I was 31 years old the first time I said the “F” word out loud. I had just run a
I was 31 years old the first time I said the “F” word out loud. I had just run away from a tennis ball in a car because I was too scared to teach a group of 18 year olds to avoid overeating in their first year of college. The irony brought me face to face with the hardest reality I’d ever had to endure which brought the word I’d been taught to avoid my entire life out of my lips for the first time. “Failure. I’ve completely failed. I’m a f*#!ing failure.” (I’ve rarely been afraid of the OTHER F word after all). I was 440 pounds and sitting firmly at rock bottom emotionally, spiritually, personally, romantically and professionally. I was running from reality and that was the only form of running I’d done in the last 12 years since becoming an “adult”. Here’s the thing about failure and mistakes and missteps: All the progress happens on the other side of that. The philosopher Epictetus said that a man cannot learn that which he already knows. Conversely, learning can only be born of ignorance or an admission that we do not yet know everything. We are not ourselves yet. Who we are is somewhere in between who we think we are in that moment (a complete failure) and who we REALLY are (a ball of stardust and unlimited potential. We all have this moment at some point in our lives. It’s a moment in which everything changes. Paul might have called his moment an epiphany. Others might call it a revelation or inspiration or a “come to Jesus” moment. The Parable of the Prodigal Son refers to it as a moment in which we “come to ourselves”. For me, it was a night that ended at me staring at my pudgy face in the mirror, my eyes swollen with tears, my heart broken and my soul softened. It was time to change and that was day 1. I failed over and over on my journey, but each time, I remembered my resolve and my reason WHY. It was time to meet my potential. This time, I was not ready to give up. This time I wasn’t ready to stop. I was ready to change. To Grow. To Shrink. And I did– one pound at a time. Are you ready to use the F Word? Are you ready to start with one pound? Let today be your day, you little ball of stardust. It’s time to BECOME YOURSELF. (at Impact Hub Santa Barbara) -- source link
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