Saturday, August 21, 2010

Why We Fail

Welcome to "Same Old Sh*t" Saturday, where I dust off something I found in my basement and attempt to pawn it off as something fresh and new, which I would totally be able to get away with except for the fact that I always write these annoying little introductions and label them as "Same Old Sh*t" posts. Sigh...


January, 2007 – Well, I’ve been preparing myself for this, and here it is. Just weighed in at 293.6. Pants are tight as can be. Exercise at an almost all-time low. Eating completely out of control. Let’s see if I’ve got what it takes to do right.

April, 2007 – Okay, this is a matter of life and death now. A person in the office upstairs died in their car from a stroke, a result of high blood pressure (my bp was crazy high when I went to doc for my foot). She was 48. Throw in my high level of stress and poor eating habits and I’m ripe to go down early. Yuck. Feel bad.

December, 2007 – Last night of the year. I’m at home with a wrenched back from playing ball yesterday. This is it. I’m really not doing very well. Feeling crappy. Eating terribly. Not exercising much. Not accomplishing much. I’m ready to get it going again. I’ve got to. It’s now or never.

July, 2008 – It’s on like a chicken bone.

April, 2008Been doing decent enough job keeping after it, but still eating (and drinking) too much. Think I’m ready to have a go at doing better.

January, 2009 So I’m starting over…

Starting… and then starting over.

Again and again and again.

People accuse me of making this weight-loss business look easy, but that’s because they don’t know that I’ve rammed my head into that brick wall more times than I care to admit. The dated blurbs above are some of my journal entries from a couple of year’s worth of failed attempts at losing my weight. I start with such fervor and focus and somewhere along the line, I simply lose my way…

Over and over, I’ve gotten a nice running start… and gone nowhere.

I’ve gone back to Square One so many times that I started listing it as my primary address.

I’ve overdone it with the do-overs, absolutely worn out the “reset” button.

I’ve committed myself and re-committed myself, but more often than not I’ve fallen flat on my face.

Believe me, I know what it’s like… but I also understand something else: there’s no shame in tripping up, no disgrace in falling down. It’s just something that happens to the best of us, to all of us.

And even if you mess it up a dozen times, a hundred times… even if you start each Monday with freshly minted determination and end each Saturday night with your arm elbow deep into an order of chili cheese fries… I encourage you to keep trying, to keep fighting the good fight.

Because one day that spark is going to ignite, and a rampant wildfire of inspiration and dedication will spontaneously embrace you, engulf you, consume you. It will singe your bad habits and scorch your doubts, and it will blaze a path to a better place.

I can’t for the life of me distinguish the catalyst that makes one weight-loss journey successful when so many before it had failed so spectacularly. I wish I could isolate and identify it when it goes missing, awake and arouse it when it lies dormant.

But I can’t. All I can do is keep trying, and hold on for all I’m worth when that spark does catch. Try to ride that lightning bolt all the way home…

I hope you’re on a solid path today, your bags packed with persistence and purpose. I hope you’ve got your heels dug in and your mind firmly wrapped around what you need to do in order to achieve your goals. I hope you find strength in your heart, hope and support from those around you and a plan that gives you every opportunity to succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

I’ve seen enough lost causes and dashed dreams to last a lifetime; I want to see you make this happen.

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13 comments:

  1. You always seem to post these really cool and inspiring posts when I need them.

    Thanks Jack. I'll say it again: you're a gent...

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  2. It may be Same Old Sh*t Saturday, but the message never gets old! This is just what I need today today.

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  3. Wow! I absolutely needed this today! The scale has taken a turn for the worse, my motivation is down and this bike across the room is building up dust. I'm losing steam and I so desperately want this time to be different. Thanks for reminding me to stay focused. I am so grateful for this blogging community! Happy Saturday, Jack!

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  4. I love your fun side, it is nice to see this side as well. Great post.

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  5. You do not make it look easy, I dont get that at all. You do make it look fun, I totally get that, want that, and that is why Jack Sh*t is on my blog roll,

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  6. I love you.

    Not in that stalker, go through your garbage and send you love letters kind of way.

    Rather in that, you get this and I respect the hell out of you kind of way.

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  7. Ditto on Tara. ( I take the easy way out). :-)

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  8. Wow ... I really needed this today. Thank you SO MUCH for the inspiration, Jack. My bags are packed. :)

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  9. "Believe me, I know what it’s like… but I also understand something else: there’s no shame in tripping up, no disgrace in falling down. It’s just something that happens to the best of us, to all of us."

    --That is so true. Thank you for sharing this. It's just an awesome reminder that we can do whatever we want...when we find that self-respect deep within us to stop depriving, stuffing, binging, starting over, dieting ourselves to death. I actually think that this whole weight loss this is meant to be the complete opposite of over-drive. I think that it's a state of focused contentment with a forward motion. Does that make sense?

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  10. You always say it so well. I have been on an uprise with the weight for a couple months now. And no matter how hard I try, it just seems that I'm running into walls. First I was back on the bike, but then I threw out my knee. I am now off the bike but trying really hard to eat right so I don't gain anymore! I'm off the meat again, and the bread. Thank GOD I stopped all of THAT! I am only hoping I don't go up any further.

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  11. Everytime I come visit here, your posts are so exact! I love reading your blog! Very thought provoking, obviously hilarious at times too. Thank you :)

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  12. I think a lot of people (skinny ones!) just don't understand how hard it can be. It's far easier to give up and just eat yourself to death (and kind of enjoy doing it!), but it takes a far stronger person to say that they want more out of life and dang it, they're going to make the most of it.

    Hubby has lost half a stone in about 3 weeks - just through giving up cheese and drink. He was more casual over the weekend we've just had, because he knows that whatever he put on in a weekend, he could lose in a week with just cutting back a little. It usually takes me a few weeks to lose what I could put on in a weekend, and sometimes it's just easier to ignore it and keep eating.

    I read a good quote this weekend - "Failure isn't falling over, failure is not getting back up".

    Get back up, Jack. Look at how far you've come. Now isn't it worth it to keep going?

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