Falling: the end or the beginning

Happy weekend ladies! I hope that you are both getting in some rest and relaxation today and tomorrow. I know that there seems to be such limited time to get the important things done that rest and relaxation get pushed onto the back burner but I really hope that you can squeeze in a bit. I had the good fortune of being able to sleep in this morning and it was glorious! I got the rest of my fall/Halloween decorations up, ran the dishwasher and now I think I might watch a movie. Oh yeah, I also hung up 2 skinny outfits!!

I've been meaning to blog for a few days now because I saw this video and it seemed like it would be such a great message for all of us. It seems like lately we've all felt a little defeated. We've been stressed, sick, sometimes lazy, eating poorly, sleep deprived etc. I believe the technical term is that we've fallen and can't get up! Falling is such an interesting phenomenon. We're often taught from a very young age that falling means the end...we're finished. Think back to playing Mario Brothers. If you run off a cliff or fall off the floating log that's it. The END! That feeling of finality is also very present in our lives as we try to make changes. We do great and then one day we slip. We're stressed because someone at work is a nightmare. An unexpected expense scares the hell out of us. We get in a fight with our significant other. Our dog dies. The reason for the fall is not terribly important for the moment. The fall itself is how we respond to that fall is what we need to focus on.

When we fall, what do we do? The old adage of 'if at first you don't succeed try, try again' seems like a really good sentiment to hold onto. However, sometimes we get really tired of trying and trying and trying. How many times can we be expected to try, try again before we drive ourselves crazy? Why is falling so easy, yet getting back up so damn hard? That is the million dollar question. I'd love to give you an answer but I don't think there is one short of one of my mom's favorites, "because life is hard." So, having come to this conclusion, how should be go about picking ourselves up again? I think Aaron Lewis had it right when he said that getting back up becomes the problem.

I think that one way to expedite the process of getting back up is to change our perception of the situation. Instead of looking at falling as an end to our success we need to look at it as a start to the next attempt. If my horrid co-worker stresses me and I come home and eat too much rocky road, I need to forgive that offense and start fresh. By stumbling, I don't undo all of my good work. It's not like in Mario where a fall means I have to go back to the beginning. It's more like pausing the game. If I fall and quit the game then I do have start over at the beginning. If I just pause it, I can pick up right where I left off and keep moving towards the princess (or in real life towards my target weight)! Obviously comparing to a video game isn't going to make the path easier but it does offer an interesting perspective.

Anyway, that's what I've been contemplating these last few days. I feel like it's helping me to move on and I hope that it can help inspire you also. Speaking of inspiration, this link is going to direct you to a short youtube video. If nothing else it helps to remind us that there are others out there who have accomplished their goals. Others who are worse off than we. If they can do it, we most certainly can also!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFJ3OVgVQvI