One Easy Thing
As I went
through my lymphedema as a new thing year, I had to learn quite a few new
things. I certainly had those days when
my rebellion was fully bloomed. I simply
didn’t want to change. I had days and
weeks where my old habits lead me astray and my will-power deflated.
My
self-confidence was pretty weak, but the thing that helped was the ‘one easy
thing’. If I could see one simply, tiny
step in the right direction, I would try to do that. If I did it, I gave myself heaps of praise. I remember thinking that every big change
that I attempted could be broken down into tiny easy steps. All I had to do was do those ‘easy’ things. My
job was to make each step doable, somehow, some way.
The self-praise seemed
a little silly but I told myself that I have managed a step (albeit small) and
I could feel good about this. I found as
I focused on my mini-success I was encouraged.
This worked so much better than adding up all the ways this was hard,
and all the challenges that lay ahead and how unlikely I was to succeed. Simply put, this exercise of self-praise
framed my actions in a positive light.
So many times
the way to move forward was not a bigger whip, but the gentle knowledge that
the best I could do was keep on.
I also kept as
my philosophy that to keep on doing the same thing and expect different results
is insanity. So I would try different
things until I found the thing or things that worked. It is not essential that you know the right action. I experimented (especially in regards to
challenging my eating disorders). Simply
put, I was building self-trust.
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