Perceptions - Half Full or Half Empty?

This week’s weigh-in had a much better result than last week's.  I lost 4.4 lbs.  How I got there was a bit convoluted.

Early in the week, I got a bit impatient with the process.  I’m not sure what caused it, but I was feeling like I wasn't seeing enough progress for all of the work that I was putting in.  I started focusing on the areas that weren't quite as successful.  I was looking at the glass as half empty.  Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, I was feeling like I hadn't made any real progress, which led to some discouragement.

I started to question the process, wondering if I should try to find something new, which got me thinking about processes in general.  I came back to a painting process that I follow.  When I’m creating a painting, I work in stages.  I've named one of those stages the “ugly” stage.  This is the point where the painting has most of the elements and sometimes, colors, laid in, but it’s still a mess.  It’s at this point when a painting is most likely to be abandoned.  To finish it, you have to look past the painting’s current state and trust the process to take it to your final vision.

The "Ugly Stage" and a more refined stage

Reaching this minor epiphany swung my perception back to the “half full” state and turned the remaining days into one of the most focused weeks I've had since restarting my fitness plan.  I paid more attention to my diet and turned up the intensity of my workouts, even pulling a double set on Friday.  I have to admit, by Saturday’s workout, I was running on fumes.  I was at the 10 minute mark of a 30 minute set on the elliptical and thinking of packing it in, when I remembered something that Austin Carr said while commentating a Cavs game.  He said that the team wouldn't be successful until they learned to play past tired.  I “played past tired” from the elliptical, to an upper body set, through a Zumba class.  I was rewarded with the 4.4 pound weight loss.

This week’s total helped me to break through a sticking point.  Now, I need to build on this success, which just happens to have come right before the biggest feasting holiday on the calendar.  So, this week’s strategy turns out to be the same as last week’s strategy:  Trust the process and follow the plan.

Weight loss to date: 41.2 lbs.