My inspiration today:
Sunday night, CBS aired the first episode of this season’s The Amazing Race (my favorite show). And all day yesterday I thought about it. From the first season, I’ve liked seeing how the various teams face the challenges of not just traveling around the world but traveling FAST while overcoming a variety of deliberately placed obstacles. (more)
A Rant
But this isn’t a review — really it’s more of a rant — about how we’re facing deliberately planned challenges just like reality show contestents.
On Amazing Race, the biggest challenge of that evening was The Great Wall of China. To get to the “Pit Stop” the racers had to scale the wall. And they all did it. Even Sarah, struggling with her artificial leg, succeeded. They had to if they wanted to finish the race. So they did.
Walking 3 miles
Now I don’t happen to think that walking 3 miles is anywhere near as difficult as climbing over The Great Wall of China. But I do think that the way my life is structured, walking 3 miles everyday is a ridiculously hard challenge.
Last year it was easy — there was a huge empty room right next to my cubicle. For a whole year, I could get away from my desk to walk for a quick couple of minutes — or an hour. Since I wasn’t leaving the area and everyone knew where to find me, there wasn’t any guilt involved.
We’ve lost our access to that room (and in fact it’s full of cubicles now anyway.) And I’m back to walking outside. I do it (most days) but it’s very diffcult to make that time now that I have to leave the building.
103 Days ‘tll New Year’s Eve
I guess challenges aren’t meant to be easy and at least I don’t have to scale walls to get where I’m going. But if I don’t treat my goals like the serious challenge it is then I’ll never get there.
I want to lose 10 pounds by New Years Eve (a goal), I’ll do that by making daily affirmations and promises (a resolution) and I’ll succeed by sticking with it through the day (a commitment).
4 Comments
At this point I’m a little better than half way to my goal of “60 by 60″– for which I have actually set New Year’s as my finish line. So far, so good, but it’s taken 6 months to get this far.
Health challenges have, in a way, helped along the way, for from time to time I haven’t been able to eat at all, or very little. But now it’s time to get serious about exercise.
This lack of real commitment to exercise is why I’m not farther along, and why I know I have to get serious. Saturday morning I was going to get out with a group and do at least 3 miles, but instead I ended up at the ER with some weird symptoms that turned out to be essentially undiagnosable. Psychosomatic ? Maybe.
I’m not going to let that happen again.
catdog! I was wondering how things were going with you. It was your 60 by 60 that inspired this New Year’s Committment.
I was remembering back to last year as I typed this post. I was losing weight steadily. And I’m pretty sure it’s because I walked 2 hours a day. For me, that’s pretty much what it takes. Walking two hours a day.
….I’ve GOT to find a way.
The only way to do it is to do it, right ?
At the moment I have so much going on. Trying to buy a new house, for one thing. Anything that can distract will, though.
It’s the focus that is necessary, and that’s what I’ve been lacking. Now that I did a BMI analysis and realized exactly where I am on the weight loss– halfway home ! — I think the focus is happening.
One thing I did was send an email to someone telling them I will be there Saturday morning for the 3 miles. This time, for real.
I totally get what you’re saying. I’ve often thought that if this health/weight management thing could be a full time job, I’d excel at it.
But, it’s splitting my attention across all these other aspects of my life (including personal) that distracts me at just the crucial instant. When a bad decision can ruin a day….
But, I’m doing better at defining my goals, keeping it simple and plodding along.
I’m glad you’ve got a walking friend. That really helps me, too.