The only thing about finding yourself in a place where you don’t want to be (physically, emotionally, spiritually) is that you can either feel sad and stuck or view it as your starting place to where you want to go instead. It’s okay to be discouraged momentarily but if you sit in that discouragement, you’re essentially telling yourself and everyone else, that this is how it is going to be, from now on.
And, the truth is, it doesn’t have to be that way for very long at all. You can change. You have the power to choose something that will make a difference, even if it takes a while for that change-effect to be evident. Simply by choosing to change, you’ve done something inside yourself and completely for yourself that no one can do for you, and no one can take away from you.
Today, with some new technology available to me, I saw a 3-D image of my body like I’ve never seen myself before. I was horrified! No details, no features, just a complete outline with every roll of fat, every slope of poor posture and every possible flaw usually covered by clothing was made visible. It made me sad and discouraged, but it also made me mad and motivated!
Now, I realize that there are elements of this 3-D representation that I cannot change (in this life). I will not become suddenly taller – although that could solve a lot of the disproportion issues. I will not likely discover tight, taught skin revealed when my weight-loss goals are met. There will be droopiness and sagging to deal with even when my ratio of body fat declines. It’s always something, isn’t that what Gilda Radner said?
So what CAN I change (you remember that wisdom to know the difference)? Well, I suspect I can work on two things, replacing fat with muscle, even if that makes little change on the scale. And, I can use stretching and other lengthening moves (like Pilates, yoga, etc.) to strengthen and tone the muscle I add. Both would serve me well and potentially change that 3-D silhouette that troubled me so when I first saw it. Either would be better than sitting around complaining that I don’t like my body!
