I Give Up

By Cheryl Hansen

Carrot sticks or French fries? Netflix or yoga? Diet coke or water? Getting healthy and strong and confident comes from making good choices a hundred times a day. It’s all about giving up the bad habits and replacing them with good ones. 

But there’s one bad habit I’ve yet to addressss. I’ve been so focused on trying to up sugar and working on my plank that I’ve completely neglected what may be the most important part of my journey. It’s that internal stuff that we all hold on to:  there are conversations I should have, feelings I should share and truths I should seek. 

I suspect all of my effort to eat clean and walk and practice my downward dog is impeded by the emotional junk that’s been simmering on the backburner for way too long. It comes in all shapes and sizes—to be sure—and some issues are more complicated than others. But junk is junk, after all—whether it’s French fries or hurt feelings. It’s the latter, I’ve discovered, that’s hardest to give up. But unlike sugar and diet coke—I won’t miss it at all. 

Unlike giving up the desserts, I won’t likely see the results on the scale, but I bet I’ll feel lighter than I have in years.