Monday, November 9, 2009

Welcome to Today.


This is your day.

You’ve got 86,400 seconds to work with and I’d like to encourage you to spend at least a few thousand of them working to make this weight-loss journey you’re on a success.

Yesterday may not have been your best day, but yesterday is dead and gone. Yesterday’s a fading memory, a train that’s long since left the station, a house that’s been boarded up and abandoned.

Today is what’s ahead of you, and it’s a day full of promise and possibility. You can make a positive and lasting change in your life and you can start today. All it takes is attention to the smallest of details. All it takes is being mindful about what you put in your mouth, being attentive to your body’s deep yearning to move. There never seems to be a good time to start, but I say that today’s as good a day as any. Today’s your day to start making your life better.

Tomorrow? We’ll talk about tomorrow tomorrow, but for now, let’s keep our whole and total focus on today. Today’s all we can control, all we can manage, all that we need to worry about for the day’s remaining 86,370 seconds (you’ve already squandered 30 of those precious seconds here… they do have a way of getting away from you, you see).

I started my own journey a little over six months ago, and my big idea was to get through one damn day without screwing up. One day without eating something crappy. One day without grabbing a candy bar out of the vending machine. Try to prove to myself that my car would run–for one day–without food in my mouth. We are so smart, and yet we continue to do such foolish, foolish things.

Some days, especially early in my trek, ended with me counting down those remaining few thousand seconds like a man in prison eyeballing the calendar. “Just get me through the day,” I’d desperately mutter to myself. “Just get me through one more day.”

I’m not going to tell you that changing my set-in-stone mindset wasn’t difficult, that it wasn’t painful. However, I am going to tell you that it got more bearable with time. It got more manageable. It’s still not easy, but it’s a long way from too difficult to manage.

I still end the day with a little quiet reflection of what I accomplished over the past 86,000 and some odd second seconds. And believe me… not screwing up is still a major accomplishment in my book.

I’m not trying to change the world, but I am trying to change myself.

One day at a time.

This day–today–is right here for the taking. I know you, and I know you have the strength and determination to power through a day eating right and doing right. I’m not asking you to do more than you’re capable of and I’m certainly not asking you to do any more than I’m asking of myself.

Let’s get through one good day, and what say we make that day today.

42 comments:

  1. Thanks Jack, I needed that. After being SICK with the flu for over a week, I was barely up and about when a good friend got the bad news-- 6 months to live due to cancer.

    We MUST embrace this precious life we've been given and live it to the fullest every day as none of us knows how much time we really have.

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  2. Thank you so much for posting this. Very thought provoking and it really has made me stop and realize I may not be at the point to own the week, but I can wrap my mind around owning the day.

    Great piece. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. One day at a time is all we have anyways. You cannot really know what lies ahead, and you can't fix what you messed up on yesterday.

    But those "one day at a time" days stack up don't they Jack?

    Great post.

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  4. What a great motivational post!!! You are right.. make it a day... my quote of the week on my blog is:

    You can choose differently. Today is your second chance! Abbey - Biggest Loser

    Why waste your today, right!!! Even a baby step is better than no step!

    And yes, this "journey" becomes more manageable with time. It is still hard & I guess that is because I continue to challenge myself always... and as the bod changes, I encounter more challenges to overcome & I keep trying...

    Thx Jack & congrats again!

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  5. you don't know how much I needed this post today, after two lousy workouts this weekend, i'm ready to start over today, you are so right today is a new day.

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  6. Bravo, Jack :) Keep 'em coming, I love when you post motivational entries :)

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  7. excellent reminder, thanks so much!

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  8. I'm all for today and one day at a time. Here's to many many good days.

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  9. Just the sort of thing I needed to hear. I'm sat here with a tin of cake I'm trying to sell on my desk... and I know that I can get through to the end of the day without succumbing to temptation.

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  10. oh yeah... going through a funk and this is great advice!

    thanks jack!

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  11. What a fantastic Monday Post! Thanks Jack, I think there are a lot of folks out there that needed just this post.

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  12. I just wanted to stop by and let you know I saw your "sweaty pic" on Jen's (prior fat girl) and you look AMAZING !

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  13. Whooooo hooooo! Seize the Day! Thanks for the motivation today!

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  14. What a fantastic, motivating post Jack. I hope you don't mind but I copied the link to your blog on a weight loss site I use - www.weightlossresources.co.uk - because I think you will motivate and inspire a lot of people.

    Well done, and thanks for a motivational boost!

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  15. Found your blog via Dina. (Gotta give props where props are due.)
    Great work today. "Even a baby step is better than no step." Don't remember which commenter said it but it's my new mantra.

    You rock. Seriously.

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  16. Your our very own Fitness Blog Guru Jack! Thanks for taking the time to pump us full of positive reinforcement (and for actually meaning it!)!

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  17. Absolutely - let's worry about TODAY instead of putting off until tomorrow...

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  18. I really needed to hear that today. Thank you for the reminder. :)

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  19. Very motivating! Thanks Jack, you know some of us need that right now. Here's to a good day!

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  20. Agreed! One day is all we have.

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  21. Thanks for this reminder Jack - it applies to so many things.

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  22. AMEN! Thanks for the motivation!

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  23. I was hoping to avoid de-planting the garden one more day. Now I gots no excuses. Damn you, Jack!

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  24. Bravo! We all need to live in the moment, mindfully.

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  25. Ugh, it's been tough...REALLY tough, but thanks for the motivation.

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  26. great motivation... now with less snark!!!

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  27. Well done. Great post.

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  28. I love you, Jack! I know I've said it before and I'll probably say it a million more times.

    This one -- like it's author -- is a keeper!

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  29. Thank you so much for this post. I thought about it this morning when I woke up. It's such a true statement. Today is the day--everday. Thank you so much.

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  30. For me it was day to day and pound to pound...if i thought farther out, I got frustrated, or panicked or pissed off. Good post.

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  31. Wow! totally needed that today. thanks jack!

    this really gives me something to think about

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  32. So much of what we do (and do not do) is mental....and a result of our own self-talk. Thanks for the reminder to be sure the voices in our heads get smacked a bit if they are talking crap! :) I overcame some negative self-talk today....and it felt great!

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  33. Wow, that was exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you! I think I might even print that out and put it up in my office for the days I feel like giving up.

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  34. Oooh! I absolutely LOVE this post.

    Like, I really, really love it.

    What a great reminder...and what a great way to look at each day.

    Thank you.

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  35. never mind yesterday, this week has not been my week *sigh*

    maybe tomorrow will be my day...

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  36. Thank you for posting this. I had to make a choice about my life today, and this post helped me make the right one.

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  37. Re-reading this today. Ahhhhhhhh it's gold :)

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