I Am Committed and Flawed
A good friend of mine sent this to me and I thought I would share it with you.
One evening an old Cherokee told his granddaughter about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My child, the battle is between 2 wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy,sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The granddaughter thought about it for a minute and then asked her grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
Yesterday we had a fascinating discussion on the blog about being committed or interested in losing weight. I was proud of the things the girls had to say; some were rocked by the post, others enlightened, and some gung-ho. This story along with yesterday's comments made me think about which wolf we are feeding during our fatloss journey.
When we look at the reasons we aren't committed to the journey we find that we are giving into things that have little to do with fueling our body for health, wellness, and self-acceptance.
Anger - Ever ate a hamburger because someone threw a fit in the the backseat and suddenly McDonalds for you and the kids sounded good?
Sorrow - Feel bad for yourself? Think you have the weight of the world on your shoulders because you have lost someone or dealing with losing someone? Suddenly ice cream and pizza is going to make those people well.
Ego - Do you feel like you deserve to let loose with your food more than you tighten up because you workout hard?
Guilt - You ever skip workouts because you feel like you don't spend time with your kids? You sleep in rather than waking early or you skip out on p.m. workouts when the kids go to bed because you are tired from the day.
No one ever said the road to looking good was easy. It's not. Talk to anyone who is in great shape and I bet 95% of them don't get that way naturally. They WORK for it. Plain and simple. They feed the good wolf. They do things like:
Humility - I had an ooops meal today. I'm getting back on track with the next snack because it's a lifelong journey and not an all or nothing journey. My body wasn't built in a day and my slip won't tear it down in one day either.
Love - My kids deserve an energetic mom who sets the example that you take care of yourself. I want my kids to see me meeting the goals I set, eating healthy so that I am around to see my grandkids, displaying dedication to what is important to me, and learning how to manage my time by planning ahead.
Faith - Those around me will be empowered because I trust in the process. I know that life isn't full of gurantees and that things happen on their own timeline. As long as I do the things I know are right for my body, my body will take care of me.
I am not too proud to admit that I struggle with this journey. Just yesterday I set a timer for my meals because I wanted to eat all day. I was stressed and wanted to avoid doing something I dreaded. It's not always easy to work six feet from the pantry but I deal with it and do my best daily. Giving in to food because of emotion is like telling the bad wolf he has won.
Ladies, let's make sure that we're feeding our minds, bodies, and souls properly today. Treat this body like it is intended and don't take it for granted. You feed the body crappy thoughts, foods, and images and you'll feel, act, and look like crap. Not as eloquent as the old Cherokee but you get my point.
PNP girls or anyone else, I want you to give me the good wolf feeling you are going to feed today and one bad wolf feeling you recognize you need to let go.