COMMITTment…
COMMIT: to give in trust; to declare as having a certain opinion or position; to bind or obligate, by pledge (to commit oneself to a healthy lifestyle); to entrust (to commit one’s soul to God). How great is this word? I happen to think it is one of the greatest words that we use. First things first; in my business, it IS the greatest word. People contact me because they have “committed” themselves to try and make themselves healthier, much more functional, and to try and re-stabilize their belief in change, FOR THIS MOMENT. This is, again, a great word.
We all hear the words, “I have to change”. All that means is you have to do it. Nothing more, nothing less. Change. If you reach the conclusion that you have to change, then try. I’m not here to tell you it’s a simple concept, but I am here to tell you it can be done, and I’ll tell you that story over, and over. What do you think about the person who is 600 lbs, or 700 lbs, or 800 lbs? They lose 300 lbs, and need to lose another 100-300 lbs. Do you think they committed, to themselves? I’ll bet they did. I am going to extremes, here, so bear with me. Yes, that’s an HUGE commitment, but they did it because of need. Maybe they were thinking about their health, or possibly beyond that, but I applaud that.
Change doesn’t happen overnight; and it doesn’t just magically happen. You have to make it happen. “How do I make that happen?”, is often asked. Now we’re startin’, here! When you want to make a change, probably the safest way to do things, is not to say, “ok, I won’t do all of this, and I will now start doing all of that”! That’s a HUGE responsibility you are putting on yourself. How about we start slowly? How about we eliminate just ONE negative, whether it be in our diet, (chocolate/sugar/salt/Pepsi…etc), or smoking, or cutting down on the late night snacks? You just take one thing to eliminate, (salt), and stay with that. I’m telling you, your taste buds will change, within weeks this buds changin’ will happen; all of a sudden, your food takes on a different taste. You’ll realize that that wasn’t such a big deal. YES! So then take on another “negative”, because now you see that “change” CAN be done, SUCCESSFULLY! Realize, though, that this is a process that takes a little bit of time. Time is NOT of the essence. Believe in that. You have just committed to yourself, that you want to change; and now you’re doing it! What a feeling, to tell yourself, (with a smile on your face!) THAT YOU’RE DOING IT! This whole process is like a snowball; it starts small, but you keep rolling that little snowball across the snow, and now that little snowball becomes bigger, and bigger, and bigger! Just like every one of your “little” changes that you made. Then when you start to see, and feel, a change; your life is upside down now! I know, I know, I made it sound simple, but really, it’s just the little actions that help you get started. All of these little things that we mentioned here, makes you start to pay attention to all of the other things in the area that you want to change. Remember, though, that all of this has to be you doing this; it doesn’t just “happen”.
Let’s get into another couple of area’s that might help you a bit:
Try not to feel like you have to have control; let it GO! Once you let it be, I’m telling you, you’ll feel so much more free; and that, my friend, will make all of your actions easier. (by letting it go all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. Lau Tzu).
Give up your excuses, and self-defeating self-talk. There’s no right/wrong here, there is only you, don’t limit your beliefs. If it helps, some people like to set dates; others can’t stand to set dates. Try yourself out, see what works for you, and go s-l-o-w-l-y. Time is what we have, and nothing, EVER, stays the same. If you reached the conclusion that you want to make a change, it just means that changes were already happening, so take it back to where you were.
Give up the past: What’s the past got anything to do with your future? Start NOW, because you CAN; that’s what you decided!
For me, this next little tip, is my most important: Try not to live up to everyone else expectations! First of all, no one cares, and I’m serious on this one. I’ll tell you my thoughts for this. After I had my first surgery, I stayed at my friends house for 2 months. Let me regress a little, here. I had my brain worked on, and I was trying to get myself back to “normal”, which I have no idea what that word means, anymore, buy the way! So I’m staying there, and SO many of my friends; old friends, new friends went to my place and repainted, cleaned the carpets, and basically went through all my stuff, throwing things out. Now, I should say, there were some things that I would never throw out, but they WERE thrown out; but who cares? I really didn’t; and better yet, I didn’t care what the thoughts were of these people! I mean, they threw out some very personal stuff, but I could care less, and I really DIDN’T care what they thought! I am ME, and this is NOW, so please accept me as I am, or maybe we can go our own ways, and still be friends. Believe this; just be you, and always say that to yourself, continuously, that you are you, and be very happy that you are making this change. It might take awhile, but who cares? You are not only making a change to your area of concern, but you’re making a change to your thinking, and that will present itself to other people. Be glad, be happy, and enjoy every change you’re making; each little effort is a snowball!
