fail

So, we’ve spent the past three-plus years pursuing Peace with Food like mad scientists. If you had been in our laboratory it would have looked a lot like this:

Experiment – Fail – Adjust – Experiment – Fail – Adjust

But experimenting wasn’t the only thing we did. We studied the lives of successful people and how they overcame their obstacles. And one of the things that we observed was that they were all masters at creating habits that would serve their best interests. As we contemplated their lives, we realized that where we are today is the result of the daily choices we’ve made over the long haul. To bring about a new and better habit in place of a bad habit, we simply needed to begin practicing the new behavior we desired on a daily basis.

This reminds us of a piece of advice a Financial Planner gave to a bride and groom we know:

Invest a little over a long period of time.

There you have it. The secret to creating a new habit which results in developing a skill. But where should we begin?

Truth be told, most of us probably have numerous habits that aren’t serving our best interest, but we also have a limited amount of time and energy so it is important to choose wisely. One question we like to ask our selves is, “What one habit, if I had it, would bring about the biggest change in my life.” Put another way, “What one habit would give me a quantum leap in my life?”

That’s where we would begin. However, if tackling that habit is too overwhelming, you may want to take a different approach and build your confidence by focusing on developing a smaller and easier habit that will help get a success under your belt. Then you can move on to the more challenging habit.

Regardless what habit you choose, just begin. Time is ticking. At the end of the day, will you have invested a little towards that new habit? We hope so. 🙂

Take-Home Message:

Invest a little bit daily over a long period of time.

Clueless.

That is the word you could use to describe us when we started off on this journey of Peace with Food. We basically knew nothing regarding the subject except that we didn’t have it. But we began anyway, starting with what we had – a deep desire and determination to find what had eluded us for so long. Along with that determination, we had a commitment to see it through no matter what. We would not stop searching until we had found Peace with Food.

So, off we set, using the few resources we had. Trust us when we say, it was not pretty.

We failed . . . And we failed . . . And we failed some more.

But we were undaunted and resolute, refusing to quit, because deep down inside we knew we were onto something. From the moment we promised our selves we would never diet again, a new peace came into our lives. It was tiny – just a little seed – but it was more peace than we had ever had before and so we persisted.

And as we continued, we stumbled upon a principle that would become a big part of Peace with Food:

If you want more resources, begin using the ones you already have.

We discovered that faithfulness with what we already have, regardless how small, is the key to getting more.

This is what we call using the resources you have. Whether it be time, money, ideas, or opportunity, instead of wishing for something we don’t have, we have learned to just come up with our best plan and move forward. It might not be ideal and we may wish we had more resources, but we press on. And invariably we find that as we continue on, more opportunities come our way.

So what are your resources? Jot them down if that helps you. Try to include everything you can think of. Here are some categories to get you started: money, time, relationships, talents, experience, education, opportunities, age, circumstances, your gender, your influence, your personality, geographic location, your job/career, your past, your present, character traits, and your life.

You may be surprised to see that you really do have enough to take that first step. So, go ahead, Use the resources you have. 🙂

Take-Home Message:

If you want more resources, use the ones you already have.