Here I go again! Showing you a glimpse of Savor by Shauna Niequist! But this time we are talking about CHOICES!
I love this story about parents insisting that their child sit at the table, but in a way that gives the child a choice of how to sit – on his knees or on his buns. It makes the child feel like he has some say in the matter and empowers them.
Guess what? This doesn’t just work for kids.
That’s right! It works for us, too!
The choice isn’t whether or not to work out; it is which workout we want to do.
The choice isn’t get up and workout or sleep in and skip; it is get up and do the longer workout or get up a little later and do a shorter one (or set a no-excuses time later in the day).
The choice isn’t healthy food or crap; it is which healthy food.
The choice isn’t all or nothing; it is get it done using plan A or plan B.
When we give ourselves choices between healthy habits, it empowers us to keep working toward our goals, even when we need to make adjustments for life.
Just this morning, my running partner was up late doing homework and decided she wasn’t going to make it for our run. At that point I had a choice. Plan A was run and then do my Hammer and Chisel workout for the day. Plan B was sleep a little longer, skip the run, but get up and do the Hammer and Chisel workout. Plan C was sleep even longer and do Hammer and Chisel after I had been to the hairdresser and had my hair newly cut and colored. Well, I was tired, but I didn’t want to mess up my hair later, so I chose Plan B. I probably could have done plan A and been just fine on sleep for the day, but I needed a little leeway this morning so Plan B it was. And you notice, none of my plans included skipping working out today.
I’ve said it before, our minds are powerful things, and if we train them to think along these lines, we will be much better off in the long run because we won’t lose a battle with ourselves.
What kinds of choices do you give yourself when it comes to your health? Are you an all or nothing kind of person? Or do you give yourself healthy choices? I want to hear from you!