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Saturday, July 29, 2006

"I used to walk in the shade..."

Little Note****

If you'll direct your attention to my picture at the top of the page you'll note that if you click on the image it will take you to my theme song which is now in mp3 format for anyone who would like a clean copy of it. =0)

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A few people have mentioned my positive outlook in the face of a seemingly daunting task. I guess it may seem odd. I mean...losing 20 or 30 lbs is often a task that people find overwhelming or at the least difficult. 250lbs is definitely a scary proposition and I don't want people to think that I don't have a clue what I've gotten myself into. Quite the contrary. I know how long it took for me to get where I am and I live with this excess weight every day. I've been depressed over it and I have let the sheer enormity of it all paralize me into complete inaction. So for all of those who think that I should be humble in the face of this enormous challange...just remember. I have been and that's why I am where I am today.

My entire outlook now hangs on the fact that I know how hard this is going to be. That's no shock. I know that in order to reach my goals I'm going to have to work harder than I have ever worked for any one thing. I know that I'm going to stumble and get back up and stumble again before this is all over but I also realize that no minor set back will end the process. It will only end when it's done. There are no expectations other than that I eventually achieve my goals. No arbitrary time lines no tricks or traps and no forks in the road. There's just a straight path from here to there and though I can't yet see the finish line I'm on the road and I'm headed in the right direction. The only thing left to do is walk until I get there. It's this simplicity that makes it possible for me to take on my task with a certain amount of ease and optimism.

In the past I've always built road blocks. I set too many goals like, "I want to lose this much by this date!" Or, "oooh if I just lose 20lbs a month I can get there by this date." It may sound too simple but if the only goal we have is the end goal and we just focus on that instead of chopping the journey up into little sections our task becomes much clearer.

Let me try to make a simple analogy...when I first began with my trainer he would give me an exercise to do and a certain amount of reps, for arguments sake let's say: Squats. He'd have me do 10 squats and the next set I'd be on the 8th squat and he'd see that I was getting through them eaiser this time so he'd say ok I want you to go to 15. Well that may be all fine an dandy in practice but I had paced myself to go all out to 10 and now I was expected to use the energy that I had stored up for the final 2 to give him 7 more? We have an agreement now that he tells me before the set how much he wants. I may not want to do that many but, at least, I can plan ahead and pace it out. And, as it turns out he knows exactly what I can and can't do so I trust him to make that decision and we get through it.

I guess my point is that it's all about pace. If we set up all of these little check points or road blocks along the way to our main goal we may find that we only save enough enthusiasm and energy to get to that next check point and then what do we have left for the rest of the race?

8 Comments:

Blogger Yvonne said...

Hey - it's all about the "baby steps". You can only do what you can do today - tomorrow is another day - one day at a time. And the fact that you have so many supporters is very important. When you fall, we are here to pick you back up. There are "Leaners" and "Lifters" in this weight battle. At various times we are either one or the other. If you are having a great day at it, then you are there to help "lift" those that need to "lean". When you need to "lean" - someone will be there to "lift" you. Hang in there, we are all in this battle with you!!

The Eye's Mom

3:19 PM, July 29, 2006  
Blogger The EYE said...

ditto my mom.


well done sir. and i hope youve been doing well in that heat...

3:36 PM, July 29, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That was put so well Sean.

I can only agree with Yvonne. You've got to learn to crawl before you walk, and so long as you're making progress then nobody can say a bad word about it. you're willing to work at it to keep on track.

Heck.....I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but YOU are helping keep ME on track. Thanks for that :D

3:44 PM, July 29, 2006  
Blogger ............... said...

I've found with many things in my life that the big goals only count when you reach them. The little goals are sometimes so small, but they get us through. "I will make it through the day!" Often times the rough moments have us saying, "I will make it through this hour."

7:48 PM, July 29, 2006  
Blogger Sean Perkey said...

Yvonne: Thank you! It's so nice to know that I have such great support. I never dreamed that this blog would be as productive as it has been. I'm really fortunate that so many thoughtful people found their way here.

the eye: The Family that blogs together huh? That's really cool. I have a feeling that my mother would have had a very strong voice here on my blog if she were still with us. I think this is exactly the type of thing that she would have gotten passionate about.
Make sure to tell your mother how much you love her as often as you can!...just my advice to you :0)
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I love you MOM...! I miss you...

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Leenzii: Hey thanks!
Good to hear that you're on track...make sure to give yourself the credit for your success! you deserve it I'm just glad to be of any help or motivation I can in the mean time! Keep up the great work!

Denise: i understand what you mean about one day at a time and it does work for a lot of people. I've felt the same in the past but it hasn't really worked for me so I decided that this time I'll just keep the end game in focus and just keep working until it's achieved!

Still though what you say is a great way to break down large and difficult tasks and that does make it eaiser for some...I guess I'm marching to my own strange little drummer! pah-rum-pah-pah-pum!

By the way it's a pleasure to meet you and I hope that you'll continue to read and post your insights!

Night all. I'lll post in the morning. :0)

3:31 AM, July 30, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I heard this proverb once, that seems to come back to me over and over again. The sheer simplicity of its logic somehow helps put things in perspective.

"If you fall down 7 times, you get up 8 times"

Which, sometimes makes me think long and hard about slipping or "falling down" becuase it will only result in having to get up again (which is harder than just staying up).
Other times, particularly after falling or feeling weak it makes me realize that all is not lost... just get up again. so simple.

Jill

3:42 PM, July 31, 2006  
Blogger Sean Perkey said...

Jill: you're right! Sometimes it's so simple. We just make ourselves think it's hard and that's when we fail. Thanks for your input and encouragement!

4:42 PM, August 02, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I haven't checked in with you in a while so I was just going through some older posts and this one caught my attention. What you've written is so true, and what a fantastic way to go live your life. It's all about taking time to do things right and I'm so happy for you that you're still on the right path. Congrats!

Vivien

7:29 PM, August 03, 2006  

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