Perspective – view/outlook – a way of regarding something
When I was a child, my grandparents lived in a ranch style home out in the country on a large wooded lot. I have many memories of playing outside in the huge front yard, collecting acorns and searching for hidden Easter eggs. My sisters and cousins and I spent much time playing games in the back yard, swinging and picking raspberries. I also have many a fond memory of family meals/picnics on the back porch.
Just down the road from my grandparent’s home, my family owned a fully-wooded lot. My sister & I played in the lot, games of exploring and adventure. I would always try to keep an eye out for where we were on the lot so we wouldn’t get lost…could I see the neighbor’s house still?
Many years later as a teen, I was back on the lot for some reason.
When I was a child, my grandparents lived in a ranch style home out in the country on a large wooded lot. I have many memories of playing outside in the huge front yard, collecting acorns and searching for hidden Easter eggs. My sisters and cousins and I spent much time playing games in the back yard, swinging and picking raspberries. I also have many a fond memory of family meals/picnics on the back porch.
Just down the road from my grandparent’s home, my family owned a fully-wooded lot. My sister & I played in the lot, games of exploring and adventure. I would always try to keep an eye out for where we were on the lot so we wouldn’t get lost…could I see the neighbor’s house still?
Many years later as a teen, I was back on the lot for some reason.
Perspective – view/outlook – a way of regarding something
When I was a child, my grandparents lived in a ranch style home out in the country on a large wooded lot. I have many memories of playing outside in the huge front yard, collecting acorns and searching for hidden Easter eggs. My sisters and cousins and I spent much time playing games in the back yard, swinging and picking raspberries. I also have many a fond memory of family meals/picnics on the back porch.
Just down the road from my grandparent’s home, my family owned a fully-wooded lot. My sister & I played in the lot, games of exploring and adventure. I would always try to keep an eye out for where we were on the lot so we wouldn’t get lost…could I see the neighbor’s house still?
Many years later as a teen, I was back on the lot for some reason. Time had passed, and my grandparents no longer lived in that old house with all the memories. I had learned to ride my bike there, took my first ride on the school bus there, etc.
As I walked the lot this time, it was amazing how different it was from my memories as a child. The pond we had tried to cross over by carefully walking a log and not falling in were merely a puddle and a tree branch. I could easily see through the lot – the road, the neighbor’s house, etc. There was no way I could ever get lost. Suddenly my India Jones adventures as a child were put into perspective. As a child, this place seemed so huge and sometimes even scary. But now, much older, the lot was actually very small and not very wooded. It wasn’t much of anything really.
I look back at that moment often as an adult and remember feeling the reality sink in. I was slightly disappointed at the time as I realized I was moving from childhood oblivion to the real world of adulthood. But more than that…I realized how different something can seem from a different angle, from a different view point, at a different time, etc. Whenever I think about perspective, I am always reminded of this day. While there are many things I cannot change, there is one that can always change…my perspective.
As an adult, I have often found it hard to find a different perspective about something in particular or to even realize one is needed. But when it came to weightloss this time, I realized I needed a new perspective on the process in order to be successful.
Normally I would have looked back on all the other times I started and stopped, started and stopped. I would think why try again because it is not likely that I would stick it out since I haven’t all the other times. And then I would have a whole line of excuses (I’m too busy. I’m not allowed to eat at my desk at work. etc) and a list of reasons why I always fail (I don’t have enough will power or self-control, etc.)
I took many a different perspective in starting out this weightloss journey. One of the big changes was that I decided to be kind to myself for once…instead of always telling myself negative things about myself, I would work on being more positive with myself…instead of abusing my body with the bad things I ate and never exercising, I would start being kind to my body as well, caring and nourishing it instead. I would also set up my process of weightloss to more likely guarantee myself for success than failure (like not keeping bad food in the house).
In order to achieve this I would need some pre-formulated ideas and replacement behaviors. It would be too easy to go back to doing what I always do without even thinking as it was so engrained in me. The biggest thing I have been doing is taking a step back and taking a second look at something, evaluating it for a different perspective or possible other options.
For example, I get to work and realize I forgot my lunch. I only have a half hour lunch, and I already planned on running to the store to get what I needed for the important meeting I have after work. I do not have time to go home and get my lunch, and I don’t have time to do anything other than a drive-thru. Normally, I would have just run through a drive-thru and not cared what I got…burger, taco, Chinese. Now I take a minute to think through what the drive-thru options near me. What are healthier choices I can get from them? At McDonald’s I could get a salad with grilled chicken…but them I’m going to be hungry in the afternoon…what can I get to eat as a snack…I could get a yogurt parfait for my snack. McDonald’s won’t be as healthy as my own salad, but at least I chose a healthier option and made the healthiest choice I had available to me.
So now instead of beating myself up for forgetting my lunch and that I’ve now totally wrecked my diet, I celebrate that I was able to make the healthiest possible alternative I had. By logging it on MFP, I know where I stand for the day and then can go through a second round of re-evaluations. I choose to edit my dinner to be less calories to make up for lunch and if I can change my workout a little to increase how many calories I burn I do…if I can’t, I can’t.
At the end of the day, no matter how it all exactly turned out, I fall asleep proud of myself instead of beating myself up. I can’t change certain things, but I did the best I could with the circumstances. I made the healthiest possible choices that were available.
And in the end, I’m still losing weight and getting healthier, even if the journey and the processes aren’t perfect. 10 pounds in my first month on MFP!
Here are some interesting quotes on keeping perspective J
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Niebuhr (Serenity Prayer)
“Some people see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. I see a glass that’s twice as big as it needs to be.” ― George Carlin
“Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.” ― J.M. Barrie
“The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close up.” ― Chuck Palahniuk
“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” ― Alphonse Karr
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.” ― John Lubbock
When I was a child, my grandparents lived in a ranch style home out in the country on a large wooded lot. I have many memories of playing outside in the huge front yard, collecting acorns and searching for hidden Easter eggs. My sisters and cousins and I spent much time playing games in the back yard, swinging and picking raspberries. I also have many a fond memory of family meals/picnics on the back porch.
Just down the road from my grandparent’s home, my family owned a fully-wooded lot. My sister & I played in the lot, games of exploring and adventure. I would always try to keep an eye out for where we were on the lot so we wouldn’t get lost…could I see the neighbor’s house still?
Many years later as a teen, I was back on the lot for some reason. Time had passed, and my grandparents no longer lived in that old house with all the memories. I had learned to ride my bike there, took my first ride on the school bus there, etc.
As I walked the lot this time, it was amazing how different it was from my memories as a child. The pond we had tried to cross over by carefully walking a log and not falling in were merely a puddle and a tree branch. I could easily see through the lot – the road, the neighbor’s house, etc. There was no way I could ever get lost. Suddenly my India Jones adventures as a child were put into perspective. As a child, this place seemed so huge and sometimes even scary. But now, much older, the lot was actually very small and not very wooded. It wasn’t much of anything really.
I look back at that moment often as an adult and remember feeling the reality sink in. I was slightly disappointed at the time as I realized I was moving from childhood oblivion to the real world of adulthood. But more than that…I realized how different something can seem from a different angle, from a different view point, at a different time, etc. Whenever I think about perspective, I am always reminded of this day. While there are many things I cannot change, there is one that can always change…my perspective.
As an adult, I have often found it hard to find a different perspective about something in particular or to even realize one is needed. But when it came to weightloss this time, I realized I needed a new perspective on the process in order to be successful.
Normally I would have looked back on all the other times I started and stopped, started and stopped. I would think why try again because it is not likely that I would stick it out since I haven’t all the other times. And then I would have a whole line of excuses (I’m too busy. I’m not allowed to eat at my desk at work. etc) and a list of reasons why I always fail (I don’t have enough will power or self-control, etc.)
I took many a different perspective in starting out this weightloss journey. One of the big changes was that I decided to be kind to myself for once…instead of always telling myself negative things about myself, I would work on being more positive with myself…instead of abusing my body with the bad things I ate and never exercising, I would start being kind to my body as well, caring and nourishing it instead. I would also set up my process of weightloss to more likely guarantee myself for success than failure (like not keeping bad food in the house).
In order to achieve this I would need some pre-formulated ideas and replacement behaviors. It would be too easy to go back to doing what I always do without even thinking as it was so engrained in me. The biggest thing I have been doing is taking a step back and taking a second look at something, evaluating it for a different perspective or possible other options.
For example, I get to work and realize I forgot my lunch. I only have a half hour lunch, and I already planned on running to the store to get what I needed for the important meeting I have after work. I do not have time to go home and get my lunch, and I don’t have time to do anything other than a drive-thru. Normally, I would have just run through a drive-thru and not cared what I got…burger, taco, Chinese. Now I take a minute to think through what the drive-thru options near me. What are healthier choices I can get from them? At McDonald’s I could get a salad with grilled chicken…but them I’m going to be hungry in the afternoon…what can I get to eat as a snack…I could get a yogurt parfait for my snack. McDonald’s won’t be as healthy as my own salad, but at least I chose a healthier option and made the healthiest choice I had available to me.
So now instead of beating myself up for forgetting my lunch and that I’ve now totally wrecked my diet, I celebrate that I was able to make the healthiest possible alternative I had. By logging it on MFP, I know where I stand for the day and then can go through a second round of re-evaluations. I choose to edit my dinner to be less calories to make up for lunch and if I can change my workout a little to increase how many calories I burn I do…if I can’t, I can’t.
At the end of the day, no matter how it all exactly turned out, I fall asleep proud of myself instead of beating myself up. I can’t change certain things, but I did the best I could with the circumstances. I made the healthiest possible choices that were available.
And in the end, I’m still losing weight and getting healthier, even if the journey and the processes aren’t perfect. 10 pounds in my first month on MFP!
Here are some interesting quotes on keeping perspective J
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Niebuhr (Serenity Prayer)
“Some people see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. I see a glass that’s twice as big as it needs to be.” ― George Carlin
“Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.” ― J.M. Barrie
“The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close up.” ― Chuck Palahniuk
“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” ― Alphonse Karr
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.” ― John Lubbock
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