LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHILE WE ARE BEING DISTRACTED BY SOMETHING ELSE

As I focus on getting healthier which in my case means losing weight, and building up my body physically with exercise it’s easy to get tunnel vision.



Notice I said “focus on getting healthier”.


I will be the first to admit that I have suffered a bit of single-mindedness in my quest for health. Sometimes I forget that the goal is…better health…potentially longer life…and just being able to enjoy life’s events right in the middle of things rather than sitting on the sidelines watching others live out their lives.


I usually make it all about weight loss.


Of course this is “normal” and almost impossible to put out of one’s mind when one is dieting.


Tornados are a “normal” part of weather too, but we don’t have one ear cocked to hear storm sirens and one foot on the top step of the basement stairs constantly.


Gathering storm clouds and weather forecasts are tools that give us feedback to help us form decisions about when to take cover…


Scales reporting our weight are tools to give us feedback about how well our reduced eating plan is working or rather how well we are working the reduced eating plan.


There are other tools at our disposal to give us feedback concerning our health that are important too.

Here’s a partial list of tools for positive feedback that I use:


 After 14 years without a wedding ring to wear, it finally fits again!!!


 My closet is a lot emptier now; I’ve gotten rid of all the clothes that are too big to wear. AND I am able to buy my new thinner clothes right off the rack! 


 I don’t get dangerously out of breath even while vigorously exercising.


 I no longer require 3 hour naps every Saturday & Sunday.


 I exercise regularly now, and that activity is becoming “normal”…something that has never really been true before ever in my life.


 The amount of insulin I take each day has been reduced from 204 units per day to 65.


 I don’t stop and consider whether what I want to do will be worth the effort of getting up and moving to do it anymore.


 Having lost the weight I have, my knee joints don’t hurt so badly that I need to walk with a cane anymore.


 I no longer have to hang onto the car door and use my arms to help get up out of the car because my legs are not strong enough to lift me up and out by themselves.


Still while these units of measurement are all well and good, I am still focused on how much weight I will lose, or not lose, each week when I go to “face the music “at the weight loss center scale.


It takes practice to not make it completely about the weight, but I doubt I will convince anybody to be happy about being healthier if the scale doesn’t report a loss every time.


At any rate, we all have the same 24 hours each day and we have a choice as to how we spend that time.


Life is what happens while we are being distracted by something else.

I need to practice living again as opposed to merely existing. Making my sense of well being all revolve around weight loss alone isn’t part of being healthy…but it is an important element. 

So round and round I go trying to convince myself of the practicality and wisdom of these words which are the heavy thoughts I deal with and hopefully let them move me to lighter (and real) living.

Here's something I found on the internet that says it pretty well:

SECRETS TO A HAPPY LIFE


A Good way to be happy is to learn the common characteristics of happy people and apply them.


- Forget the past


- Take responsibility for your life


- Build relationships


- Develop multiple passions


- Build your character


- Be who you are  


- Have a positive mind/and outlook...The glass really is half full!


- Work creatively


- Use your talents


- Make others happy


- Practice compassion


- Live your life purpose