Until Tomorrow
Change. Yeah. I wish I could Dream of Jeannie (an old TV show for those of you who don’t know) and have one of my wishes granted. Change me- would be my wish. Better yet, I wish I could go within, decide I am going to change and immediately change. Unfortunately, I haven’t found change to be that easy. And I am not referring to changing the deep-seated hidden patterns we don’t realize we have that seem to defeat our every attempt at change. I am talking about easier stuff, like eating properly and exercising.
It’s not that I don’t realize I need to eat better. I need to eat better; I get it. Eating green is good for you. However, eating one salad every six months, usually at a restaurant is not what I call proper eating. There is salad in the refrigerator right now, spoiling, but I am going to eat it tomorrow. As to exercising, it’s not like I don’t know I need to be consistent with exercising. That wonderful workout I did 8 months ago, well, I may need to do that a little more often. The gym is less than 5 minutes away, less than 5 minutes, but I am going to start running consistently on the treadmill- when? – tomorrow!
Even when I know I need to change, tomorrow seems to be my favorite word. And even though I know tomorrow is not guaranteed, I spend a lot of time ‘going to change’ … tomorrow. I am really trying to figure out what it will take for tomorrow to become today.
So that’s why this month I am tackling my apparent inability to change simply things. First step, I have decided to write down everything that goes into my mouth and the times I exercise. That will help; everybody says that. If you write it down, you will do better. Yet, I can’t seem to find a pen. Ok, I don’t need a pen, I can put it in the notes section on my I-Pad. Oh boy, out of juice, I will do it tomorrow. Are you there with me now? Change for me, is not that easy. Tomorrow still seems to be my favorite word.
And then I finally noticed something. I have been eating salads more often than once every six months and I have been working out on average 3 times per week. Not as much, nor as intensively as I say I am committed to in my head but more than I give myself credit for. It seems my intention and desires are breaking down my tomorrow walls without me realizing it.
In addition, I added a new strategy. When I think about a salad, I go eat it right away. When I think about exercising, if feasible, I do it right away. “Right now” is making me forget about tomorrow. And for those times when my intention and right now fail me, I turn to those thoughts in my head that say I am too tired to work out or just one more cup of ice cream and say to those thoughts — “Enough of you!”
