Time to Move

With the end of the year fast approaching, many of us are starting to look ahead to 2011 and are beginning to set goals for the year.  There are still things to finish up for this year (including getting ready for Christmas), but our thoughts momentarily lift from the here and now to what's next. 

One of my friends has chosen her "word for the year" for 2011, and her word is MOVE.  Encompassed in this word is her intent to move her body, move her mind, move forward on goals, move into and beyond her dreams, move out things not working, move relationships closer, move projects to completion, move closer to God and move to a warmer climate.

I've never thought in terms of a "word for the year," but if I was going to pick a word, I like my friend's idea of picking MOVE.  What a year it would be if I - if all of us - could really move forward in so many areas of our life! 

For many years, despite the resolutions I faithfully made on January 1, I'd find myself in much of the same place on December 31, especially with my weight.  I had good intentions and I certainly had the desire, but I didn't infuse those intentions and desires with action.  MOVE implies action.

I like my friend's intent to not only move her body, but to also move her mind.  So much of our success - or failure - occurs in the space between our ears.  If we think we really can't do it, we will most likely fail, and we may not even get started for fear of the inevitable failure.  Moving our mind is a critical step for us to truly change.  On this program, we have to move our mind from thinking of this as a diet to embracing this program as a new, healthy lifestyle.  We have to change how we think and emotionally relate to food.

What about moving forward on goals?  Do you have goals for 2011?  Did you meet the goals you set for yourself in 2010?  Moving forward on goals requires not only making the decision to do so, but also putting into place specific action steps.  The Take Shape for Life program provides very simple action steps - eat 5 Medifast meals and a lean & green - and these action steps are guaranteed to get you to your goal weight.  What other goals do you have?  Are you ready and willing to take the steps to get there?

I like my friend's idea of moving out what's not working.  It's been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  If what we've been doing isn't working, it's time to move it out!  What needs to change to get the results you want?  If you aren't seeing the results you want on this program and your experience can best defined as the Frank Sinatra approach ("doing it my way"), it may be time to move it out and try a different approach (may I suggest just following the program as written?).

Last, I love my friend's intent to move closer to God.  As I shared in my blog a few days ago, it is my belief that all of us have spaces in our lives that only God can fill (one theologian described this as a God-shaped vacuum).  Trying to fill these spaces with other things leads to frustration and disappointment and can keep us stuck in an unhealthy, endless cycle of trying to fill the spaces (with food or something else), being disappointed, then trying to fill the spaces again.

I know that some of you may be doing all you can to just get through the next few days until Christmas, but I encourage you to take a few minutes to think about what and how you want to move in 2011.  Moving, like so many other things in our lives, is our choice.  Choose wisely :-)