Rocking Boats

How do you feel about rocking the boat? Does the very thought of it leave you running for seasick medication?

I'm asking because I read a column in my local newspaper about that very thing, and the author contends that to get the most out of our lives, sometimes we have to take the difficult path. She talked about how we "compile a body of evidence and experiences that make up our story line", then we reinforce our story line by repeating it until we convince ourselves that the ending we've focused on is the only possible ending to our story. The author wrote about people who talk about health issues that they don't have the time to take care of, and marveled that we can convince ourselves that not feeling well is preferable to making the effort to change.

Change is difficult - no doubt about it! Sometimes we prefer to stay where we are, even when we don't like it, because it's familiar - even comfortable, in an uncomfortable sort of way. On one level, it really doesn't make sense, but on an emotional level, that's exactly what we often choose to do over and over again. Self-sabotage often plays a role here, as we may subconsciously work to maintain the more familiar status quo, rather than risk dealing with the changes that new behaviors will invariably bring.

Part of maintaining the comfortable status quo is writing a story that goes something like, "I have a slow metabolism and can't lose weight" or "Being overweight is genetic - all of my family is overweight so I can't help but be overweight, too." More stories may read "I have big bones and need more weight on my body" "My spouse prefers me to be soft and cuddly" or "I couldn't possibly cook healthy because my family won't eat it." When we write a story that sounds something like this, and when we repeat it often enough, it becomes our reality - whether it's actually true or not. We repeat it and we believe it, and every time we fail on another weight loss plan, it only reinforces our belief in our story.

What's exciting, however, is when someone has the courage to rewrite their story, to realize that it CAN be different and that the ending can be changed. Making the changes required to lose weight and keep it off will definitely rock our boats, and often the boats of others in our lives. Sometimes the boat rocking will leave us scrambling to maintain (or even regain) our equilibrium, but in time we find ourselves settling into a new and much richer (and healthier) routine. To our surprise, we find that we've rewritten our story.

Two years ago, my story was typical of many women in their mid-50's: I was overweight (OK, I was morbidly obese . . .), I was on several medications, I had been diagnosed with diabetes, and my back and knees hurt. The expected story was that women my age couldn't lose weight; that once a person was on medication, the only thing one could do was manage the medication (and remember to take the pills on time). For a long time, I believed that story and I thought that the story wouldn't have a very happy ending. Then God led me to Take Shape for Life/Medifast and before I knew it, my story began to be rewritten. I found out that much that I THOUGHT was true simply wasn't: women my age CAN lose weight; it IS possible to reverse disease and get off of medications. My story reads very differently now than it did just two short years ago and I am hopeful that, Lord willing, it will have a much happier and healthier ending. Making the changes wasn't easy and I definitely rocked not only my boat but my family's boat - but it was definitely worth it!

My challenge for you today is to go for it! Rock your boat and rewrite your story. You'll do both one on-plan day at a time :-).