the power of NOW
I stepped out of the shower and saw myself in the mirror.
I took a long look at my belly. “Not bad for 45.” I told myself.
But I was lying.
Maybe I wasn’t as fat as some of my co workers. But the fact was clear.
I was overweight by 20 pounds or more and I had been that way for 10+ years.
Not obese. Just clear that I had to lose some weight.
Funny thing is, I had been having the same conversation with myself
for years. Every time I stepped out of the shower, there I was. Too much
of me. And always saying, “Not bad for 40” or 41, 42, 45, and now, 47.
I told myself the same lie for ages. And made myself feel better by setting
a future date to drop the weight. Next week, after the party. Or after vacation.
Or after I finish the bag of chips in the pantry.
Promising yourself to do something Tomorrow is a dangerous game.
Because “Tomorrow” never gets here. It just gets pushed back, over
and over. If you truly want to make change in your life, there is only
one time to do it. NOW.
Right now.
The only time to take action. To make a decision. To DO
something, is right now.
Why? Because it is the only moment in time that you actually have access to.
The past is over. And the Future? It may not arrive. (There are no guarantees)
My wife is an expert at NOW. She waits for nothing.
If a call needs to be made, she picks up the phone. If a child needs help
with something, she stops what she is doing and takes care of it.
Can’t it wait?
Imagine this scene for a moment. You are at a basketball game.
Watching your team lead for a win. Player goes in for a layup and gets slapped
down by a defender. Literally slapped across the arm. And no foul is called.
The ball moves to the other end of the court, and a shot goes up. But the ref blows
the whistle and calls a foul. He calls a foul from the other end of the court, for the
slap that happened 10 seconds ago.
If this really happened, there would be a fan mutiny. Why?
The ref has to call it at the point of the foul. Not later.
And that is a great lesson for life. If something is out of order in your world.
If something is broken and needs to be fixed, do it now.
If you need to lose those 15 pounds, start now. Pull on the sneakers and go
for a walk or run. Put down the chips and grab an apple. Pick up the
phone and call a personal trainer and make an appointment.
If you are struggling to make ends meet, do something about it now.
Apply for a second job. Start a home business. Call a friend that makes more than
you and ask if they can help you with ideas to earn more.
The point is this:
The only moment in time you have to make a difference is RIGHT NOW.
Don’t waste it.
~~~~~~~
So how did my fat belly talk turn out?
After 10+ years of the same excuse laden lie I used to tell myself,
I seized the power of now. I went out for a run. And then a trek on
a nearby trail. Then started running each day. (Not far. Just what I could handle)
The I hired a trainer to help me clean up my diet and get me on a real training
program. I’m glad to report that in only 60 days, I’ve dropped 25 pounds of fat, and
gained 8 pounds of muscle. I’ve gone from being able to run only a mile and a half,
to over 5. I even ran a 2.5 mile race up a mountain! All up hill.
It would not have happened without making a decision and grabbing the moment
to just start. Now.
Want some help getting into shape and dropping that extra weight?