On Letting Things Go...

This weekend, I finally tackled the long overdue task of pulling weeds from my flower beds. It had gotten so bad that you could no longer tell purposeful plants from overgrown green stalks, and my husband threatened to take the weed whacker to the whole thing. But if that happened, I knew I'd miss out on seeing the pretty flowers that bloom in the fall. So I put on my gloves and my bug spray, and headed outside.

I'm not going to lie -- it was completely overwhelming at first. The thought of pulling each weed out by hand made me want to just sit down and cry. But then it occurred to me that what I was feeling was exactly the way I felt two years ago when I stepped into Gold's Gym for the first time. All those pounds together seemed like just too much to tackle. But pound by pound, the whole process was absolutely do-able.

As I pulled each weed, I reflected on the behavior that had gotten me into this mess. Ignoring the tell-tale green sprouts when they first appeared -- walking past as I told myself, "I'm too tired" or "I'm too busy" -- is also how I ended up with 25 extra pounds to lose. Clothes getting a bit too tight? "I'm too tired to cook a healthy meal." Seeing a bit of extra padding around the waist? "I'm too busy to exercise." It's the same behavior.

I should have paid attention.

Normally, I'm a huge fan of not sweating the small stuff. Life's just way too short. But when the small stuff starts to become the big stuff -- whether it's weeds or pounds -- it's time to take action. It's OK to let things go occasionally, but letting go shouldn't become standard operating procedure.

Pulling those weeds was a great reminder to tackle the little problems before they become big problems. 

Comments

[Marste]

What a good point. I'm the QUEEN of thinking, "Oh, this once is no big deal." And it wouldn't be, except that "this once" comes around with surprising regularity! It's amazing how many "once's" are out there, LOL. So I'm trying to get back into the habit of remembering that for ME, "this once" DOES matter, at least for now.

Well said.

[Dara Chadwick]

Thanks, Marste, for the kind words and for stopping by!

[Kara from Mama Sweat]

Nice post! My house becomes my weed-filled garden. I know doing a little here and a little there prevents the "big clean" I so despise later. Little by little; It is how we eat our elephants.