A wee eye surgery recently turned out to be not so wee. How did I respond, besides laying on my back in the dark? I wallowed in a little self-pity, of course.
How do you respond when something throws you off your groove?
For many people eating is the answer. When I ask would-be clients about what was going on in their life when their weight gain occurred, they can often quickly name the period, or the event, that started the gain.
- I lost my job.
- I was doing two jobs.
- My marriage broke down.
- My mother passed away.
- I went back to school.
Life is clearly difficult at times, but perspective can help. Perhaps we have to experience difficulty to appreciate ease. If we didn’t know sorrow how would we know joy? Somehow we get through the rough patches. Sometimes it takes its toll in weight gain and/or chronic disease.
As I am mostly recovered from surgery now it’s much easier to be optimistic and feel grateful for health care, eye drops and my supportive husband, among other things.
The tougher spot you’re in the more important gratitude becomes, and the harder it is to find it. Gratitude fosters optimism and minimizes opportunity for depression.
“I was so happy and at peace that I binged on chips and Netflix every night,” says no one! We don’t tend to feed positive feelings.
How we feel and how we respond depends largely on what we pay attention to. I’m choosing to pay much more attention to gratitude. It not only feels better, it’s much more productive than a pity party.