Growing up in Nebraska, you learn there are two things you learn:

• Always say “hi” to those you pass, whether you know them or not.
• Remain a Husker football fan for the rest of your life, no matter where you live.

As you can imagine, this first one can be awkward when you live in larger cities, or places where folks aren’t used to being talked to by strangers.  And yet, I’m grateful for this being instilled in me, as it makes every place feel a bit more communal.  The second item, I embrace with gusto, even though I’ve lived in four different states since I left Nebraska.

Why are Nebraskans (or former Nebraskans) so obsessed with Husker football, you ask?  Being from a state where there are no professional sports teams and having a college football team with a winning legacy are two big reasons we come together on Saturdays in the fall to cheer on our Huskers.  After a few years of losing records, though, we were stoked when one of our former winning quarterbacks, Scott Frost, came back to be the new head coach.

If you follow college football, you’ve probably heard about the high hopes we had bringing in this successful coach.  And yet, the Huskers started the season with six straight losses, finally achieving their first win in their seventh game.  It’s been a mess of penalties, losing players to other schools, and some close games they should have won and gave up in the end.

And yet, despite the deep disappointment this brings to his strong competitor spirit, Coach Frost continued to set his eyes, and the team’s eyes, on his vision for their future.  They will be winners-it’s just a matter of time. While firmly rooted in the reality of the issues they need to work though, Coach Frost is guiding his team to take the long view.

Perhaps we need to hear this as we consider our health journeys.  Many times, we can get caught up in the quick fixes and gimmicks sold to us, promising we can lose that last 10 pounds or return to our pre-baby bodies in just a few weeks.  What we don’t realize though, is if we are short-sighted in regard to our health journeys, we may end up harming our health more in the long run.

Crash dieting and quick fixes may indeed help us lose weight, but what happens when we go back to the way we were eating in the first place?  Are these options truly sustainable for the rest of our lives?  If not, we run the risk of weight cycling (losing weight and regaining it over and over again), and this can be hard on our metabolic health long term.  Not to mention the stress it can cause us, as well!

Falling for these short-term solutions is understandable.  We’re surrounded by marketing that tells us we’ll finally live the lives we’ve dreamed of if we can only lose those few pounds.  We’ll feel like we matter.  We’ll feel beautiful, or strong, or capable, or whatever it is we long to feel, and then we’ll have the confidence to go out and live our lives to the fullest.

But the thing is, you already matter.

You can start living your life to the fullest today.

You are, right now, exactly what we need in this world.

What do these statements do for you?  If they were true, would it help you stop waiting to live your life and get out there now?  Would it release you from the stress of trying diet after diet, quick fix after quick fix, and instead focus on fueling your body with food that makes you feel good? Would you be able to take the long view and see your health journey as something that spans your entire life? In so doing, you can start to make decisions today that you will be glad you made in five, ten, or twenty years down the road.  You can let go of the stress of looking a certain way so you can focus on what actually fills you up and gives you the energy and joy to live life to the fullest.

Will you, like Coach Frost, commit to taking the long view?  If you do, I’m convinced you will be a winner-it’s just a matter of time.

If you’d like some company as you start taking the long view and making sustainable changes in your health, check out our wellness coaching options!  We’d love to start working with you on your health journey!

 

Written By Brittni Paris, SFC Coach and Blogger

 

Photo Credits:

Author’s personal photo

Photo by Johanna Marrero Verde on Unsplash

Photo by Candice Picard on Unsplash