Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 75 | Keeping My Eyes On The Prize

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 75 | Keeping My Eyes On The Prize

Distractions are all around us. No matter where you look, they are out there. Waiting for you. When I was talking to a friend earlier today about an unrelated topic, she pointed out the obvious. I need to focus, and to help me to do this, I need to be keeping my eyes on the prize.

In the business world, I am seen as a bit confusing, as I have been told I am too diversified. When we talked about this, I explained that I thought it was what I was supposed to be doing, because the moment I declared that my jewellery business, Tish MacWebber Always Blinging would now be officially a hobby for me, someone wanted to buy Book Bling. I took it as a sign, telling me that I was right all along. I thought it meant to keep pushing forward, full speed ahead in all areas.

My friend wisely pointed out I misinterpreted the sign. It wasn’t telling me to keep doing all of the things, but rather, testing my declaration.

WHOA!

Hang on there.

Maybe I was wrong.

In that moment, I realized she was right. The sign wasn’t a sign at all. It was a distraction.

How many times have you misinterpreted a sign?

I can assure you, it is very easy to do. One minute you are feeling great about the choices you have made for the food you have eaten so far that day and the next minute you are looking at the tub of ice cream in your freezer. You didn’t open the freezer to get ice cream, but now that it is staring you in the face, it is the only reason you should have opened the freezer.

Or is it?

What you really opened the freezer for was to get the bag of frozen broccoli out to thaw because you want to make a casserole, and one of the ingredients is broccoli.

But the ice cream is just there. Screaming at you. Insisting that it needs you to eat it right now, so that you can get the instant gratification it always gives you. You imagine yourself eating all of the ice cream, and how happy you will be.

Until you realize that you ate it all and feel awful because you were doing so well and the ice cream DISTRACTED you from your goal. Oh, it is sneaky and mean and it wants you to eat it all every time you open the freezer.

So do you lock the freezer and never open it again?

You could. It is not the practical choice, and truthfully it is not very realistic.

Should you declare to never ever buy ice cream again?

Maybe. But we all know the second you do, your favourite flavour is going to be on an incredible sale the very next time you walk into the grocery store.

What is the right answer?

Focus.

When I open the freezer, I need to focus on the broccoli. The ice cream is only going to be a temporary distraction. Ice cream has its time and place, as a treat, not as an everyday splash into guilty pleasures. As much as I love a bowl of ice cream, I need to remember that I am on a new path where I am being kind to myself.

I need to love myself more than I love ice cream

That right there is a bold statement. The love I have for ice cream is right up there with lobster and pizza. It includes chocolate. To be perfectly honest, there aren’t many foods which I don’t love. The struggle is most certainly real, and when you put broccoli up against ice cream, the broccoli doesn’t stand a chance if I am not committed to my goals.

Broccoli has one thing going for it in this equation. Me. If I choose to get the broccoli and continue making the casserole, I will be preparing a meal which can be the reason I open the freezer for. Healthy food is how I show myself kindness. I need to focus on the short term goals to be able to claim the prize I am aiming for.

I know I will falter from time to time. Being human means I am not perfect, and I will make mistakes. I will be tested and distracted. The point is to not stay there. If you picked up the tub of ice cream because it was on sale, it is going to be there until you eat it. Unless you need to eat your feelings, which is never the positive choice to make but might happen if you get dumped or fired, it is not going to go bad before you eat it. It can stay right where it is because it will be there when you do decide that you want a bowl of ice cream as a treat.

Indulgences are a privilege of being an adult

You are your own boss of your life. So get the broccoli out of the freezer, close the door and act like it. Set your goals, keep your eyes on the prize and focus.

As I am writing, I am also recognizing that I have steadily lost a pound or two in the last few weeks. I weighed in at 313.6 pounds yesterday. I am getting closer to taking the new picture for this blog, the one where I show myself and the world I can and will reach my goals, one pound at a time.

You can do this with me. I believe in us.

#TrustYourGut

Weekend Warrior #55 Chasing away the Winter Blues!

Weekend Warrior #55 Chasing away the Winter Blues!

This week in Weekend Warrior #55 Chasing away the Winter Blues is what I am working on. Time went ahead an hour last night, and that means Spring is coming!  I love seeing more hours of daylight, and I need spring to be sprung already! The winter blues got a really good hold on me this year. I am hoping that next winter will be different.  Until then, I have to do my best to get out from under what is holding me back. My internal clock hasn’t had time to adjust yet, though. I suspect tomorrow is going to be the start of a long week.

Friday night I got my new glasses. I decided to reveal them in a Facebook Live video. You can watch it here: Tish’s March 9th Facebook Live Video. If you watch it, you will see that I built up a little suspense, and had fun. I also reviewed a different bottle of wine. It wasn’t a favourite. I review wine and coffee on my Facebook Live videos. I just started doing it for fun.

Saturday I slept in and started getting some prep work done for my Makeup Monday blog, which I will finish tomorrow after work. I have been planning it for a few weeks, and need to finish it up tomorrow after work. I had an invitation to a birthday party, and I decided I wanted to go.  I got ready and made a treat to bring. I also brought cheese & crackers. I have some pics to share. It was a friend’s Birthday Party, with a Carribean theme. Let’s start with the food pics.

We had a nice time, just chatting, and having fun. It was nice to go hang out with friends.

Saturday was fun! Sunday was a quiet day at home. I cooked a ham in the oven with cherries, pineapple and cloves. Then I made Scalloped Potatoes. I do not understand why the locals here call them Potatoes Scallop. Regardless, there is no shellfish in the potatoes. I prepared them to cook while the ham was cooling. It took 2 hours to cook them, and I sliced them as thin as I could. Apparently, the potatoes never got the memo about the time change, either. When they were finally cooked, my husband assured me that it was worth the wait, he was impressed. We have leftovers to enjoy for lunch, and if there is enough ham for supper, I might make a potato salad to eat with it. White potatoes are not on the plan, but sometimes a compromise is called for. I had a salad for lunch. I am going for balance.

That, my friends, means I won all weekend long!

#WeekendWarrior