IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT I GET YOUR FEEDBACK – SO BEFORE YOU LEAVE THIS PAGE PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM – THANKS
Hey – Its Lucie!
I find it interesting how thoughts can pop into my mind at times when I am not paying attention to my thinking. This happened the other day and l have to share it with you. It was a beautiful day outside and comfortable enough for me to go for a walk around a rather large lake not too far from where I live. As I walked around the lake I was aware of the beauty of the water. It radiated into my senses and I felt very calm and relaxed, very much present in the “here and now”. All of a sudden I heard a loud noise. I looked over and saw a dog had jumped into the water, splash around for a bit and then come back out of the water, shake off and continue to walk to where they wanted to go.
This episode led me to explore the symbolism of what I observed. What if a person veered off their path to jump into a lake (or some other direction that looked like fun). Once in the lake they realized it was not where they wanted to be. Would they be able to enjoy the moment and then get back on track or would they feel like they lost the opportunity to stay focused on where they were heading?. I would certainly prefer to be like the dog I just saw. Enjoy the moment for a bit, get wet, and then shake myself off and get back on the path to where I still wanted to go.
Let’s apply this to weight loss and weight maintenance, too often we fall in the lake. We go out to dinner with friends, have things like appetizers or cocktails, and then justify to ourselves that we cannot succeed. So, we have fallen in the lake and have decided to drown rather than save ourselves. What we really need to do is get out of the water, shake ourselves off and get back on track. The next day we account for what we did the night before, accept what occurred and learn from the experience. Just because we may have veered off the path, we are capable of getting back on it.
PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION
To your health,
Lucie
Lucie A. Knapp MSW,LCSW, behavioral therapist and certified life coach. Her website Commit2self.com provides ongoing education, support and motivation for weight loss and total health. Lucie has over 20 years working in weight loss starting as a personal trainer, and then working as a counselor in a major weight loss chain and finally as the Program coordinator of the Lifestyle Coaching Program at the oldest residential weight loss center in the world. You can email questions or comments to: Lucie@commit2self.com.