It's Been a Long Time Coming...

You may notice that this post is a little behind on my "twice a week" blogging goal. That was not intentional, but there was a reason I dragged my feet. I didn't know how to write about what was going on, since I seem to have hit a plateau in most of the arenas of my life.


Sometimes you're in a waiting room. And there's nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't mean pull up a chair and get out a magazine, get comfortable. It means scan the room for exits and build connections with other "inmates" to break out with. I am gearing up to apply to law school in the fall, so my love life and career have both been put on hold. And I was fine with that until very recently. Now it feels less like a self-imposed ban to keep me focused, and more like a restriction, holding me back.


Which leads me to my first realization: timing is literally everything. Just consider this for a moment, you can eat anything you want and lose weight. How? Timing. The longer you can put off something, the better it will be. This harkens back to the cheat day thing, which is based on this concept. By changing the way we look at gratification, and adjusting it to delayed rather than denied is crucial. Whether it is in relationships, or just your relationship with food. Next time you see a piece of chocolate cake staring you down, practice saying "later" rather than "no."

Which leads me to my second, and more important, realization. Up until now my mantra for many things has been: "If it's meant to be, it will be." While this is a factual statement, what struck me about it recently is that it's a bit defeatist. It's easy to say, "If I'm meant to be in shape, I will be," when in reality you are meant to be in shape so get off the couch and stop making excuses. Destiny will only take us so far, and it is what we do with the chances we are given (i.e. checking Facebook rather than going for a run) that ultimately decides what happens and what doesn't.

So how do these both reconcile? There has to be a balance. You have to know when to put something off, like if it's bad for you, and when to embrace it with open arms, like when it's good for you. If you don't know which is which, listen to your conscience. It's surprising that we each have a feeling (mine resides in my stomach) that lets us know which course of action to take. If it makes you feel guilty, put it off until it doesn't. Otherwise, what are you waiting for?