The SoG needs to move to a beach for some Vit D

What? Ok, this may sound stupid but one of the things that really really bothered me when I got overweight was that I could no longer easily put my socks on in the morning. I am serious! I would sit down and bend over to put my socks on and I could not reach.

The whole thing seems kind of ridiculous but I had to practically become a contortionist just so get my socks on.I would lay on my back, rock back and forth, try to cross my legs and all sorts of other activities. I would end up out of breath with my socks finally on or occasionally I would just give up and ask my wife to do it. When I now picture myself watching myself go through this ritual, I have to chuckle because I am sure it looked ridiculous. I am happy to report that I now have little difficulty putting my socks on again.

The reason I write about this is to point out that sometimes it is the small things that matter. Putting on your socks may seem like a small deal, but it was a BIG frustration for me. If I run into a stumbling block or pause to ask myself “Why do you exercise discipline?” or “Why do you live Primal?”, I just need to remember some of the small things like pulling up my socks.

What are some of your small but important victories?

Image courtesy Despair.com

Where does “I can’t” come from?

Chances are if you are living primally or healthily, you have heard the phrase “I CAN’T live without bread” or “I COULDN’T live without my sugar fix”.

Fact: Its a darn good thing that our ancestors COULD or we would probably be pretty extinct right about now.

The bottom line is that yes… you CAN.

At some time during the development of our society, people began saying “I CAN’T” instead of “I WON’T”. There is a difference. My theory in this shift is that saying “I WON’T” admits a certain amount of personal responsibility where as “I CAN’T” does not make you take any ownership. We hate responsibility don’t we? The thought that we are responsible for our health and fitness and the way we live our life? Novel. Try it. Think about a time you have said “I CAN’T” or the next time you catch yourself saying “I CAN’T” and think to yourself if “I WON’T” might be more fitting.

Anyways, back to the task at hand. Now that we have determined that most anyone CAN, am I saying that everyone should or CAN for that matter go 100% healthy or primal immediately? Not by any means. I am saying lets focus not on what you CAN’T or WON’T do but on what you CAN do.

For Example:

You probably CAN survive your next lunch without that soda. Or you probably CAN do without the triple fudge chocolate cake your co-worker offers you. You probably CAN pass on that second trip to the pasta bar. You probably CAN avoid putting the croutons on the salad.

Take it one step at a time. Back off slowly. Do one thing that you CAN do and then do another. Before you know it you will be more healthy than you COULD have ever imagined and it will have been easier than you would have thought.