My friend, who is health coach, posts upbeat advice; this one stopped me:
People don’t decide their futures; they decide their habits, and their habits decide their future.
Well, that advice would have been more useful information a half-century ago than it is today. I am now what I never fully imagined myself to be: a creature of habit. Deciding to let go of a habit, even acquiring a new one is a lot of work!
Here’s where doing something different for only one day at a time helps. So, too, not thinking about how many days I should keep doing – or not doing — something keeps me calmer. (Stop Expecting to Change Your Habits in 21 Days)
Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow. ~Yiddish Proverb
Eight months into taking some better care of myself – and Doug, I am not positive I won’t revert. Especially when thoughtful friends send edible Christmas gifts of food I have been assiduously refusing since April!
But, God reminded me – practice a little gratitude, princess!
One that someone remembered you, and
Two, in eight months you’ve learned you can say no and lived to tell about it.
The struggle ends when the gratitude begins. ~Neale Donald Walsch
Seriously – putting on gratitude glasses can reinforce a better habit, and stop up the ears from the siren calls of those Christmas cookies. I am grateful that, for the time being, I am on a better path than I have been.
Habits don’t need to be life sentences . . . even if some stuff in this life is a life sentence.
Saying No to empty carbs can change one string of habits – even as saying yes to exercise and more protein can build at least a few better habits.
Another friend, who is also changing some of her habits, reminded me I have a DVD teaching me how to exercise by just walking in place.
Seriously, I do. Don’t judge.
Frankly I need to remember what I learned from that DVD, and apply it when I watch Judge Judy . . . another confession that might put you off, right?
Well, I like her – she’s my pick for any vacancy on the US Supreme Court, if I’m ever asked my opinion.
Sheindlin has stated that the main message she wants viewers to take from her program is that people must take responsibility for their actions and do the right thing. Judge Judy
So, taking responsibility for the size I became, I am going to keep working on a right-sized me enjoying all I can, while I can!
At least tonight, I am going to keep the lid on that Christmas cookie tin!
A friend’s good advice encourages me to keep changing the habits I can change — while I can. And GRATITUDE is a good habit to practice! So is laughter!
Celebrate what you can, while you can!