Like many people, I have set a goal for weight loss and the number is significant! I understand that it took years for me to arrive at this place. Rationally, I understand that the reverse will also be true.
That realization makes me want to quit immediately.
I read the articles. I reviewed fad diets that promise amazing results. I noticed that we should not expect life-changing weight loss in just a few months. I listened to people inform me that weighing yourself should never be daily activity but should only be done once a week. Apparently, the roller-coaster of scale measurements can be discouraging.
But I am a spreadsheet guy.
I decided to measure the trend. This requires that I weigh myself at the same time every morning. The weight is recorded along with the total calories consumed and expended each day.
The prognosis did not change. This will take an extraordinary amount of time.
Paying close attention to the trend will keep me encouraged. I will rejoice when numbers go down but will not be disheartened when they inevitably go up.
The graph shows exactly what I have experienced for the past 45-days. There is a definitive trend in weight loss moving in the right direction. This continues to encourage me toward the next milestone called 'Twenty".
It is now time to apply what I have learned to other situations.
Today, I will look at relationships.
Relationships are changing for better or worse on a regular schedule. The principle teaches us to avoid concentrating on minor fluctuations. We are to examine the trend. There is nothing wrong with recording the good vs bad days. We are, however, to look at the data as a whole rather than segmented moments of life. We are to rejoice in our relationship success, but we should not define our relationships on the occasional but inevitable moments when something goes wrong.
Perhaps this is one method to consider when reconciliation becomes necessary. Maybe, if we first spend time remembering all the good segments, we can more easily overcome the effects of the difficult moments.
We are taught to love our neighbor as ourselves by putting love for God first. Our neighbor is well, everybody.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Matt 12:30-31
We are instructed to live in peace and forgiveness with each other.
"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13
By choice, my week will begin in this way. It is time.
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