We are traveling to Florida in a couple weeks. This means…bikini time! Aaahhhh. I’m not ready!
Fortunately, knowing I’d be leaving my belly-sucking-in Lululemon pants poolside, I found myself feeling particularly motivated to shed a few pounds.
Let’s be honest here…this is by no means the first time I have found myself with the urge to get in shape. In fact, I’d say I begin this challenge every other week and have been for well over 2 decades. This is not an out-of-the-ordinary attempt. Furthermore, logic would suggest that, seeing as I have attempted this countless times, success is not a familiar result.
All this is actually beside the point of this article. What is the point then?
The point is that, losing weight takes effort and time. It’s about watching what I eat, yes, but it is also about finding time to exercise more than I have been. For the past few weeks, I have been running almost every day and making sure I get a bit of strength and stretching/yoga in as often as I can. I have been saying “yes” to working out.
But at what cost?
Each time I choose to spend an hour on the road running, is an hour I am taking away from something else in my life – blogging, recording, playing with my kids, baking (probably not a bad thing considering).
Each time I say yes to the run, I consequently say no to something else.
This is an important thing to keep in mind because it applies to everything.
Every time you say yes to doing something, you are saying no to something else. And, is this “no” an acceptable sacrifice?
I have felt the impact of my indirect “no’s” for sure. There is a slight feeling of being unproductive lingering in the background. Yet, I am committed to this particular priority right now.
However, most of the time we have no clue that there is a “no” somewhere. After all, how can we know something is an option if we don’t even know it exists as one?
But what about the things you can bring more awareness to? For example, each time I choose to respond to my kids with anger and impatience, I am saying “yes” to that particular reaction. As such, I am then saying “no” to responding to them with love and kindness.
Every time you say yes, you are always also saying no.
What have you said “yes” to today? Put another way, what have you chosen to do with your time today? Ok, now think about what you possibly said “no” to?
Let me clear something up quick. This is not an exercise to make you feel guilty about what you chose. Rather, it is about understanding that there is something on the other side of everything. And, once you are aware of that, you are more likely to stand behind your choices and, if need be, choose differently.; a message that lives in the neighborhood of “knowledge is power”.
Something to think about…
