Sometimes we wonder if the simple choices we make today really matter. When faced with temptation, it may be easy to think that going off plan won't hurt "just this once." We may tend to think of our choices as disjointed, not really having much of an impact on the overall picture. An article I read about a so-called "Butterfly Effect" made me realize that nothing is truly inconsequential.
In 1960, an MIT meteorologist made an accidental discovery while he was trying to develop a computer program that could simulate and forecast weather conditions. One day he was in a hurry, and instead of entering .506127, the number he had used in an earlier trial, he rounded to the nearest thousandth, or .506, figuring that rounding the number to the nearest thousandth would be inconsequential, then left his lab. When he returned, he found a radical change in the weather conditions. He estimated that the numerical difference between the original number and the rounded number was the equivalent of a puff of wind created by a butterfly's wing, concluding that an event as minor as the flapping of a butterfly's wing could conceivable alter wind currents sufficiently to eventually change weather conditions thousands of miles away. "Tiny differences in input can quickly become overwhelming differences in output."
After describing the "butterfly effect," the author went on to write that "small changes and small choices become magnified over time, and have major consequences . . . Too often we fail to connect the dots between choices and consequences. Every choice has a domino effect that can alter our destiny."
It may seem like such a small and inconsequential thing today to choose to stay on plan, and you may have a dozen different really good reasons to step off. What you decide today matters - it really does - and not just today. If you choose to stay on plan, you are reinforcing your decision to get healthy, to delay immediate gratification for something far more important. Your decision to stay on plan today will increase the likelihood that you'll stay on plan tomorrow as well. For me, every time I successfully faced and conquered a temptation, it strengthened my resolve and my ability to withstand the next.
If you choose to step off plan today, it certainly doesn't mean that you won't ultimately be successful - please know that I'm not implying that at all! What I am saying, however, is that it will be more challenging to stay the course tomorrow. Once you take your eyes off of your goal and choose the instant gratification, it can be hard to get refocused. The next time you face a similar choice to the one you face today, you won't have the successful outcome from today to boost your resolve tomorrow. Again, you may well get to your goal (and I hope you do!), but you've increased the incline on the treadmill by a degree or two, making the climb from here to goal a bit more challenging.
As I've shared on numerous occasions in past blogs, I don't take any credit - none - for the fact that I stayed on plan and didn't step off from the time I started until I reached my goal. I know better than anyone how prone to failure I was and how utterly weak I felt in my own strength. For me, the only way I was able to do this program successfully was because I admitted my need for help and turned to the Source of my strength, my Heavenly Father.
The "butterfly effect" of the choices I made beginning with that first choice in June of 2007 to begin this program continues to spread. I had no idea that anything would come of that first choice - I didn't even believe that it would work for me. However, because I lost 126 pounds and got healthy, I have directly or indirectly helped literally hundreds and hundreds of others lose thousands of pounds over the past six years, and those individuals are inspiring still others to do the same. It amazes and humbles me every day.
The choices you make today matter far more than you may even realize. Choose wisely :-)
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