Sayings like “Take it slow”, “Slow and steady wins the race”, or “One step at a time” never really impacted me until I started to get serious about losing weight. I always wanted to get things done as quickly as I could.
I also discovered building a Periodic Table of TOPS is something that cannot be rushed. In nature, Pa symbolizes Protactinium, a rare element with no practical applications and Ce symbolizes Cerium, which by itself also has little applications unless it combines with other elements.
Combining Pa and Ce to symbolize PaCe reminds me that the journey on my LiFe PaTh needs to be one step at a time. Despite all the promises made by many Weight (W) loss advertisements, there are no quick fixes.
It is difficult to PaCe. When I have a good loss, I expect the next week to be the same. For the record, it took me fifty-two weeks to lose over a hundred pounds. If you try to do things too quickly, you may not see the valuable Clues (Cl) to success that can be very helpful in the future.
I never Planned (P) to GaIn Weight (W), it just happened slowly over time until it reached a critical mass and became a problem. Recently, I had a major setback; falling for the Temptations (T) and losing my Momentum (Mo). I now must PaCe myself again.
Because I did not like the way I felt, I admit in thinking to grab a quick fix. However, changing my Behavior (B) in that manner is not practical. I must be patient and PaCe myself to GaIn a true Victory (V). Difficult to do, but not impossible with the Support (S) of others. I am again doing a better job of holding myself Accountable (Ac).
If you are struggling, just remember to PaCe yourself. Do not get discouraged. Indeed, “slow and steady” will win the race to a healthier you and you deserve to win the race.
Thank you for the great article, Rick. It is well written and for myself, contains some well timed reminders. And thank you for believing in all of us, because we are all worthy of being healthier versions of ourselves.
Excellent article as usual although I really do not like the term “you deserve”, which is so over used in today’s society – we do not deserve a lot of what we take for granted such as new everything, respect from others, more money etc etc. If we work hard yes we can and should receive all those things except respect which has to be earned, but do we actually deserve a lot of it – probably not.