As I prepare for 2017, I’m working through the questions in my Tools4Wisdom planner. They start with the Big Picture — “Where am I now?”, “Where do I want to be?”, and “How do I get there?”. I know certain things, but I can attest that knowledge does not apply itself. If it did, I’d be healthy, wealthy, and wise, right?
I’m passable in all those areas — better than I ever expected in some of them, but I have room for improvement everywhere. That’s why I’m looking over what I want to do, where I want to be, and am deciding how I’m going to get there. Because, as we know, it’s very important to be specific with Subby. I hit a home run with “I eat before 8 pm” last year. That was a great start. Snacking after 9 pm accounted for a lot of extra calories. They say if you cut 500 calories a day, you’ll lose a pound a week. But “cutting” calories is a negative, and we want Subby to experience positive language, right? “I eat before 8 pm.” has been incredibly positive. Since I added that to my POA card, I have done well with that goal. It’s easy. It was challenging to apply that knowledge for the first couple of months, but since then, I gently remind myself that “I eat before 8pm” and my mind and body say, “Oh. Yeah. That’s right. Never mind.”
I’m looking for equally positive ways to implement other plans to lessen food’s place in my life. I’m toying with “500 calories to spare” on my LoseIt! daily tracker. If I eat 500 calories less than LoseIt! says I should eat to achieve my goal, I should achieve it faster, right? On the other hand, I could set the program to achieve the goal I want and stick to it, right? You see, it’s not just knowledge but the right kind of knowledge I’m working to apply.
The same is true for my fiction revision project. It’s sitting on the table behind me, avoiding being worked on. I’ve let the project intimidate me. I’m doing a lot of Sits on this, visualizing me completing the project with confidence and skill. But visualizing only goes so far. I have to do the work.