Crucial Moments

Turns out that while I might take a vacation, the dust, spiders, dirt, and grime don't. I really want to get back on top of things, so I followed the advice of one of my education week teachers, and made a schedule. See, if you first plan the important things, you'll still have time left over for the little un-important things. He gave the analogy of have a bucket, some big stones, and a whole bunch of sand. If you put the sand in the bucket first, there won't be enough space for all of the stones. However, if you place the stones in the bucket first, the sand will fill in all around the stones, and it will all fit.

The past few months I have struggled to get my important stones in my bucket. I haven't hardly touched the harp. I haven't been reading with Ginger. My scriptures have been stored, neglected in a drawer. My workout videos have been wondering why I bought them, and my ab muscles forgot they were supposed to exist. All the windows are housing plenty of spiders (inside and out), dust has long since settled on the light fixtures, etc, etc.

My schedule has all those stones on it, as well as some extras. I made it a point to print it out, laminated it, and hang it on the fridge. That way, it stays in the front of my mind. I have even scheduled eating times in. Tiffani is on a plan where she eats small meals every 2-3 hours. Since we spent all of last week together, she got me on that plan too. At first, I never felt satisfied after any of the meals. My stomach was used to getting stuffed to the max about 3 times a day, instead of 80% filled 6 times a day. It took some adjusting, but it's gotten a lot easier already. I also clearly noticed my withdrawal symptoms when I cut back the amount of sugar I was eating. Don't get me wrong, put me with a bag of chocolate, and I'll still be tempted to eat the whole bag. However, while doing something else, I won't stop, and wish I was eating sweets.

Another thing I learned at education week, is that we all have a hard time changing behaviors because of our crucial moments. A crucial moment is the moment that defines whether or not you will succeed. For me, it's putting my workout clothes on as soon as the kids get on the bus. I don't put them on, and I probably won't exercise that day. I dont' exercise, and I will probably be less conscious of the food I eat. See, by just putting on those clothes, I set myself up for success. Oh, another crucial moment: 10.3o pm. That is my bedtime. If I don't get to bed on time, I'll be too tired to workout in the morning, etc.