A Look Back

I was looking through old posts for an item my friend wanted me to print out and came across a post from a couple of years ago that reminded me that wanting something and working for it go hand in hand.

The old post:
Sometimes you hear or read a piece of wisdom and you think how sensible it sounds. You decide you're going to incorporate it into your life to help you lose weight, quit smoking, or something else you want to change or improve on. You might even start out following that piece of advice but soon you're back to those old, familiar habits, the advice forgotten or ignored. I know I'm more than guilty of doing this.

A week or so ago, my nephew stopped by for a visit. He competes in amateur boxing and is in training for a fight coming up in March. After he outlined the diet he's following (no dairy, no bread, no sugar, basically nothing other than plain poached chicken breasts, plain tuna, egg whites, steamed vegetables, and fruit) and how many hours he's in the gym per week, I said I was impressed. There would be no way I could give up dairy (I eat a lot of greek yogurt) or bread. I love bread. (Not the sandwich kind you buy from the grocery store, but the good bakery type.)

He laughed and said it's hard and that he dreams about doughnuts and is craving pizza. I praised his willpower. He pointed to his head and said, "It's not just what's in here, the whole mind over matter or willpower thing." He moved his hand to his chest and pointed to his heart. "It's what's in here. How badly do I want it? How badly do I want to win my match?"

While some of the post has changed (my nephew no longer boxes competitively, but now just to stay in shape), what he stated about his competitions still is important to me in achieving goals. Last year was a hard year for me in terms of meeting goals and reading this old post has reminded me that when I find myself getting off track, maybe the best thing I can do is ask myself how badly do I want to achieve my goals.