Just for today, skip the Honey Boo Boo

If you're a human, chances are you've set a goal for yourself at least once in your lifetime.  You know, the kind where you decide that TOMORROW you will start your journey of change.  Perhaps you want to lose 50 pounds.  Maybe you want to start a running regimen so you can finally tackle that marathon.  Or maybe you want to read more, write more, learn more.  You tell yourself you're going to finish that novel by such-n-such date, or you'll be running 15 miles at a time by summer.

"TOMORROW, I will write 1,000 words of my future best-seller."

"TOMORROW, I will get up at 5:00 a.m. and brave the freezing temps to get my run in."

TOMORROW comes and what happens?  You hit that snooze button one too many times, tell yourself you'll run later, have a crummy day at work, come home to a dirty kitchen and mounds of laundry and convince yourself that  TOMORROW is a better day to start. This after spending three hours on the couch with your hand in a bag of Funyuns and ultimately falling asleep watching the "Honey Boo Boo" marathon on cable.  Not exactly the kind of marathon you were planning to participate in.  

Oops.

You failed.   

You blew it today and now you'll never reach your goals.  You're going to be a fat, lazy, uneducated toad for the rest of your miserable existence.  

Not so fast.

There's nothing at all wrong with making big plans for ourselves, but when it comes to weight loss, I'm learning that it's the small goals - the ones we can actually envision and wrap our brains around - that bring the most success.  When it comes to losing weight and taking control of my health, today is the only day that matters.  

If I tell myself that the goal is to lose 100 pounds by the end of 2013, and I think about it ONLY in those terms, I'll end up crying in the corner, rocking uncontrollably while humming some eerie lullaby and sucking my thumb.  The notion that "I have to keep this up every day for the next gazillion days to reach my goal or I've failed" is a daunting one.  It's too much.  It's completely overwhelming.  It's a near guarantee of failure.

I'm now determined that I'm simply going to wake up every morning and decide that, just for today, I will eat sensibly and get my workout in.  I'm going to make choices all day that will help me go to bed feeling good about the progress I made and the small steps I've taken toward my bigger goal.   When I do that, I wake up the next morning feeling hopeful and empowered, like I took control of something that's had control of me for far too long.   That feeling fuels me for the day ahead.  

"I did it yesterday.  It felt good amazing.  I want another day like that.  Today will be that day."

I can do anything for one day, right? 

I can put the Funyuns down slowly and back away - just for today.

I can pass on the Honey Boo Boo and pick up my laptop and write - just for today.

I can get to bed a little earlier and keep my 5:00 a.m. date with a pair of smelly sneakers - just for today.

Whatever my big plans are, I will start with today.  I won't overwhelm my brain and spirit with what needs to be done by the end of the year or even in the next few months.  I will let every day of my journey be a victory that fuels the next day's success.

What are your big dreams and what small step will you take, just for today, to bring you closer to making them a reality?