Meg Cline

Decision by Decision

Last week I was coaching one of my favorite clients who I just love for her “a-ha” moments – her eyes light up, and she catches herself saying something that we both know is one of those thoughts that has to be immortalized on paper and looked back on for inspiration at the ready. I was asking her to imagine herself on Oprah 5 years from now, reflecting on her weight loss journey. What lesson would she have taken from this journey? How would she summarize it? Her answer, I could tell, moved both of us.

“I would say it was a journey made decision by decision.”

I LOVE this. I just recently read that we make, on average, 250 decisions a day about food. (Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink, PhD.) 250 decisions! If only we were all so aware as to realize that this journey is made decision by decision.

Today, I was reflecting on the fact that I’ve gotten out of some of my regular habits and I haven’t been feeling my absolute best. The most major change is that since March I’ve been traveling a ton – both for work and for fun – and I haven’t had a really consistent exercise schedule. I realized that I really miss running and lifting on a regular basis. Along with my more erratic exercise schedule, changes in my husband’s schedule as he shifted from medical student to resident have meant that I’m “accountable” to cooking less often and have gotten in a habit of grazing for dinner more often. I’ve never been a huge fan of dinner, but I’m finding that my “eh why bother” attitude has translated to less grocery shopping, thus more eating out and more grabbing whatever is around. (Tonight’s dinner? 2 apples, 1 peach, a bunch of broccoli and a chunk of bread. Eaten over the course of about 3 hours, and I almost didn’t realize I was eating. Result: I’m full but unsatisfied.)

I was out running my dog tonight and the cool night air felt perfect as I slipped through it at a very comfortable running pace. I was enjoying hearing the sound of my feet rhythmically hitting the pavement, and my breath coming in regular, consistent patterns. I thought to myself, “You know, I really need to get back to running regularly. And I should probably get back to my more regular shopping/cooking habits. I need to get back on track. I’ll start tomorrow.”

Heard that quote before? I almost laughed out loud at myself, because I’ve done the “start tomorrow” thing one too many times. Wait a second, COACH? Aren’t you the one who talks about there is no “start” and “stop” or “being good” or “being bad”? Ahh yes, I HAVE uttered those words… just a few hundred times. It’s old programming, and it was easy to fall back into.

There is this pervasive, convoluted thinking that there is a finite “start” and “stop” to the habits that make us the healthy beings we are always striving towards. And I know this because I was there, for a long, long time. And I know this, because I find that if I’m not intentional, that type of thinking worms its way back into my mind and hangs out just begging to be noticed.

I thought of my client. Decision by decision. Here is my next decision: I will run a little bit longer. My next decision? What to pack for lunch. My next decision? When to go to sleep. Decision by decision, I will seek out the healthy behaviors that have, in the past, made me feel my best. The behaviors that are conducive to my best self. There is no start tomorrow, or next week, or after vacation. There is simply “What is my next decision?”

What is your next decision?

Tags: life coaching, motivation, weight loss