Shiny and New
When I was growing up, there was nothing I loved more than walking through the Target aisles in early August filling up our shopping cart with everything shiny, pointy and new. Crayons, pencils and colored pencils all sharpened to perfection and markers ready to make their fresh, bold strokes on the page where my favorite. All those blank, wide open pages of mead notebook paper just waiting for their lines to be filled!
I'm not sure if the thrill of filling our cart was more about the promise of the new year, or holding something new and that was just mine. I literally could've spent hours curating my supplies.
As we get back to school, I'm reminded of wandering Target aisles and remembering that I used to get a similar surge of adrenaline while embarking on a new eating "plan".
All the diet/lifestyle "supplies" seemed fresh, new and exciting. A "protocol" that seemed equivalent to picking out fresh crayons because following this plan was going to lead to the promise of something new just for me....
A new body.
A "healthier" body.
More energy. Less fatigue.
A sense of control over my body (I'm the one in charge, here, right?).
Except....just like when January 15th rolled around the calendar and the crayons and pencils were broken or missing erasers and there was STILL so. much. time. left. This new eating plan would quickly lose its luster.
The new body (maybe) arrived briefly and then went back to its original (or larger) size.
My health didn't dramatically improve or got worse.
After an initial rush of energy, fatigue actually increased as my body continued to lose vital energy and nutrients.
I actually would start to feel more out of control then ever around food, because my body knew that to get me to eat, she'd have to get all crazy around food to be heard.
So let's skip the "plans" and the "protocols" that aren't successful for more than a tiny fraction of the population and very likely physically and mentally harm those who try them.
Instead, I want you to think about the things you actually want to put your time and energy towards this year. Now that kids are back to school and there's time to breath after a summer of cruise directing (please enjoy your disembarkation, kids), ask yourself: what would be a meaningful accomplishment for this school year?
Maybe it's being kinder to yourself, spending more time on self-care (hello, quiet time without kids shouting your name 60 times per minute), making connections with friends, or getting out in nature more. That's the kind of investment that will give you lasting benefits and actually improve your health so that you feel like a shiny new box of crayons.
