I was always waiting for a moment of clarity – an Aha! – in which everything would become clear to me. I would know the path forward to overcome food obsession, overeating, bingeing, purging.
In that moment, I would know what I needed to do. I would know what life would look like moving forward. It would be inspiring. Motivating. (Interesting to note that none of my visions of the future included struggle. Somehow, I would one day wake up as a super human being and nothing would be hard.) I had a vision of what recovery was supposed to be like, what change was supposed to be like, but the plan for getting there was always hazy. I had a sense that I could achieve it, but not concrete steps to take.
While these moments were heady experiences of possibility, they were fleeting. I would reach out to touch them, to grab hold of them, and they would slip away like passing clouds. There is a great Pema Chodrin quote about them that goes something like, “Moments of clarity are just that – moments.” They’re helpful, inspiring, provide a sense of hope, a view at another way of being, but in and of themselves, they’re not life-changing.
My mistake, that I kept making, was thinking that the moments were the change, and that I would simply know what to do – how to not obsess about food, how to eat without overeating or bingeing. The underlying causes of my overeating, bingeing, and purging would simply disappear. (Of course, this was just one version of magical thinking for me.)
It took me a long to time to realize that my moments of clarity were opportunities for me to see the possibility of a different way of being and to realize that I could indeed change. My moments of clarity were openers.
In order to bring about the change that I envisioned, I would need to do things differently on a day-to-day basis. Because that is where the change is. Because that is where the living is.
We live day to day, often moment to moment.
Yes, we have visions, goals, and aspirations.
But reaching those goals and making our visions and aspirations realities – we do all of that on a daily basis.
It’s not like we done one big thing, one grand gesture and everything changes.
It is the small, daily things that make the difference. And the things we do are only seemingly small. They’re actually significant because in completing them we are showing ourselves new ways of being. We are showing ourselves that we are worthy of the effort of changing how we show up for ourselves. That is no small feat.
Some examples are:
~waking 10 minutes earlier to stretch or write an intention for the day
~drinking 16 ounces of water before eating in the morning (or before having caffeine)
~adjusting your lunch break in order to fit in a walk
~breathwork
~10 minutes of meditation
~prepping food ahead of time so as not to eat on the fly
What we do on a daily basis defines us. Habits are changed and forged on a daily basis.
Results are achieved on a daily basis.
Life is lived on a daily basis.
Dream big! Have an amazing vision of what your future self and future life are.
Then make them happen on a daily basis.
Keep it simple. Life isn’t about grand gestures. It’s about having your own back on the daily.
This is my life’s work, for myself and for the women I coach.
I keep it simple because in our crazy world we spend so much time complicating things.
If this resonates with you, message me (jenny@jennyhillgercoaching.com) to set up a complimentary discovery call to see if we’re a good fit to work together.
Much love,
~Jenny ❣️