Bandwagons, Secrets and Promises! Oh My!
We are officially 8 days from the New Year! And what a year it has been so far. So many changes, so many transitions for us and those around us. In honor of this New Year I wanted to share some things with you. And by the title I’m guessing you can figure out one of my favorite movies (if you haven’t…don’t worry, It will kick in as your reading). A good friend of mine would call that a total squirrel moment! Shout out to you my friend (you know who you are…wink wink).
Lets take these words in stride though and further discuss what they mean.
Bandwagon
As this new year approaches very quickly we can already hear the chatter of that word most people dread…Resolution! Resolution is a firm decision to do or not to do something. Interesting huh? Bottom line…it means Change. And we don’t like change. It takes us away from our comfort zone leading us down a winding path of what we will automatically assume is defeat. We force upon ourselves a standard that society has created to make us feel guilty about not doing the thing that we resolve to do just because someone else has resolved to do it (boy…what a mouthful). Our expectations for ourself become that of someone elses expectations for us, or so we think its for us but in reality it was for themselves and we somehow felt out of place or guilty about not jumping on the bandwagon.
Guess what? That bandwagon pulls into the pickup zone every year at the same time and we scurry to try and catch it, some of us miss it and others chase it down the street trying to catch it all year long. It’s a never ending cycle. Sometimes we have to quit relying on others for the ride and decide to jump in our own vehicle and drive ourselves to that ever anticipated destination. You would probably get there a lot faster and not have to wait on others to catch up or get on. We delay our purpose because we are so dedicated to others goals rather than focusing on our own. Don’t get me wrong! We are here to encourage others along the way and that is a great part of our purpose as well but sometimes we have to step out and create change in order for others to find the motivation and determination to move in their purpose.
Don’t wait for the bandwagon! Figure out your own plan and follow it no matter if you need to leave people behind. Trust me, they won’t fall too far back. They just need to see that there’s someone that they can finally run with and they will eventually catch up. Even when people are behind a short distance, the victory is in the thought that they are still moving in the right direction.
BTW…The orignal definition of a bandwagon is “a usually ornate and high wagon for a band of musicians especially in a circus parade”. Ornate, high, musicians, circus parade?! A performance basically. An opportunity to be seen, praised, and heard. Not exactly what we look for in a life change. Rest on this word…Change. Let your actions speak louder in your silence. We don’t have to announce or even attract attention throughout or journey because remember this…we didn’t do for them in the first place. We did it for ourself.
Secrets
Oh boy! What Secret?! Well…let me start by saying that it’s NO SECRET that I absolutely LOVE Ice Cream. Forget the cookies, cakes, pies, candy etc. Just give me some Ice Cream!
The secret is this. I can’t have it as much as I’d like. And not because it totally halted my weight loss for the past 2 years but because I found out that it was causing so much more harm to me that the good I got out of eating it. I have’t had ice cream for a whole month and do you think I miss it? OMG YES!
Do you want to know another secret?
I’m gonna have Ice Cream this week whether it hurts me or not! It’s my decision and I will not feel guilty about it. The next secret is that through this journey we (speaking of Chris and I) have come to realize that there is not one diet that works for everyone across the board. You can not find a quick fix. There’s no amount of exercise that can guarantee success. We are ALL created different and unique in our own way. Chris can eat what he wants, when he wants and maintain at a number consistently. I, on the other hand, eat Ice Cream and blow up like a balloon for several days. Now because we know these things do you think we just eat whatever we want all the time? Absolutely NOT! There is so much garbage out there on the grocery store shelves that we would rather not have to force our bodies to digest. It’s just not worth it. But do we deprive ourselves of our favorites. Not at all.
We eat as clean as possible (meaning we cook at home) mostly following the Keto way of eating with high fats, moderate protein and very minimal carbs. This is what works for us and sometimes others but remember…we are created different. For instance, I can no longer consume dairy as I used to but in order to enjoy my one indulge every once in a good while, I stay away from it as much as I possible can. We find substitutes like homemade mayo to utilize in the place of salad dressings, dips and cream bases. And boy is it good. Make a couple of different batches with soy sauce, chili and lime, cilantro and others and I guarantee you will like it. My girls don’t even ask for ranch anymore 🙂
But what I’m getting at is that this week I will be eating Ice Cream and I am going to definitely report back to you the effect it had on me because I believe that being honest to not only me but you as well will help us both in our journey to a healthier lifestyle.
All these years I never realized that it was dairy that caused all my consistent congestion, coughing and sinus issues. My body just didn’t tolerate it as well as others. When a good friend of ours and amazing personal trainer suggested that we do without it for a couple of weeks just to test it, we saw almost instant results in not only our health but weight loss as well. You just never know the culprit until you chance making a change.
And FINALLY…Promises!
Promise is defined as a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen. Why are promises so important? They build trust amongst us. They allow us to see someone as saying something and keeping their word. It’s a “proving” action. We feel obligated to prove to others we can and will do it. And then we fall short sometimes just by a little bit and it’s like the world came crashing down. Why do we do this to ourselves?
Let me give you an example. I have been teetering right around the same # on the scale for about 2 weeks now. It’s so frustrating because I’m 2 lbs from my first goal. And what’s even worse…I told myself that I would be at that goal by today. I made a promise that I would be there! I broke my promise! The world is gonna end!
But seriously…the world is not gonna end. Life goes on. I have been working my butt off for those 2 lbs and in the moment of being upset about the whole situation I have forgotten that I am much stronger this week because of the sacrifice I made to eat better and work out. My gains in muscle and loss in fat is much more important than that number on the scale. The scale is a LIAR! 😉
Remember this one thing. All the promises you make out loud for the world to hear are only surface promises to them but they are so much deeper to us. We can see the change inside and out and even though it may appear (on the surface) that you did not keep your promise, you did indeed keep your promise. It’s a lifestyle change that you achieved and soon enough the world will be able to see what you see. The most important lesson to take away from this is to remember who you are, realize what you can and will accomplish and resolve to fulfill your purpose no matter how long it takes. You will get there.
2018!
This New Year is not an opportunity to start something new…it is the greatest privilege to continue that great journey you already begun. Don’t give up. You are making progress as long as you’re still moving forward. Grab someone this year and be their encouragement by sharing your strength and determination. You never know how many lives you’ll change while creating great change in your own.
Many blessings to you in 2018!
XOXO
Jennifer