Put Your Mind To It

Ok. We are 26 days in and all is well. There have been a few challenges (i.e. the O-land hotel debacle) but all in all...not too bad. Really. I thought by this time I would be sneaking fast food out of dumpsters and stealing the children's happy meals, but I'm cool. Today's plan is the usual b-fast, gumbo and 1 lb. of veggies for lunch, maybe gumbo or seitan tacos for dinner. I am basically not restricting anything on my diet but I am eating 1 lb. of veggies and drinking 2 gallons of water every day...because I am crazy. Lock up your veggies and gallons of water..oh and your liquor..just in case.
My mom used to have a saying. She would say "you can do anything you put your mind to." I always wondered what that meant exactly. How do you "put" your mind to something. Well, I think there are a lot of elements to it. If you start at the vision of where you want to be and work backwards (physically and emotionally) you start to get a good feel of what is required and what level of determination you will need. This would go for any accomplishment but in my case it is related to food and and exercise.
As you know, I decided not to eat out for a year (damn.) And I go to these rigorous exercise classes every morning. Here is the process of "putting your mind to it" as I see it.

1. A belief that you CAN

This is first stumbling block for most of us. Frankly, the journey can easily end here. Which is why it is not really my first step. I am sorry to mislead you (don't be mad).

(the real) #1. Be willing to fail

This is difficult but what do you really lose? I mean really? Coolness? Is that it? For me, failing is mortifying. BUT the willingness to fail unlocks the inner resources that I need to overcome the feeling of "I can't". Saying, "I might not be able to do it, but I am going to try" gets me to the game. Once I am in the game, (i.e. going to the gym or eating in --whatever it is for you) I am not going to fail. I am just not. I know that I will not fail...but I DIDN'T until I tried. I tried because I was willing to fail.

2. Keep things simple.

Our minds are amazing. They truly, truly are. The amount of information we can process is overwhelming. BUT, in my experience, it doesn't work well with negatives. (I.e. Don't eat this...don't do that) MY mind works best with the command DO. And I can only DO a few things. For example, I will add a pound of veggies and 2 gallons of water to my everyday diet. Now, this doesn't mean I am eating crappy..on the contrary, I am eating very healthfully...but I know better than to change too much at once.

3. Be creative and fun!

For me, this means doing something crazy. Walking into a Zumba class full of women and I am the only guy dancing about and doing some feminine looking things makes me laugh. I am sitting here thinking of this past summer and my thought: "I think I will go to Zumba today". It brings me great joy. If cooking is a creative venture then maybe that's your thing. For me, it is anything. I can make anything fun.

4. Accept encouragement

Seems like this would be easy but how many times have you heard some deflect a compliment? "You did a great job today"... "gettin' there" "aahh thanks" or my favorite.."I need to go to the hospital" All of these are comfy replacements for "Thank you". When we accept the encouragement of others we stand in contradiction to the voices that defeat us. It is scary to do so because we are comfortable being controlled by them...they are familiar. Like our drunk uncle...you DO have one of those right?...oh god...just me?

5. Be open and honest about
you fears and triumphs

When we tell someone what we are afraid of-- it loosens. Fears do NOT like the light of day. They hate it. Now I want to be clear that telling someone about what we fear and living the drama of the fear are DIFFERENT. The former helps...the latter does not. Triumphs or noticing your own progress and sharing is a way to self- encourage. It also helps us to be there for others.


Remember how I faked you out earlier with the "A belief that you CAN?" Well, that should go here.
This list is by no means definitive. Nor is it complete..even for me. These are elements of "putting your mind to it". It relates to my fitness goals but I have used these same elements to become a more mature musician and person. I think that they are universal. If you find them helpful, please use them. If not, disregard and find YOUR path on YOUR terms. Another saying my mom had was "It's your life Roy, you will have to live it." I plan to do exactly that Momma.



Roy