In her devotional book "Believing God Day by Day," author Beth Moore wrote about one morning walk when she came across four ducks splashing in a mud puddle in the sidewalk while a large, pristine pond was just over a small hill.
That simple story made me wonder how many times I've been content to splash in a mud puddle that was conveniently located, rather than make the effort to go a bit farther and enjoy the pristine pond just over the hill. Almost every time I choose immediate gratification, what I'm choosing is the mud puddle instead of the pond, because I settle for what's close instead of what I really want.
I have to keep going back to the principle of identifying my priorities, then making secondary choices that support those priorities. I may not always LIKE or WANT the secondary choice, but I make those choices because they support what I REALLY want. Dr. Andersen talks at length about this in his book, "Dr. A's Habits of Health." Getting to what I really want always takes more effort than settling for what's at hand (the mud puddle), but the effort is absolutely worth it.
At this point in my life, my primary choice in terms of my health is to maintain a healthy weight and continue my pursuit of optimal health. That means that I have to ignore the mud puddle within my reach (my puddle looks a lot like chocolate . . . ) and keep on moving!
There are mud puddles along our path every day, so it takes a renewed commitment every day to keep on walking and not settle. Don't stop, because the pond is just over the hill :-)
Who wants an on-plan, mud puddle-free day today? You can have it, if you want it! Staying out of the mud puddles happens by making the decision to choose wisely :-)
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