Week 4: Relapse. I hate that word, because it represents failure. Whether temporary or permanent, I don’t like to fail.
But sure enough, I allowed recent events to throw me into a minor relapse. It only took a couple of days for me to stop tracking in my Weight Watcher’s app, to miss a workout, and to grab a handful of chips instead of a fistful of grapes.
When I started this process publicly, I vowed to be transparent. So as any good leader should, I am confessing my mess up.
This week my weigh-in wasn’t so hot. I gained a pound back. As an emotional eater, the death of someone close to me, coupled with my father-in-law’s surgery to remove a brain tumor, was enough to toss me into a relapse of bad habits.
But instead of using a temporary setback as an excuse to give up, I’m using it as fuel to propel me into a new state of determination. Success is a choice, and now it’s decision time. John Maxwell’s book, How Successful People Think, provides clear examples of how important mindset is to achieving what we want. And so I have decided to push the reset button.
But it’s not a button I have the strength to press alone. I need help. And there’s only One who can offer the support I really need. One who will hold me accountable in a way that works to help me succeed. In the New Living Translation, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds me, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
My body is not mine alone. God paid the high price of His only Son to save me from myself. To dishonor my body is to dishonor God and His amazing gift.
So I will trust Him to help me push the reset button. To redeem my relapse and resurrect me to new resolve.
A few days of emotional upset, tangled with backward movement in my healthier resolve, is not enough to deter me. I will not give up, or give in to this minor setback. Beginning today, I start again. Because it truly is never too late for a fresh start with fresh faith — I will live my motto transparently.
Anita Fresh Faith
Anita Agers Brooks is a Business and Inspirational Coach, Certified Personality Trainer, Productivity Expert, Certified Training Facilitator, Communications Specialist, and National Speaker. She’s the author of First Hired, Last Fired — Ancient Secrets to Make You Irreplaceable on the Job, now available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Christianbook.com.
Anita’s passionate about business with integrity, healthy relationships, and issues of identity. She travels the country teaching others from her personal experiences and research. She believes it’s never too late for a fresh start with fresh faith. Anita lives in Missouri with her husband of over thirty years, Ricky.
Follow her Fresh Faith blog at anitabrooks.com. You may contact her via her website at anitabrooks.com, or by email anita@anitabrooks.com.
Great inspiration Anita!