Wednesday, August 15, 2007
YOU Decide Whether To Stay Positive Or Go Negative
Hey everybody! I'm a little late with this week's update in the "30-In-30" Low-Carb Weight Loss Challenge because I just got back from vacation in Indiana for a family reunion with Christine's family. Although my weight was up slightly from the trip, I'm not worried. We'll get it moving downward again in no time. Let me hear from you on your progress this week. :D
I received an amazing e-mail a few days ago which is making the rounds entitled "All About Attitude" that was extremely powerful as it relates to our perspective while losing weight. I don't usually publish such forwarded messages from my e-mail box, but this one was just too good not to.
Even if you have read this one before, I think you'll agree it is something all of us who are livin' la vida low-carb need to be reminded of from time to time because it's easy to lose your focus. What this will teach anyone is that ultimately YOU decide whether to stay positive or go negative in your reaction to your weight loss progress.
This one's a classic, so I encourage you to print it out as a reminder:
John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!
You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood."
Each time some thing bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood."
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident.
When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
He continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
The Bible says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34.
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
I just LOVE that story! Remember it when you feel like being negative.
Want a GREAT way to reduce the stress in your diet naturally? Here are a few tips to help you do that and become the success you deserve to be:
1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day relaxed, not hurried.
4. Say no to projects that won't fit into your time schedule or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and un-clutter your life.
7. Less is more.
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the "kid" in you everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite Scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude.
31. Be kind to unkind people (they need it most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the GM of the universe.
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before.
37. Never borrow from the future.
38. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
39. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, then you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you still have to worry twice.
40. Be thankful for what you do have rather than regretting what you don't.
There you have it! All of your dieting woes are history and now you KNOW how to react to stressful situations when they arise so you don't turn to food for comfort. :D Be encouraged! You WILL overcome!
How was your week? Let's hear from you!
I received an amazing e-mail a few days ago which is making the rounds entitled "All About Attitude" that was extremely powerful as it relates to our perspective while losing weight. I don't usually publish such forwarded messages from my e-mail box, but this one was just too good not to.
Even if you have read this one before, I think you'll agree it is something all of us who are livin' la vida low-carb need to be reminded of from time to time because it's easy to lose your focus. What this will teach anyone is that ultimately YOU decide whether to stay positive or go negative in your reaction to your weight loss progress.
This one's a classic, so I encourage you to print it out as a reminder:
John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!
You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood."
Each time some thing bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood."
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident.
When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
He continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude, after all, is everything.
The Bible says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34.
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
I just LOVE that story! Remember it when you feel like being negative.
Want a GREAT way to reduce the stress in your diet naturally? Here are a few tips to help you do that and become the success you deserve to be:
1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day relaxed, not hurried.
4. Say no to projects that won't fit into your time schedule or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and un-clutter your life.
7. Less is more.
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the "kid" in you everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite Scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude.
31. Be kind to unkind people (they need it most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the GM of the universe.
36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before.
37. Never borrow from the future.
38. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
39. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, then you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you still have to worry twice.
40. Be thankful for what you do have rather than regretting what you don't.
There you have it! All of your dieting woes are history and now you KNOW how to react to stressful situations when they arise so you don't turn to food for comfort. :D Be encouraged! You WILL overcome!
How was your week? Let's hear from you!
Labels: 30-in-30, challenge, inspiration, low-carb, motivation, weight loss
# posted by Jimmy Moore @ 8/15/2007 02:30:00 PM 
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Hi Jimmy , Thanks for the motivating blog. It was I really needed to read tonight. I am normally a person with a positive attitude and lately, I have gotten off track. It help me put some of my stress in perspective.
# posted by 
: 8/15/2007 11:11 PM
: 8/15/2007 11:11 PM
I'm so happy to hear that! You can do this and I'm very proud of you. Don't give up or give in no matter what. :)
Attitude makes all the difference! It can make us or break us. I choose to turn my attitude into something useable, not something that will cause me to give up.
Not much to report as far as weight. I was on vacation all last week and didn't eat very well. Gained about 5 lbs, but have already lost 2 of them. Hopefully the other 3 will go as quickly and I can get back to making progress again. :)
Have a great week everyone!
Not much to report as far as weight. I was on vacation all last week and didn't eat very well. Gained about 5 lbs, but have already lost 2 of them. Hopefully the other 3 will go as quickly and I can get back to making progress again. :)
Have a great week everyone!
THANKS for checking in, Amy! You'll get back down again from that vacation weight gain. I was fortunate that I only went up a pound. :)
What a great story! Can I post it on our bulletin board at work as long as I acknowledge you as the author? I'm the new "Wellness Coordinator" and I can't think of a better story to start with!
Bobbie
Bobbie
# posted by : 8/16/2007 1:06 PM
: 8/16/2007 1:06 PM
THANKS, Bobbie! I got that story in an e-mail that was forwarded to me, so do with it what you would anything like that you would receive in your e-mail box. It IS inspiring, though, isn't it?
WOW, a "Wellness Coordinator?" That sounds like fun! ;)
WOW, a "Wellness Coordinator?" That sounds like fun! ;)
now THIS is sound advice. it is so hard not to be caught in the trap of surrounding negativity. i resolve to face my Monday by following the suggestions right here.
wish me luck!
wish me luck!
YOU CAN DO IT, Tina! I'm proud of you and wish you well in your personal journey. Let me know how I can assist you in any way. Be sure to check back here on Tuesdays for more encouragement and inspiration!
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