“The Waiting Place…
for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come,
or a plane to go
or the mail to come,
or the rain to go
or the phone to ring,
or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.”
‘Oh, the places you’ll go’ – Dr. Seuss
There are some things we need to wait for: the red traffic lights to change to green; cheese to mature; our car to be serviced; a house to be built; a tree to grow. And there are things we are expected to wait for: waiting our turn in a queue, in a game or to speak.
However, we are also often waiting to make lifestyle changes. Why indeed are we waiting? We may be waiting for the day we’ll have more time, for the kids to go to school, or leave home. For another great fad diet to come along, so we can put off having to make lifestyle changes. For perfect weather. For the doctor to tell us our health is deteriorating. Christmas to be over before we make dietary changes. A new job with flexible hours. For this ‘last’ project to be over. For an upcoming special event or a New Year’s resolution to motivate us. Or maybe luck in winning the lotto jackpot.
What are you waiting for, before making lifestyle changes? What is stopping you from seizing the day and looking after your health? If you are honest with yourself, the perceived obstacles may not be real or as big as you imagine and there’s probably nothing really stopping you.
New Year’s resolutions are famous for motivating us for a little while and then our drive fizzles out as we approach the second or third month of the year. What if, instead of making an ambitious New Year’s resolution we decided to simply respect our bodies a little more each day. That means respecting our appetite, respecting our bodies by opting to give it nourishing foods, respecting our body when it tells us it’s full, as well as respecting what our body can do (strength, flexibility, endurance).
If you find yourself promising you will eat better one day, ask yourself “What am I waiting for?” Take a deep breath and start to make one meal of the day more mindful. Start today. You may keep saying you’ll take up walking soon. Don’t wait. Put on your runners. Even if it’s for 5 minutes. Do it today. Go now. Don’t wait.
Tomorrow, Today will be Yesterday. Make it happen. And it can’t happen until you get started.