Good morning, reader! Today I am thinking about the voice that says “you have failed a thousand times. What do you think you are doing? Why is this time any different?” This is a lie from the pit of hell. Past failures do not predict future failures, as we are not in the same place, when we approach challenges.
Think about Edison. How many times did his experiments “fail”? How many times did the lightbulb not work? Did he throw away all of his designs and think “I have failed more than 1000 times. It is time I give up.” Or consider competitive athletes, “I didn’t run a four minute mile ever before, I guess I am doomed to fail. No more running for me!” Or the cardiovascular surgeon, “Another patient did not survive surgery. I’m done trying to help people. I am such a failure. Every patient is bound to die under my care.” No. None of these scenarios are true.
We change. We learn from the past and we adapt and change. We are not bound to stay on a road that leaves us at a destination we don’t want. If I am driving to New York, and I realize I’ve made a MISTAKE, I turn around. Yes, I have lost some time and the cost of the gasoline, etc. but I can still get to New York. I hope I have learned to navigate a little better, or I will make the same mistake again. Even if I do make the same mistake, repetitively, I will learn. I will learn that yes, indeed, I will not get to New York if I don’t use my phone/a map/whatever tools make sense.
I am on Day 11 of my challenge. I am learning and I am adapting my Food Plan. I am adding to my Never List. I am re-defining what it means to be “on plan”. It means “not one bite of my Never Foods”. I ate a fast-food hamburger on Valentine’s Day and I did not eat one French fry. French fries are on my Never List, and the hamburger is not. I stayed on plan.
Note: My Food Plan is highly personal. What is a Never Food for me might be an Always Food for someone else. That is the beauty of designing your own Food Plan.
So, in closing, as I move through this challenge, through the days and meals, I am changing and adapting. I am learning and growing. I will never, never give up. Too much is at stake for that. My “why” is big. I am smart and capable. I can be fit and strong. I can “get to New York”.
Anne Ivans Home and Family 