Do It Anyway

We continue to find ways that can become habits without bringing “notice” to oneself that we’re adjusting our eating as I found that “well meaning” input often led to frustration and exhaustion as I started to “adjust” my habits. Everyone has an opinion or comment to make and most really aren’t that helpful and often clouded the mindset and decision that I had made that I knew was what I wanted to do and try. There’s a wonderful quote from Mother Theresa that goes right along with the idea that while you are trying to change what you do, you are also “changing” the way you approach your life as a whole. You cannot realistically only change habits if you don’t change the “feelings” that lie underneath those routine ways we have dealt with things for a long time. It takes some effort to “explore” how we’re doing in regards to some buried or current issues in our lives and how we “react” to them. We are turning our way of thinking to “responding” to things in our lives instead of having automatic reactions to them. A dear and wise friend taught me that many years ago and it has served me well. It take a little longer and a bit more effort, but can easily become refreshing when you realize you can begin to “control” some things in your life instead of letting them control you! Then the empowerment builds to feeling good about yourself and creating habits that are enjoyable because they bring good feelings instead of “ugh, I did it again – overeating or . . . (whatever your difficulty is)”.

– As you consider these bits of “food for thought”, I will add a few more things to use in adjusting our ways of eating. And I will add the message from Mother Theresa that has helped me move out of feeling so “controlled” by others. Take a small amount of each and if you need to “explain” why you’re not eating as much, tell them it’s so you can try a lot of different things and then decide what you would like seconds on. (Then you can decide not to go back for another helping and no one will probably even notice.)
– Food can be spread out a little too, so a smaller amount can look like a full serving.
– Decide ahead of time to take only 1 dessert, or set a portion of your plate for unhealthier food and leave 2/3 to 3/4 of it for healthier choices.
– Select 1 or 2 bites of a couple of different desserts or unhealthier food choices, but not a whole serving of each.

Words to Live By
From: Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.