Choose Your Change Carefully!
posted on: April 04, 2018. posted in: Mindfulness
Change is hard.
You know this.
I know this.
We all know this.
Change is hard. Really hard.
The other day I came home from work, opened the front door and was charged at by a very excited, very naked, two and a bit year old Lucca.
"Dadddeeee!!!" he screamed as he ran at me.
I picked him up and threw him in the air, but as I caught him I couldn't help but notice a very large chunk of poo on the end of his willy.
I shouted up the stairs...
"Julia!!! Lucca's got poo on the end of his willy!!"
"I know!! I tried to get it off but he wouldn't let me!!"
"He's two!! How can you not restrain a two year old!!"
"You try restraining him, good luck!!"
While this heated conversation is going on, I'm still holding naked, smelly, pooey Lucca, trying my best to keep him at arm's length.
But somehow, even at only two, he can sense my fear and panic about the poo, so he's giggling and wriggling and trying his best to hip thrust his smelly groin towards my face....
"Stop it Lucca!! Get your stinky willy out of my face right now!!!"
*cough... gag... cough*
The more I tell him off, the funnier he finds it, and the harder he tries to wipe the offending poo chunk on me, so I have no choice but to put him down.
He runs into the living room laughing and screaming...
"Stinky willy!! Stinky willy!!"
I give chase, and in my deepest, toughest, meanest dad voice I shout...
"Lucca!! You do not go on that sofa!! Do you hear me?!"
If you've ever seen a footballer score, run, dive, then slide on their front for what looks like a mile, all whilst grinning from ear to ear...
That's exactly what Lucca did on our sofa, leaving a very definite skid mark 😭
I wrestle him upstairs towards the bath...
"Seriously Julia, this is the last straw, we need to start potty training him!"
"Ok. Ok. It's time."
__________
I'm sure I'm not alone in this experience.
Many parents will delay potty training until the pain of nappies outweighs the pain of potty training. And when that moment happens...
Change occurs.
And that's because pain forces change.
When something is comfortable, there's no need to change. But when something becomes uncomfortable, it forces us to change, to MOVE AWAY from that pain.
In this case, skid marks on my sofa create significant enough pain to start the pain of potty training, so that hopefully one day in the not too distant future I can be free of all this pooey pain.
Pain forces change.
But a reluctant kind of a change, don't you think?
A kind of... "my life's so pooey right now but one day it can all be better"... kind of a change.
However...
If you look at it from a different perspective...
Change can be EXCITING!
Change can be CHALLENGING!
Change can be an ADVENTURE!
Maybe instead of seeing potty training as this horrible, painful experience I have to go through, to get away from the pain of skid marks on my sofa...
Potty training can be mine and Lucca's first ever adventure together! Something fun and exciting, with lots of high fives and laughs and funny stories and memories made!
Potty training can be a rewarding experience, where the journey is a reward in itself, regardless of when we reach the destination.
__________
What you've just learned is the difference between...
AWAY FROM and TOWARDS motivation.
Away from motivation is moving away from something painful, making the process of change painful in itself 😭
Towards motivation is moving towards something rewarding, making the process of change rewarding in itself 😁
We all have the power to...
"choose our change".
I can choose the painful version of potty training, where I'm constantly resentful of the poo and the skid marks and the mess, putting my life on hold until Lucca is finally potty trained.
Or...
I can choose the rewarding version of potty training, where I relish the challenge and the teamwork and the memories made, enjoying each day of my life, especially the pooey ones!
I started today's lesson with...
"Change is hard"
But I lied.
Change is only hard if you choose for it to be hard. If you perceive it to be hard.
You can choose to be "away from motivated" and make your journey away from your unfit body something painful and miserable. A type of motivation that is unlikely to last.
Or...
You can choose to be "towards motivated" and make your journey towards a fitter body something rewarding and memorable. A type of motivation that will last a lifetime.
Most people don't change physically or emotionally because their perception of change is that the process is painful. But as you've just learned...
It really doesn't have to be!
Choose your change carefully.
Liam
Rebelfit
p.s. If you're joining us on the Beach Body™ mission next week, that's probably because you're already towards motivated! If you haven't signed up yet, stop focusing on the pain and start focusing on the possibilities! 😁
