The Thing About Numbers ... And Grocery Stores

Well, the thing about numbers is, they don’t tell the whole story. Numbers can be massaged, statistics can lie, and many can be presented in ways that tell one story from one perspective, and this is important, because perspectives, and what they mean, can be different for every individual. We are all not the same.

This is actually good news. We don’t all want to be the same. It’s like going to the grocery store – there are choices. There are things there that look good, yet aren’t. Things we might like to try, but don’t. Things we know are bad for us, and we turn away, and then the times we turn to those old friends for comfort.  There are those things that might intimidate us, that we are unfamiliar with, and things that don’t appeal to our tastes at all. We make our choices and add them to our carts. That grocery store is a lot like life, and how we maneuver, advance, retreat, and move forward again through it all. It’s all a form of progress.

How does progress improve your life? Why is it important to be motivated to make positive lifestyle changes? What are you willing to change, and what can you realistically do to make those changes? What are your long-term goals, and what do you need to do or change to be able to achieve those goals? Take a few minutes to read these questions again and give them some thought. When you answer them, you’ve taken the first step to creating your own set of expectations that will provide the confidence that, yes, with determination, purpose and self-belief, you can do it.

The question we all ask is, exactly how do I do it? How do I start? Tell me what to do? And, that’s exactly the wrong question.

Start with the commitment that you will. Start with small goals. Start with what you know you will and can do. Be mindful of the choices you make. Build from there.

That sounds simple enough, but keep in mind that simple and easy are not the same thing. So, add to that list, don’t let yourself become discouraged when you hit a roadblock. Setbacks happen. Treat them as guides, not breaks. 

Then, make your choices, and make them again and again until you know you are making the right choices for you. Then, move forward.