Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
A tricky thing about resolving an eating disorder is the onion effect. Every time you resolve one issue, another pops up. Makes you almost wanna cry, don’t it? (onion irony intended)
I can honestly say that I eat intuitively for the most part. It’s very natural, I choose a balance of foods, and I don’t obsess over any particular thing.
Peeling back that layer shows me at least two more layers: eating enough less to lose weight, and cleaning up the compulsive thinking.
Eating less is well known to all of us - as an intuitive eater, I am training myself to stop when just not hungry any more, and to keep up enough extra exercise so as to lose some weight. Otherwise known as a diet, but without the “stick to the program” screechiness found in commercial diets.
Compulsive thinking is a bit new to me, for I only recently recognized that it’s my compulsive and negative thoughts that keep me from performing optimally at any activity. Another name for this is being human. We all have our issues and demons to deal with, but it’s possible to conquer many of them sufficiently to improve our lives.
My desire is to dial down the negative thinking that keeps me from doing things that make me happier. Some of my personal challenges include:
- Not taking action when I’m dissatisfied with something
- Holding onto thoughts that can’t be resolved
That’s all. If I peel back those two layers, I’ll dramatically improve my quality of life. That’s how affirmations help, they are particularly good at helping me release obsessive repeated thinking.
The best (and so far only) thing I’ve ever wanted to take from The Surrendered Wife is the true meaning of surrendering. It’s not becoming a doormat or subjecting yourself to your husband’s every whim, but it’s giving up trying to control things you cannot control.
You cannot force your husband to change. You can control your reactions to his behaviors. Same for everything else in life - you can improve how you react to both positive and negative events, even when you can’t necessarily control the outcomes.
For today, I will
- Consciously let go of thoughts that aren’t serving me well at the moment
- Take action where possible rather than wait and worry
- Do something else when I get stuck on any one thing
