Today I’m blogging about a blog post. Yes, it’s odd, but hear me out. I was reading Jon Acuff’s blog for today and was really struck but one paragraph in particular:
“When you fail, get up the next day. When you succeed, get up the next day. When the shine of your scene wears off, stay on it. When another scene looks distracting and attractive, stay on your scene.”
This time of year is always tough for me. It seems as if the cooler temperatures and dreary days bog me down in multiple ways. I want to eat everything in sight – almost like my body wants to add a layer of fat to ward off the cold. I want to stay curled up in my bed sleeping, reading, and watching TV rather than going out to exercise. I want to completely hole up in my house, and yet never actually do anything like clean or cook. I don’t want to talk on the phone. I don’t want to do anything that requires an effort.
And when I allow some of these things to happen – I eat a few cookies or sleep in one day – I tend to beat myself up and start asking, “what’s the point of even trying?”
And then I remember how hard I worked last spring to get the house in order and how I don’t want to have to do that again this spring.
And then I remember how hard I worked to lose 49 pounds and how I don’t want that weight back on my body.
And then I remember how hard I worked to get to the place where running 5 miles is easy and I don’t want to lose that.
And then I remember how hard I have worked to change my eating habits and I don’t want to regress.
And then I remember that there is nothing stopping me from starting fresh at any moment except me.
I get to choose. I get to “get up” every day and decide how I am going to proceed with the day. I get to say yes or no to the snacks. I get to say yes or no to the exercise. I get to leave the TV off and cook dinner for my family. Sometimes I may fail. But the next chance to choose well is just around the corner.
What area of your life do you need this reminder for today?