Good Morning Friends!!
Yesterday morning I went on a donut run for my family. Usually I fix breakfast every Sunday morning for my family. I have had this routine for the past several years. I cook breakfast then wake up my wife so we can eat together and the kiddos eat breakfast when ever they get up.
Yesterday, I had a busy morning and required me to get up earlier than normal to get everything accomplished I needed to for the day. The busy morning meant I wasn’t going to have time to fix breakfast so after my workout in the morning I headed over to the local donut shop to pick up breakfast.
On the way to the donut shop I remembered that I was out the high protein mix for my pancakes I usually make myself on Sunday mornings. I began to get a little panicked because I knew donuts would not stick with me and I would feel guilty for the rest of the day for having some donuts. I quickly remembered that I had homemade breakfast burritos that my wife makes me each week, that I could have for breakfast instead of the donuts.
Cue in the superman music because the day was saved!!
A few years ago I would not have thought twice about eating donuts for breakfast. My thought process would have been I just worked out, I have all day to burn it off, I deserve donuts, and it won’t hurt this one time.
My thought process is so different now than it was a few years ago. My thoughts this morning were, I just worked out I don’t want to mess that up, I don’t need the extra calories, donuts won’t fuel me the way I want, the taste doesn’t outweigh the guilt I will feel later, and I don’t want to feel yucky all day.
Would those donuts have tasted good yesterday morning? Oh yes they would have!! My taste buds didn’t change but my mental attitude towards donuts and so many other foods have changed over the years.
Real change happens when we are able to turn the mental switch. When we are able to look ahead and say to ourselves how is this moment going to make me feel later. Our actions now are then controlled by the outcome in the future. The foreseeable outcome dictates if we are going to take a bite of that donut, have just one Dr. Pepper, have a bowl of ice cream, skip the workout for just this Friday, or just forget about working out all together.
My challenge to each of you and myself this week is when those moments of action or inaction happen to take a moment and ask ourselves how will this make me feel later today or later this week. The more we are able to practice how we direct our thoughts to the future the better we will become at taking action that will allow us to have positive outcomes for our health and wellness.
Your Friend,
Aaron