Did you pick up a gallon of milk?
The other day I learned one gallon of milk weighs 8.6 lbs. This got me thinking of the value of losing weight. If a person loses 10 lbs on their way to a healthier lifestyle it's like taking a gallon of milk off their back (knees, feet, etc.).
Personally, I've carried in the groceries and to carry 1 gallon of milk around all day would be a miserable act for anyone to do. Can you imagine attaching a gallon of milk to your back and trying to live a normal life?
You'd sleep next to it (and your spouse would know it was there)...
You'd take a walk with it or go for a run with it (if you're an exerciser)...
You'd shower with it...
You'd have to find clothes to fit over it (you couldn't wear some of your favorite outfits)...
You'd eat breakfast with it... (convenient if you were having cereal that morning I guess)
You'd drive in the car with it...
You'd go to work with it (and your boss, co-workers and/or customers would likely see you with it)...
You'd eat lunch with some friends and take it with you (they'd notice)...
You'd go to an important meeting with it or go to your kids' game or function with it (those in attendance would notice it)...
You'd eat dinner with it...
You'd watch T.V. and surf the web with it...
Ridiculous thought huh? Life would be a total "dud" if you had to do such a thing. What if you weren't just trying to live a normal life but you were trying to live an "extraordinary life"?
Can you imagine someone trying to climb a mountain with a gallon of milk in their backpack? Most likely they'd be frustrated at not being able to make more progress (or they'd feel tired all the time) because of the extra weight they were carrying.
My question for today is why do so many of us do something similar by carrying extra body weight around? Complacency is defined as "the act of becoming self-satisfied. Unaware of possible dangers." I believe we all struggle with complacency in our lives. I personally tied and carried 11+ gallons of milk to my body for almost my entire adult life up until a couple years ago!
After letting go of the extra weight and going from a "milk dud" to a healthy weight, I committed to learning the habits to prevent me from picking it back up again. As a recovering "milk dud" I've seen some great progress over the years but I still think of myself as a "work in progress".
How are you doing with your journey to developing the Habits of Health? Are you still carrying around a gallon (or more) of extra milk that you need to let go of? Have you lost the extra weight but failed to "gain" the "skills" necessary to know what activities, friends, family members, thoughts, etc. led you to "pick back up a gallon of milk"?
Re-commit yourself today to learn from past failures and mistakes. T.R.E.A.S.U.R.E. the Habits of Health and invest the Time, Resources, Energy, Abilities, Space, Utterances, Recreation and Eagerness to develop the skills necessary to achieve extraordinary health!