Sorry about the late post on our 4th pillar of self-discipline. Ironically (or maybe not, I'm always unsure about the proper use of the word) I'm writing about self-discipline this week yet I have none to speak of. Have no fear...I am addressing the situation today! Anyway, late is better than never, especially when what is late is important and I think the concept of industry is!
To accomplish our goals we need to be industrious, there is no way to get around it. So far, everything with self-discipline has been hard. We have to accept that we honestly aren't very good at it (for now), we have to have the willpower to get on the right path and then there's hard work which is inherently hard (or it would be called easy work); on the flip side of the coin, being industrious isn't generally hard but rather, time consuming which can be a problem. We have all openly admitted that among the myriad of factors that have lead to defeat in the past, lack of sufficient time is a major issue. The 4th pillar is going to make us confront this enemy and crush it.
So, what do I mean by something is time consuming but not difficult? Imagine that you have a baby (and Jenny you will know this better than the rest of us). Every day you have to change dirty diapers. Now, changing a diaper isn't a difficult skill...granted, diapers I change never look as good as they do when a mom does it but it's a task that honestly takes little skill, however, you add up the time you spend every day, wiping, patting, drying, lotioning and it fills a pretty big chunk of your time most days.
I think we should think of our weight loss/health goals as a baby. Babies are hard all of the time, especially at the beginning where you're not really sure what you're doing. However, there are also simple tasks, like changing diapers that aren't as hard. The periphery stuff that we're doing to aid in our goals is kind of like the diaper changing business. This blog, for example, is a perfect example of the industry of what we're doing. It's not physically difficult to write in this blog and stay in contact; however, it is a massive time commitment (especially when we've been doing as well as we have lately...go us)!!!!
I personally really like to blog and I think Jenny does too, but there are also areas that require us to be industrious when we really might not want to. Some times we just have to put the time in. An example that I think we can all relate to deals with food. Eating well is a challenge for us, it's hard at times, and was really hard in the beginning...this is not an industry issue. Buying groceries, on the other hand, is industry at it's finest (or worst, I can't quite decide)! It is not difficult or physically challenging to go to the store and buy groceries but the time commitment is monumental. Not only do I have to sit down ahead of time and plan a menu in order to make a shopping list, I then have to go to the store, fight with hordes of people, select my groceries, wait in the check out line for sometimes 45 minutes, come home, lug the bags up the stairs and then put everything away....bah! While this process is necessary, it's generally not fun and little bit annoying. However, it must be done. There are no grocery ferries that will do their thing and cause my cupboards to be magically stocked with food and the necessary supplies. Sadly, I just have to put the time in.
Life is full of moments where we have to be industrious. Every day we do small things that add up in time. We brush our teeth, shower, get dressed, go to the bathroom, apply deodorant etc. These are things that we simply must do, we hardly even think about them as time consuming activities but they are. What we now have to do, is make the industrious things that will help us with our goals become second nature to us also. Every time I have to pee I don't think, oh shoot, it's going to eat 2 minutes of my day. However, when I go to have a snack I think I could just eat these chips that are here and won't waste my time or I could take 2 minutes to cut up an apple and eat that...I think I'll go with the chips and save myself time.
I think industry has been the hardest of the pillars for me to relate to when it comes specifically to weight loss/fitness but it is an important step in self-discipline regardless of application. WE all need to be more industrious every day. Maybe it's not that we're not industrious at all, but maybe we need to decide what activities we should be focusing our time on. Is it more important to exercise or watch a movie? Exercising would take less but I have to make the decision to go that route.
Here's what we have so far: acceptance, willpower, hard work, industry and I'll be finishing with persistence. I really feel like these are excellent pillars and they have offered insight for me and I hope you ladies are getting something out of them as well. Keep up the good work and stay strong!
2 comments:
Weight loss is so time consuming....valid points throughout the blog Nicole! Prior to exercising more regularly, I dreaded things about working out daily (or almost daily). I have discovered that running on a regular basis leads to:
-more laundry
-getting sweaty and having to shower at unusual times during the day
-making dinner later/earlier in the evening depending on when I feel like running after work
-not getting chores done each day
All of those occurrences are time consuming or just annoying but are any of them that big of a deal? And yes other time consuming things have occurred because of my life style change. I do spend a lot of time blogging and Weight Watcher's eat a fair amount of time out of my Thursdays. But so be it...it's worth it in the end.
Wow, I was not expecting the baby analogy but it does work, kudos. For me the work comes in when making time for working out. I am trying to make room for it in my schedule but it does mean less time for homework and stuff. Although, I did work out last night! Yay me! Eating in moderation and eating less sweet and less salty foods requires time and energy and discipline. I think another element to consider is sacrifice. Maybe you ladies should blog on that because it seems like part of the process too. We sacrifice time, pleasure, and sometimes money. Anyway, good blog! Sorry I am late on commenting.
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