April 7, 2008

  • Guiding Principles

    I live my life or try to by four guidelines or principles or whatever you want to call them. It is how I view the world to some extent - an amalgamation of these four principles. These are how I make my decisions, how I try to react to events in my life and how I try to respond in any given situation.


    1.) Choice - to choose - which is to select freely and after consideration
    2.) Consequences - something produced by a cause or necessarily following from a set of conditions
    3.) Respect - high or special regard for or to something
    4.) Responsibility - moral, legal, or mental accountability


    For example: I gained more than a bit of weight over the past two or three years.


    First - I choose to diet. I chose to respond to my weight gain by proactively attending Weight Watchers to help me have accountability for my diet and going to the gym at least three times a week - incorporating cardio and weight lifting as well. I also try to take more walks, do more yard work and be more general active at work. These are CHOICES. They aren't easy but I try to make them every day.


    Second - I accept that the above choices have consequences. I'm losing weight (and pant sizes) which is good but there are other consequences. I can't go out to eat or drink socially or any of the many things that people like to do on a typical evening. There is a happy hour this week at work, but the consequences of my choices above are that I can't really participate in the eating/drinking. I can go - but I'm limited in what I can do. I am also dealing with the consequences of choosing to go to the gym - I have to get up at about 430am to get to the gym and still do everything else that I have to do during a regular day.


    Third - I respect myself and my body enough to want to do this. I also respect my husband enough to want to be healthy and fit so that we can be together longer. I respect my choices as well as those of the people around me - even when I don't understand them (this is the hardest part for me!). Just because I don't understand the choice - doesn't mean it isn't the right choice for the other person.


    Fourth - I am responsible to myself, my family and my pets. I need to live as long at a high a health level as possible. No one else is responsible for making these choices and decisions for me. No one can make me eat healthy except me. No one can make me go to the gym except me (unless I join the military!). I accept the responsibility for my health, my weight and my own choices.


    Do you have guiding priciples like these? How important are they to you?


    Mine are really very important to me. They are in many ways how I define myself and my success at being a person of worth.


    My final goal when I reach my weight loss goal and maintain it for a certain period of time (probably 6 months or so) - I am going to have them tattooed unto my back. I think I am going to do it in Chinese characters since they look cooler and make it more personal. No one would then know what they meant without asking me about them. Also, I work with some very nice Chinese ladies who can verify for me that the characters actually say what I want them to! I don't really want the tattoo artist to play a humorous (to them) trick on me and me be all walking around with a back tattoo that says "Look at my fat ass!"