With the holidays nearing, I am planning one of our family’s favorite outings… a trip to the bowling alley. Some of my sons are great bowlers; the rest of us, not so much. However, all of us enjoy the activity and time together. In athletics there is an axiom that goes, “you can’t let losing carry over to the next day. You have got to flip the page.” As an amateur bowler, this is true at an even more basic level. Bowlers have to learn to forget the throw, the gutter ball, the missed spare. They must learn to live in the moment. That approach, that throw, that follow-thru occurring right now requires all of their attention. When a bowler carries the memory of the ball just thrown down the gutter into the next frame, it often results in another bad toss. He must learn from the experience of the previous throw and then…let it go!

Do you think this same mind-set can apply to the way we approach the changes we are mapping out to live healthier lives? As we develop our strategy for a new life, we need to approach it one shot at a time. If we make it through breakfast as planned, then GREAT! But if we falter, we need to “flip the page” and get back in the game. The next choice is a brand new opportunity to do what is healthiest and best for us. Learn from the experience, let it go, and move on armed with that knowledge. Keep improving the game plan. Let’s give ourselves the opportunity to approach the next choice with a clean slate.

Let’s create a new version of the “Clean Plate Club.” Rather than think of it as meaning we need to eat everything that is on our plate, let’s think of it as an “every time we start with a clean plate, it’s a clean slate and fresh start”. A clean plate is not one from which we have just eaten. It is one that is clean and empty. It is the chance to start fresh in making the best choices possible.

When Michael Jordan was struggling with his shot, he was asked if he shouldn’t stop shooting. He simply said, “No, my next shot might be the beginning of a streak of baskets!” He knew how to turn the page and let it go!

View your TOPS journey that way. Don’t ever stop practicing or playing. That losing streak that gets you to your goal gets closer the more you practice. Let’s join the “Clean Plate—Clean Slate Club” and flip the page because the next chapter is titled “Success.”

I Care, Barb