Like Richard said to Tommy in the classic comedy Tommy Boy, "You have derailed". I feel like Richard is talking directly to me with regards to my success in keeping to my commitments this past week. I started this adventure 2 weeks ago with the intention of dropping 28 pounds (Start Weight: 223) in preparation for my October 7th Chicago Marathon. After losing 4.5 lbs last week I am disappointed, but not surprised, to say I did not lose any weight this week. I am still 218.5 lbs and looking forward to turning around, what I consider an wildly unsuccessful week. For those of you who are relatively new or just joining my blog site, this is third installment in my running Sunday blog series. Feel free to read my first post on this topic, 3 Commitments and 90 Days to get caught up.
If I were to rate my week on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being complete failure and falling into the Abyss of Suckdom (It is a new word, I just created) and 10 being that I was a shining Beacon of Awesomeness on my commits I would give myself a 4. Here's how it all shakes out: So, of the 4 commits I made (In last weeks post I added a morning smoothie to my commits) I successful kept only one (eat only chicken or fish - NOT fried) and it is evidence in my results. It is not quite as bad as suckdom, but I am not shining in awesomeness this week either.
The fact is we all make choices everyday and these choices, for good or bad, determine the direction our life takes every single moment. With regards to this past week I allowed myself (I take 100% responsibility) to make the easy choice of: sleeping in (on several occasions) instead of getting up early to run, drinking a soda handed me when I knew I had committed not too, forgoing my morning smoothie since I was missing a couple of key ingredients - instead of getting off my butt and heading to the supermarket to get them.
It is so funny that the previous week, the easy choice was to live up to my commits, and this past week it was completely the opposite. As I think about the past 2 weeks side by side, what was the difference?Why was I able to successful navigate one week and fall flat on my face on the next? The only difference I can really hang on to is that in my first week I acted immediately on my goals, where in the second week I paused and allowed myself to think too much, thus letting those two troublesome cousins we are all so familiar with dig their claws into my mind. Of course I am talking about Procrastination & Rationalization. Together, these two really played havoc on my week and since, as cousins, both are related to their Aunt & Uncle Failure, no wonder I didn't experience the shining beacon of awesomeness this week that I set out to accomplish.
The good news about any week is that it is now in the past. I am so blessed that I get to remake my future and start again on the path towards making my vision come to life. The way I see it, I have 2 options. One, I could hang on to the feeling of failure and sink deeper into the Abyss of Suckdom. Or... Two, I could recognize the unique challenge last week brought me, appreciate it and see it as a minor roadblock on my journey to 195 lbs and the excitement of being prepared for the Chicago Marathon by taking ACTION IMMEDIATELY!!......
..... Personally, I like the second option a lot better.