Start again...

I’ve had some setbacks recently, physical and personal.  Sometimes things get tough.  I had to miss some workouts, modify others, and even flaked on some.  I didn’t always make the right food choices.  That is just what happened.  Now is the time to start again, to assume what Buddhists call Beginner’s Mind.  In case you find yourself in a similar situation (thank you, Arlo), I offer some thoughts about what to do and how to shape this new start.

What to do:  Just get started.  At breakfast, choose the food that will truly nourish your body without overloading it.  Go to the gym and lift one thing and then maybe another.  Go outside and walk a block, or pedal around the block, or go up and down the front steps a few times.  Go easy, go small, but go.

How to go:  On purpose.  Treat yourself with the hard love you would extend to a child or a best friend.  In the same way that you would make sure that your dear one brushed his or her teeth for his or her own good, get yourself to eat and move like you should.  Be loving, but be firm.  And then tell yourself you did a good job.