decades of sobriety, who--if they tried to mimic my normal, it would ruin their lives for who knows how long, maybe even kill them before they found recovery again. That's their normal. So they abstain, one day at a time, it's their normal and they're okay.

Embracing my normal is imperative to my success. My normal means that I take extraordinary care with food. My normal means no sugar. My normal means I remain active in seeking and offering support. My normal requires my attention and a rock solid commitment in doing what I do for my recovery. I fiercely protect it and never apologize for it.

I know many people who will enjoy their share of Halloween candy in a couple of weeks and it'll not be a big deal at all. That's their normal. If I tried to mimic their normal, you would witness a much different turnaround on these pages.

The biggest key for me to be my best, requires me to embrace and accept my normal, not someone else's. I hope and pray I spend the rest of my life celebrating my normal. Because if I do, I can't lose. 

This is what "finding what works for you" is all about. Sometimes that statement is misunderstood to mean "Find the plan or procedure" that works for you. I'm suggesting that "finding what works" for you and me, starts with honestly defining our personal normal, then fashioning a plan that gives us what we need.

I no longer want to be some idealized version of "normal," I just want to be mine.
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For some reason, I was feeling a bit off this morning and I reached for some snacks. I'm not a big snack guy, but as you'll see in the below tweets, I had a mid-morning snack and a late morning snack. It's uncharacteristic of me. It isn't necessarily bad--I mean, really, eating several small meals a day is a good thing. I simply had to stop and acknowledge my reasons for reaching for those two snacks wasn't because I necessarily needed it at the time--it was likely because I was stressed and tired. I kept it within my budget. I made sure it remained in my food plan. And it was okay. But it was important for me to understand what was happening and how I was reacting.

I had a busy afternoon at work followed by a grocery trip and dinner preparations before the Tuesday night support group conference call. It was a great call with 100% attendance seven weeks in--that's a big deal!

My workout tonight was very nice. I've been focusing on the music more and more and when I do--when I allow myself to get lost in it, I always get an amazing workout. When my workout falls short is usually when I share that time with all of the thoughts and concerns of the day. Gifting myself that workout time and deciding to "clear my mental schedule" for its duration, is extremely effective.

My Tweets today:






















Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

October 1st, 2014 A Redirection Of Focus

October 1st, 2014 A Redirection Of Focus

Things are going very well. I'm losing weight consistently and feeling fantastic. Things are well, not perfect. If I had to identify two things I need to improve, it's the amount of sleep at night and the amount of water I consume each day. Improving both of these numbers will only benefit my health.

I feel like I'm experiencing some breakthroughs with my time management/sleep issues. First of all, it's important for me to note that fortunately, I'm not writing about sleep apnea symptoms at this time, it's all about quantity at this point. I seem to be resting very well during this part of my transformation. I say "this part" because I know from previous experience that I must constantly be aware of how I'm sleeping and breathing and how I feel upon waking and throughout the day. Unfortunately, sleep apnea symptoms can and often do come back, despite weight loss. Right now, I'm enjoying some freedom from it and I sincerely hope and pray it continues for a very long time.

Breakthroughs-- yes. Here's the thing: In regard to the issue of constantly going to bed way too late, I was focusing on the wrong thing. I was focusing on trying to fix the end result instead of focusing on the elements leading to that result. It was frustrating because my focus was "I've got to get to bed earlier and by golly I'm gonna do it!" But then, without changing the elements throughout my day, I would repeat the same thing over and over--even reaching a point I wouldn't complain about it anymore within these writings; trying hard not to mention the issue. My attitude was a no-nonsense, slightly harsh one: If I'm going to continue doing it, then I might as well shut up about it already!!

Yesterday and today--no nap. And I was just fine. I made it through quite well and I'm about to hit the publish button on this one and hit the pillow. The proper focus--and it's something that was probably very obvious to you, was needed earlier in the day. The choices I make at the intersection of my work day and the rest of my day/evening, are the critical ones in need of focus. And it's all about attitude and perspective. I've challenged myself yesterday and today and I've come out on top of it. That feels really good!

This redirection of focus reminds me of the overwhelming feeling some of us have experienced when we're faced with a large weight loss challenge. If our focus is on the "I must lose weight--I've got to lose almost 300 pounds or 200, or 40"--it can seem overwhelming--but if we reel that in and point our focus on the smaller elements--the one day, one choice at a time approach, pretty soon we realize we're actually doing it--the smaller focus on the supporting elements needing our attention make this big, sometimes overwhelming challenge, totally doable. We don't have to figure out the big thing all at once. We figure out the small things and suddenly the big thing changes into something we can handle.

I had a long work day today that took the lions share of my afternoon and then a recording session this evening for a voice-over project. I made sure to enjoy dinner before the session and get a good two mile walk in immediately after.

I've had a meatless day. I don't know how often I do this because I honestly haven't paid much attention. It stuck out to me today because I was debating on adding some sirloin tip steak atop my pasta, then I added the calories, eventually deciding it wasn't needed. Interesting.

This focus on time management is important to me for a variety of reasons. I have two big projects on the horizon, an audio meditations project and book number two--plus I have the very strong desire to get focused on a YouTube series with my girlfriend, Heather.  Proper time management is going to become even more critical, quickly.

My Tweets today:












Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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