Tension Relieving or Goal Achieving?

There is a quote that has been on my mind over the past week: "Failures do what is tension relieving while winners do what is goal achieving." In most areas of my life I abide more by the "winner" mindset but with my health, for some reason, I've walked the path of the "failure" more often than not.

One of the areas of my life in which I am intensely disciplined is my finances. Right after we were married, we started The Dave Ramsey Plan. If you're not familiar with Dave Ramsey, he is a Christian financial guru who helps people achieve financial success regardless of their income. A big part of that is paying off debt. My husband and I came into our marriage with a pretty hefty amount of student loans. But, with intense discipline, we are making incredible progress everyday. While it might be "tension relieving" go on a vacation or go out for expensive dinners, we live frugally so we can put the majority of our salaries towards our student loans. We do what is goal achieving.

But if I'm looking candidly at my life, I have to confess that when it comes to my health, my diet, my fitness, I generally do what, for me, is "tension relieving". After a hard day at work I'm more likely to get Mexican carryout than cook a healthy meal. I'll have a big bowl of ice cream. I'll spend my evening watching TV instead of going to the gym. In the moment, those things are tension relieving for me.

Over the next several months, its going to be essential for me to replace those "tension relieving" habits with "goal achieving" activities. Having a meal plan at the start of the week and prepping for dinner the night before so that I don't make excuses about cooking after a long day. Working out before work so working late or being tired isn't an obstacle in the evenings. Taking the dog for a walk after dinner instead of sitting down with a bowl of ice cream. I have to be very aware of those ingrained habits that I find "tension relieving" and be intentional about replacing them with something else. Over time, those things that I force myself to do will become my new normal and, I hope, will become "tension relieving" to me over time.

Anyways, that's the plan. And have I said how crazy excited I am to eat hot food tomorrow? I made a killer veggie frittata that will be breakfast in the AM and I'm hoping for a steak and a salad for dinner. Yummmm. Is it Sunday yet?

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