Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking at the TOPS Fall
rally in Gladwin, Michigan. What a great group of people! Some of those present
have heard me speak four or five times, so I was a bit at a loss in terms of
what to share with them, but still, it was wonderful to be given yet another
opportunity to share my miracle, and hopefully, just hopefully, I was able to
give others there hope that they, too, can change their situation; or at least
change how they LOOK at things.
I’ve said it multiple times, but honestly, even more than
changing my eating habits or increasing my activity, I think the key to my
weight loss was changing the way I think about things. That’s certainly not
something I did on my own; but rather, I allowed God to change me from the
inside out. Losing weight, giving up a habit, becoming a better person, growing
stronger, overcoming grief, illness, temptation, depression, going to school…..even
dealing with difficult people…..WHATEVER it is that you struggle with or want
to improve is not something you can do on your own. For me…it’s my faith and
belief that a power outside of me is in control, but I know that not everyone believes
that way. For many, it’s the support of friends, family, or groups like TOPS,
Weight Watchers, AA, or others. Hopefully, you find support and encouragement
here…and through the sharing of my thoughts and the support of each other….you
are beginning to look at things differently too.
Yesterday I shared the story about my watermelon. By now, you all pretty much know that I LOVE,
LOVE, LOVE watermelon! It’s my new ‘drug of choice” if you will, replacing a
bag of chips with M&M’s mixed in. I’m enjoying as much watermelon as I can
now as the season quickly winds down. Soon, apples will be harvested...and I’ll
be eating them instead. Last winter, after trying several times to get a decent
watermelon….but without success…I decided that I was going to grow my own watermelon
this year! Why not, I thought…if someone else can do it, certainly I could. Right?
At least I could try. Of
course I doubted that I could at first, made up all kinds of excuses about how I
knew nothing about growing them; that I didn’t have room for the big vines;
that the animals would eat them; that it was too cold….etc. (you name it, I came
up with all the reasons why I couldn’t possibly do this, and nearly talked
myself out of it multiple times.
After yet another bad watermelon (what did it expect, it WAS
February and that watermelon probably came from South America or someplace far
away), I finally made up my mind that I would try….and I would succeed. I
researched and read all about watermelon. I watched YouTube videos. I told
myself how wonderful it would be to go to my backyard next August and pick my
very own home-grown watermelon. I thought about it; planned it; and couldn’t
wait until the snow was gone so I could get at it! I was excited….about the
possibility of a silly little watermelon plant. When spring came, I got ready.
I found the container; I scouted the location; I had my friend take me to the
community recycling place to haul compost; I picked out what I thought was the
perfect plant and got it in the ground. I was determined…I was excited….I was
hopeful.
I knew it was going to take a very long time for that plant
to produce a watermelon, but every day, multiple times a day, I would go out
there to look for progress….any kind of progress. I chuckle now to think about
it. Did I really think it would grow a couple of inches in 6 hours? I watered it every day. I pulled any weeds
that grew around it. I checked for bugs. I was invested in this silly little
plant and I was so determined. After the
first couple of weeks, I realized that this was going to take a very long time
and I grew weary of checking it 3 or 4 times a day, and I resorted to once a
day or every other day. After weeks of no progress…and losing hope, I saw a flower…then
another and another! Oh yeah… I’ve got this.
Such joy in a little, tiny flower.
A couple of days later, I saw it: one, tiny, little watermelon no bigger
than the size of a pencil eraser. I was elated. YES, I’ve got this! I’m growing
my very own watermelon! As crazy as it
sounds, I was just so excited. YES…YES…YES!!!
Weeks have now passed and I now have 8 watermelon on the
vine. At first, I was so excited because the progress was quick and the vine
seemed to grow 3 inches every couple of days but after all while, the vine quit
growing. All the energy was going into producing that fruit, but then it seemed
to come to standstill. How long is this going to take? Geez…it seems lie for…..ev……er. Patience, Theresa, patience. Days have turned
into weeks and I quit going out there EVERY SINGLE DAY just to see that it was
barely growing, and yet, I know it was. It just takes a long time. The
excitement ebbed and flowed. Sometimes I had to force myself to water the plant
in the early hours before work or late at night when I came home. It was so
much easier to stay excited and motivated when I was seeing visible growth. It
was becoming work now, and yet, I was committed and I was seeing progress….just
VERY SLOW PROGRESS.
Well, yesterday, I took a look at my watermelon plant on the
way to the Rally. The season is quickly coming to an end and we had frost in
the forecast earlier this week. I’ve been buying watermelon grown here in
Michigan for weeks at the farm market but I have yet to harvest one of my own. Yesterday,
however, I actually picked one of my prize melons. It is a whopping 3 inches in diameter!!! Not
exactly what I was hoping for. In fact, a failure in the eyes of many, but not
for me. For me, it is one of the many
ways that God speaks to me about my journey….a lesson and a confirmation that
HOW I THINK about things is key to my success.
Let me explain….and see if it speaks to you as well.
Have you ever been here????
You want to lose weight more than anything. You look around
and see you others who have done so and you are jealous. You dream about doing
it yourself but you don’t think you could possibly do it. So you try to talk
yourself out of it. You come up with every excuse in the book about why you can’t.
It’s too hard; you don’t know how; you’ve failed before; you don’t’ have the
tools or equipment; it will take too long….and a whole lot more where those
came from. For months you think about it…you
go back and forth in your mind….and finally, you decide that YES, you are going
to do it! But how? You don’t know how.
So you research it. You read about various diets. You talk to others. You read
magazines and watch inspirational videos. You join a support group. You made up your mind…and you know that you
will succeed. You are excited; motivated; and determined and are just waiting
to start (maybe the new year…maybe after vacation…maybe TODAY….just like me waiting
for the snow to melt so I can plant my watermelon).
In the beginning, you do everything you’re supposed to. You
follow the plan. You’re faithful in your exercise. You talk about it and are
hopeful. You weigh yourself several times a day…just to SEE…..(you really aren’t
going to lose 2 pounds in 6 hours any more than my watermelon plant was going
to grow 3 inches in that time). Every
day you check and you can’t wait to see progress. You put so much energy and
effort into your plan…..but soon you grow weary because it seems like it is
taking SOOOOOO LONG. Are you ever going to get to that 10 pound mark? You want to succeed so you keep at it whether
you want to or not...and then….when you least expect it….you see progress. You
lose 2 or 3 pounds that week. Your watermelon grows a flower…and then a tiny
little melon. So now you are even more determined. You’re actually going to do
this this time! Days turn into weeks, and you begin to grow weary and so now,
instead of weighing yourself every day, a few days or even a week passes.
Things have slowed down; perhaps you’ve hit a plateau and you are about to give
up on it….but then….wait, you’ve lost another pound or two. I think my
watermelon is growing…and look, there’s another and another on the vine! YES! YES! YES! And so you become even more determined. And so it goes….ebbs and flows...the scale
goes up and down…and days have now become months…and the summer is over. You had hoped to lose 15 or 20 pounds by now….but
you’ve only lost 10. You’re happy, but feel somewhat defeated because you
expected more. You wanted more….and you feel somewhat life a failure.
Take a look at that picture of me holding my
watermelon. I was NOT successful in the
eyes of most gardeners because my watermelon is only a couple of inches in size
and certainly not edible. For all practical purposes, I failed, in spite of my
efforts and determination. But did I, really….fail? Hmmm….. it’s all about how I THINK about
it. Certainly I failed to grow an edible
piece of fruit, but as I drove to the rally yesterday, I kept thinking about how much I enjoyed the
process; how much I learned; how excited I was to see progress….any progress. Like all things… I have a choice in how I react. I could look at that watermelon and see
defeat….or I could look at it and see JOY…..and lessons….and an opportunity to
do better next year. I could remember how excited and how much enjoyment I got
from watching it grow. I could remember the hope and the possibility….or I
could dwell on the fact that the outcome wasn’t what I was expecting. Today…. I choose victory! I choose to be grateful….and
still somewhat hopeful for the others on the vine, even though the growing
season is now very short. I choose JOY
over sadness.
Next year I will try things a bit different. I will plant in a new location. I will try another variety; one that germinates more quickly for my short growing season. I will give it more space and nutrients…..and maybe, just maybe, I will get a watermelon I could actually eat. But still…. I enjoyed the journey. I did not fail; I just got a different result than I hoped for….and besides, I still have 7 other watermelon on the vine and who knows…maybe they will double or triple in size in the next two weeks. Maybe not. In the meantime, I will spray paint my little watermelon orange and put it on my desk and use it as a pumpkin….and a reminder that God turns even our PERCEIVED failures into success! It’s all about how I choose to look at things!
Today… I encourage you to think about your own journey. If you have tried and tried and have not gotten
the results you have hoped for….don’t feel discouraged. Don’t give up. Progress is progress…even if it’s slow; even
if you’ve not met the goal you set for yourself; even if you’ve hit a plateau. Are you enjoying the journey? Rejoice when you see progress….not matter how
small. Celebrate each little victory….not matter how small. I did the happy
dance when I saw a flower on that silly watermelon plant. Celebrate that you
can zip your pants or that you made it through your vacation without gaining 5
pounds. Whatever you do, don’t give up.
Try something different. Mix up your exercise routine or add some weights. Don’t
be discouraged if things didn’t go as you had hoped, but rather, be grateful
for how far you’ve come and think about what you might have learned so
far. Next year, I’ll be trying again….and
will be successful….even if I don’t actually get to eat my success.
Make it a great day today…it’s all about how you THINK.
Think of yourself as a winner…..even if you only have a 3 inch watermelon to
show as your trophy!
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