How to Move More Easily

How to Move More Easily

by Katie Jay, MSW, CTA-certified Life Coach Director, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery www.nawls.com

This afternoon, my son found a book in his room called, "Catwise." It's an old book and we had no idea he even owned it. (Must have been a hand me down from a friend.)

Catwise is full of cute cat pictures and clever quotations by famous people. Next to an adorable, medium-sized white kitten, who was batting at a dangling leaf, was this:

Those move easiest who have learned to dance. -- Alexander Pope

I have to tell you, I love this quote! Those move easiest who have learned to dance.

I hate doing things that aren't easy.

I hate life when it's a drudgery -- when a task is repetitive and boring (exercise) or when it's too hard (again, exercise -- oh yeah, and housecleaning :o)

If something is too boring, I don't do it. I once told my husband that I would rather live in my car than work at a boring job. And that's true.

So, how does a person like me find a way to tolerate the unexciting, the difficult, the boring -- the kinds of things I must do day-after-day as part of my WLS regimen?

Those move easiest who have learned to dance.

I have made it my mission to make my moves easy by making them interesting and fun.

For example, when I walk Ruby the Dog I listen to music and sing along (quietly). I do mental challenges. I listen to inspirational books on tape. I brainstorm.

When I'm really having a bad attitude and start to think about cutting my walk short -- I call someone on my cell phone and take them with me for the walk.

Learning to dance -- learning to make life's "have-tos" fun and interesting is not optional for me, because my WLS regimen isn't optional. I don't want to be morbidly obese ever again.

Another example: Instead of being annoyed about having to cook vegetables all the time (steaming broccoli is boring), I purchased an Indian cookbook. (I love Indian Cuisine.)

I am planning a dinner party and have been experimenting with vegetable recipes from my new cookbook. With this new approach, I am not bored with vegetables.

Those move easiest who have learned to dance.

So, if you want to know how to move more easily, follow Pope's advice: Dance. Have fun. Lighten up. Make things interesting. Entertain yourself.

Your Assignment:

Select a task that you find to be a drudgery (and that you have been avoiding or hating) and find a way to make it enjoyable. Don't just *try* to make it fun. *MAKE* it fun. It's a decision, not a challenge. From Small Bites, the email newsletter for the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery. Subscribe today and get your F'REE report, The 10 Most Common Mistakes Weight Loss Surgery Patients Make at www.10WLSmistakes.com. (c) 2008  National Association for Weight Loss Surgery, Inc. All rights reserved.