one decision at a time

"you change your life one decision at a time"

everyone in the office has made the decision to get healthy this summer. we are holding each other accountable and are spending our lunches together, ironically, in the wellness center conference room. we have set total weight loss goals, added new exercise routines, made dietary alterations, or taken vitamins more seriously. every day at lunch, we talk about how we're doing and motivate each other to keep up the hard work.

something tim said the other day has really stuck with me. originally, i had set a weight loss goal and made exercise and dietary plans accordingly. then tim said, "havaleh, someone once told me that it's not about the end goal or the targets we set. you change your life one decision at a time."

this has been my mantra for the past several weeks. one decision at a time, i will change my lifestyle and become a healthier individual. i woke up saturday morning and didn't feel like doing anything, but i went for a hike anyway. i reached into that candy dish at work, but my hand escaped empty. i could have driven across campus for that meeting today, but i walked instead.

every moment of every day we make decision after decision. we decide to get out of bed in the morning, decide whether or not we will go to work, decide what we eat, how active or lazy we want to be, how to spend our money... the list goes on forever.

we change our lives on decision at a time. sure, goals are important because they offer some self-motivation. but ultimately, a goal doesn't make you lose weight. a goal doesn't do your grocery shopping. a goal doesn't make you take your pills every day. a goal doesn't get you to bed a decent hour. decisions do.

and so, one decision at a time, i am changing my life...