Defeating My Lazy Mind

You know that point in time when you’re sitting in the house and your dishwasher stops for about 4 seconds until it goes to the next cycle and you think for a split second “Ahhhhh, I didn’t even realize it was this noisy!!!” ? That 4 seconds of time is where I’m at right now. I’m kinda anticipating the noise in the future and remembering the noise from before, but right now I’m in my four seconds of silence....contentment.

I think the reason I’m bored with writing about my diet lately is that it isn’t as much as a challenge as it once was. I know that sounds kind of dumb and if I would have written this a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have even believed myself. Eating healthy has not become more of a habit than it has a challenge. While I still have my moments of weakness and celebrations, I find it much easier lately to tell myself “no” or even to say “just a little”...and then actually stick with it. 

A few weeks ago in the Bible study that Paul and I were going to on Wednesday nights, there was something that stuck with me that I will likely never forget. At least I hope I won’t. And while the pastor was talking about much more than just healthy eating choices, it has stayed in my mind in so many areas of my life that I truly believe have been influenced by this statement.

He said, “ If you have a lazy mind, you cannot win...because that’s the way the game is fought. If you don’t have a disciplined mind, you just can’t win.” (Insert the daggers of conviction into my heart here)....a lazy mind, undisciplined to the core. It took a stupid little diet for me to realize how absolutely necessary (and lacking) this was for my entire life. To conquer anything takes a tenacity of spirit that simply cannot be confronted lightly. Not only have I been training and re-training my physical body, but I am recognizing how I have neglected to train my mind. 

Last week when I was having my meltdown of food morals, I was making lunches for people at work and I specifically remember feeling particularly hungry that day. All I could think of was that chocolate-covered rice krispie treat that seriously had eyeballs that were looking deep into the soul of my stomach. One lady ordered her food and asked for a tomato on the side along with LOTS of tomatoes on her sandwich. From there, she went on to tell someone else (yes, I eavesdropped) that she just knows that our bodies tell us what they need when we crave something. 

Now, tell that to a normal person and they lightly agree and go on their way eating healthy tomatoes as a side treat. Tell that to my undisciplined mind and that rice krispie treat and the recipe that we created that day was a disaster for poor decisions, rationalization and justification. I kid you not, what she said stuck with me ALLLL day, until I finally had rationalized it enough to the point where I knew it would only stop if I gave in. And I did. And it was delicious. But what it did was lead me to a few more days of that same rationalization until I finally decided in my mind that what she said was a LIE. Seriously....a simple side note is all it took for me to feed my lazy mind.

I guess the reason I’m writing this tonight is because of how much this has influenced me over the past few days even and how much I’d like to challenge anyone who reads this who may have a lazy mind too. Maybe food is not your struggle, but something else is. Overcome it. You CAN! But it absolutely starts in making your mind your most powerful weapon!