Attitude: Preparing to Low Carb

You've been thinking about it. And thinking about it. And thinking about it some more. You've mulled it, researched it, considered it, studied it and dissected it. You're ready to drop the flab. I know it can be challenging challenging undergoing a new project, because it really entails changing how you think. So with that in mind, stay tuned for some of Goddess's best get-going tips, from the hip and

• Don't wait for the perfect time. Guess what, girlfriend? There AIN'T a perfect time, at least in the sense that everything is stress-free in your life and there are no distractions and yada yada yada. The only perfect time is NOW! That is the only point in time where you have any power.

• Stop worrying about the HOW. This gets you into trouble, because frankly life can provide us with a million and two avenues for success that we could have never imagined on our own. If you have to figure out exactly how it does gonna happen before you start, you are doing two things-You're drawing a box around the situation and adding inherent limits by forcing that level of definition. Life is a wonderful adventure, full of surprises of all sorts, and most of the greatest things that have happened to me were things I couldn't possibly have known to plan... The other thing, though-you're shutting yourself off from many potential avenues for success by selecting the only road you're gonna be monitoring. I mean, yes, you'll have ideas, but just be flexible. Use those ideas as a springboard, not the sole route to the finish line and you'll be fine. Just decide the what, and the how will take care of itself organically. This is hard to do at first because it involves a certain level of trust, but it pays off in spades.
• Let go of the WHEN, too! I mean, heck, how much does the "when" part of the equation really matter? People so often are ridiculously impatient to finish their weight loss project and be done with it. And while I understand this, changes take time and energy. You didn't get where you are overnight, so you most likely won't get somewhere else overnight, either...and in this context, I'm talking about the "when is this going to be complete?" question. There is a when as in "when am I going to start," and that's now!
• Stop worrying about what you "should" do first. You know what? It doesn't freakin' matter what you do first, or whether it seems like a big step or a small step or what. Just do something! Every step, however modest, takes you closer to your goal. Just do something today! Break it down and take one tiny piece of the puzzle and put it into place.
• Let go of the whole "wasted time" concept. As in, "Well, I wasted all this time and if I'd done this two years ago, I'd be done." I mean, c'mon! If you got something out of it, learned something, grew somehow, then it's not wasted! And if you didn't, then take another look! 'Cause there's always something you can take from an experience. It's not only counter-productive to define your time as wasted, it's simply not fair to get angry with yourself for not being born fully evolved. If you're not happy with where you're at now, well, great, good that you can see it. Time to move on! But that doesn't mean that you haven't been exactly where you needed to be until now, either...it just means that you're growing and changing. This is a good thing, friend! I see the whole being ready to move on as evidence that you are growing and changing, and therefore doing EXACTLY what you need to be doing.
• Listen to the messages. Now, I don't know what you're spiritual beliefs are, I don't care. But for me, I know that when I need to do something, I get "messages" of sorts. You can believe it's from spirit or you can believe it's my subconscious mind or you can believe I'm a lunatic. Your preference! But if you're open to this idea at all...once you start to pay attention, you'll hear a lot more messages. You'll see them in interactions and things you hear on the radio and the magazine headlines or books that sort of "jump out" at you in the store or whatever. The point is that when it's time to do something, just get off your butt and go, and you will feel it in your gut. You'll know its right. You'll find the topic coming up again and again and you'll be more attuned to circumstances and facts surrounding what you need to do. People make the mistake of ignoring their intuition and talking themselves out of their own insights all the time. You're intuition is your best friend! Use it to your advantage and you'll be amazed at how things start to magically "fall together" for you.
• Appreciate your progress from every step you take, however insignificant in the big picture you may initially think it is. When you take time out to feel good about what you're doing and the progress that you're making, it's motivating. You're generating good energy for yourself, which builds more energy and momentum. It works for you just like it works for others: appreciation for efforts leads to greater efforts. Who works harder at a job: the person who feels like their efforts are unnoticed and minimized, or the person who feels like their contributions are valued and appreciated, whatever the contributions may be?
• Remember, folks: this is a chain reaction. One step leads to another which leads to another. Every step counts because every step is connected in the chain from where you're at now to where you're going.
• Consider any setbacks you encounter education. It's all prep work for getting to where you're going, man. Every little snag, you can learn something. Every minor delay, you can look at and use to your advantage. Setbacks only become failures if you let them conquer you instead of using them the way you need to: as a source of vital information about moving above, around, under, over, or avoiding the pitfalls. Not to mention your experiences of setback may be helpful to other people as well, if you choose to share them.
• Focus on the right stuff. Don't focus on losing X number of pounds, but focus on what losing the weight will DO for you. Don't focus on the new job per se, but focus on what you want to get out of your job overall. When you do this, you open yourself to as many potential avenues for progress as possible. You give yourself much needed flexibility to adapt and change as you learn more on your journey. Sometimes people lose sight of their own hard-earned successes because they will be distracted by whatever way they had selected to measure their progress instead of the outcome they were actually wanting in the first place.
• And speaking of flexibility: be flexible! Conditions change as you go along and if you're paying attention, you will be learning along the trip. So incorporate it into your journey! It's great to have a roadmap to get you started, but be open to little detours, altered courses. Let yourself sight-see if you get the urge. You may well be surprised at what you find when you follow your instincts and stay open to the gifts that are out there...
• Let go of the fear, because it's simply self-induced anyway. Most likely, if it doesn't work out, you won't die and it won't be horrible. Chances are, worst case scenario you may be sad or upset if you don't reach your goal initially. And if you are working on learning from any missteps you make, you'll actually be better off than when you started regardless. You can paralyze yourself with terror of failure, but to what end? You end up guaranteeing failure by being afraid to start, so it's become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Work on making the mental adjustments. I am a firm believer that every change you make on the outside starts on the inside. If your brain isn't prepped to accept and accommodate the change, it just won't work for you. You can have all the conditions primed and the tools at the ready and even be doing the stuff you need to do, but if your mind hasn't accepted it, whatever progress you make just won't stick. This is where visualization comes in handy. If you keep visualizing, you are training your brain to accept this situation, your desired outcome, as reality. I don't think anybody fully understands the mind/body connection, but you'd have to be an idiot to claim there isn't one.
• Mostly though, just do. Whatever comes to your mind, whatever feels right, whatever seems the easiest to start with if you want, doesn't matter a whit. Any action you take towards your goals will help you feel stronger and more in control. All progress counts! We're talking the turtle and the hare, here. It's not the huge strides or the lightening fast motion that gets you there, it's the little steps, day in and day out, the modest but consistent progress.
• Never focus on how far you have to go. Always look at how far you've come! If you are focusing on how far you have to go, how much there is to do, I can almost promise you that you're gonna feel overwhelmed with the project if it's a big one. But if you keep yourself attuned to your progress and successes, you'll want to build more of ‘em. This isn't to say you shouldn't daydream about where you're going, either. Honestly, I think that's productive for helping your brain switch gears and maintain your success overall. But if the focus starts shifting from a pleasant, light, happy thing to a burdensome, ominous, heavy thing, that means you need to switch your focus.
• When in doubt about which option to take, always choose the one that you feel the most joy thinking about. And it makes a lot of sense, really. To me, life is to be lived. It's about love and joy and happiness and contentment. I know sometimes there are lots of considerations when you're making decisions, but this is one that has absolutely never steered me wrong. The more we can bring our lives into tune with who we are inside, the better off we'll be.
• And speaking of that: Know thyself and act accordingly. Do whatever you're doing in the way you're comfortable with, because you have an inner sense of the approach that fits you best. While sometimes when we start on a big journey, we're going to experience a certain level of discomfort because of the changes we're making, this is different. Recognize how the things you want to accomplish fit in with your personal approach to life. If you're most comfortable with a very tick-tock, quantified, measured kind of reality, then approach the situation from that angle and find ways to tick-tock your project. If you're a rule-hating free spirit (like me!), then find ways to approach your situation that fit in with your own rule-hating personality. There are many roads to choose along the way. Take the ones that best accommodate who you are. See, you've got the best shot for lasting change if you merge what you're doing in your life with who you really are. The more authentically your changes reflect your reality, the more likely they are going to be permanent.
• Most of all, smell the flowers. We can sometimes get caught up in all the fervor and swirling winds that come with big changes, and forget why we're doing what we're doing to begin with. Life is NOT a destination, but the journey. Look for the beauty in your journey. It's everywhere, if you are willing to open yourself up to it. Keep laughing, keep looking for the flowers along the way. You'll find them in the most unlikely places, sometimes. Don't wait for your life to start, 'cause I got a news flash: it's here, baby! You're knee-deep in your life right this second, man! So take a deeeeeep breath, look around you, and soak up that experience. This is what gives you energy. The beauty, appreciating the good that's around you. If you spend a few minutes of your day thinking about all the wondrous and beautiful things around you and just feeling gratitude for the good stuff in your life, I can tell you this: you will get your energy recharged. It's palpable.

I know a lot of people approach weight loss (and maybe change in general) from a place of deficiency and a sense of inadequacy, but I believe that's completely unnecessary and complicates the process needlessly. In fact, it's more than unecessary; it's completely counterproductive. So stop it!

The fact that you're not feeling satisfied with the status quo is a very good thing; it says you're growing and ready to move on. You choose the status quo, so it undoubtedly served you in some way at some point in your life, but now you're ready to evolve a little bit. And how cool is that?