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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Inspiration

Hi out there! Is everyone surviving the transition to winter? We actually had snow here the other day - it was a bit depressing on top of the nasty cold I've got.

Anyhoodles, I came across two inspiring bits of information/quotes today and felt they were worth sharing. See, I joined the Medifast online support group (decided to give it another go - I'd done it before and I know it works, but I needed more support this time around) and I found two things on their message boards that hit home for me. What was great about them is that these things can apply to any area of our lives that we're working on, whether it's weight loss, writing or anything else. So what were they?

One, was this quote: "Talk to that person in the mirror as if he or she were a good friend going through this."

Simple, but it really got to me. I'm probably much harder on myself than anyone else is, so I taped a copy of that to my bathroom mirror where I'll see it every day.

The second thing came from a woman had been reading a book called "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink, which isn't about weight loss, but she found an activity in it called "But Out!" that she found helpful enough to share, and I'm glad she did.

The exercise was this: Compile a list of some of the important changes you'd like to make in your life and what's keeping you from realizing them, such as:

I'd like to spend more time with my family, but I travel a lot for my job.
I'd like to eat better, but I'm surrounded at work by sugary snacks.
I'd like to read more, but I rarely have time when I can sit down with a book.


Now go back to each item and replace the word "but" with the word "and":

I'd like to spend more time with my family and I travel a lot for my job. I need to find ways to bring my family along during some of my travels.
I'd like to eat better, and I'm surrounded at work by sugary snacks. So I need to pack my own supply of healthful snacks to reduce the temptation to eat the bad stuff.
I'd like to read more, and I rarely have time when I can sit down with a book. So I need to get books on tape that I can listen to in the car or at the gym.


Exchanging "and" for "but" can move you out of excuse-making mode and into problem-solving mode.


Isn't that great? Simple, but effective. (Or, simple AND effective) :)

Now I'm off to get my butt back to bed so I can shake this cold. How are things going for you?

11 comments:

  1. Good to see you blog again. I love the "but out" exercise. And the quote! I'll remember both of them.

    Hope your cold gets better soon!

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  2. Hey, Edie! Thanks for dropping by and for your good wishes. :)

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  3. NO! It's COLD! And I mean COLD! There was no transition. All of a sudden it was freezing cold and there was a foot of snow on the ground.

    We splurged for snowplow service this year, and top of the line. (We've had landlord-funded snowplow service that always came at the wrong time.) I love these people. They've already cleared the whole driveway and parking section for my students perfectly. And last year, when they did my neighbor's driveway, you could set your clock by them.

    I'm so excited!

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  4. We had some great colors to watch as the temperature gradually dropped.

    I liked that substitution idea. It helps us understand that the reasons we feel unable to do something don't have to stay the excuses for not finding another way to do it.

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  5. Heya Kate! Good post and a timely reminder.

    I continue to rock on. Though my interwebbing at the moment is happening at *painfully* slow speeds, my offline life continues full throttle...

    My favorite treatment for colds? Bed rest and Audrey Hepburn movies.

    That's right, I said it. Audrey Hepburn.

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  6. Glad to see you back! Things are good for me. Happy as usual. Have aligned things in my life properly for that outcome & am enjoying it thoroughly. :)
    Sounds like some good advice in this post. Best of luck!

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  7. Sorry about the cold (yours and the weather) but on the brighter side, yours will get better before next spring. Bed rest, Audry Hepburn and maybe as your Old Daddy used to say, "there's not a cold on earth that can stand up to Vicks-Vapo-Rub".

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  8. Hey Kate, glad you're back! Take care of you too.

    Loved your examples, and so true. You can turn anything around, and up the inspiration. I'm all about seeing the good stuff. :)

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  9. Yayyyyyy! You're blogging. I'm a little late, but I'm here. ;-) It's good to see that your inspiration is up.

    And as for me, I'm doing great! Believe it or not, the REAL cold hasn't gotten to NC yet. I don't care what the whiny meteorologists say.

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  10. It's not so bad here in MD, but I hear that's about to change by Friday. Too bad, too, I was enjoying not feeling icy wind blowing through our exposed insulation walls.

    I need to take that advice and get off my "buts." ;)

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  11. Wow, guys - I can't believe it was November when I wrote this. I apologize profusely for waiting so long to answer your kind comments.

    Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea gran culpa...

    Thanks for sticking with me! :)

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