Believing

I equate almost every life lesson I learn with a weight loss lesson! It's a quirky habit I enjoy

I have a son who is struggling horribly in his language arts class. It is his hardest subject, and his teacher has decided he is an easy target to pick on. She is relentless in pointing his failures out in class, grading him as harshly as she can, and generally tearing down his spirit. SHE could be the topic of a whole bunch of blogs! But, she is not my focus here...HE is. He is such an intelligent kid-and a sweet, quiet boy. He just has a hard time with this academic area, and the social struggles he faces in her class have added up to a complete nightmare for him. Her behavior has lead him to believe he is not smart, he is not capable.

I sat down with my teary eyed son last night to talk about this class. I needed for him to understand that all we want from him is effort and growth- try your hardest and learn something. We don't expect him to ace this class, and we know he won't. But he has to believe that he has something valuable to offer and that it does make a difference that he try, even if he feels it is a wasted effort. He needs to fake it til he believes it! He can't change his teacher- he can't make her nicer, or fairer or different. She is his constant, his "given" in this situation. He must learn to do what he needs to do and to get around her.

He needs to believe he can achieve his goals, even with the obstacles he sees in front of him....

By now I am sure you have seen where my thoughts came in! There are things in life I can't change. I will never feel I have enough hours in the day to do everything I want, and most days, I am praying for bedtime to come so I can just relax! Things will change- my obstacles will be different in 6 months, or in 3 weeks...but I will always have obstacles. And, back to my son- I know much of what he feels about this teacher is true (again- another day to get into her!) but some things are not as bad as he feels they are. Yet, in his mind, he is set that there is nothing he can do to change things.

I ached and filled with all sorts of emotions as I repeatedly told him- YES you can make it different....ONLY you can make it different....the situation is what it is- you need to change HOW YOU deal with it...you canNOT lose heart and lose the belief that you have great ability.

After he left to write his paper, his tears had stopped and I think he felt just a tiny bit empowered...he is 14, so there were no miracles- but at least he knew that all we wanted from him was best effort- the grade was not a concern to us anymore.

I need to listen to myself here and give myself the same pep talk. I am the ONLY ONE who can make a difference in my situation...and there is no effort that is not important. I shouldn't worry about my end result the way I do- I just need to start each day vowing to give a great effort and believe in myself.

Today I will focus on believing that I can get past my obstacles to give my best effort.
I will again follow my eating plan for the day.
I will drink my water.
I will exercise for 30 minutes.
I will do my 210 reps throughout the day.

AND- I will believe that I am loved and worthwhile even if I fail....just like I want my son to do.