#490: Succeed a "Little" at a Time

I had a pleasant surprise at lunchtime when I received a phone call from my friend Lori (MOMMA_LITTLE). After the call ended I headed out to rake and bag leaves in the front yard.

Sixty years ago the city in it's not so infinite wisdom planted oak trees in the front yards of all the neighborhood's homes. As a result, it takes raking and raking and raking throughout the winter to get up all the leaves deposited by these now mature trees. But if they are not raked and bagged they kill the grass. So we do what has to be done and rake and bag and rake and bag, with no end in sight, so it seems.

As I replayed my talk with Lori, I raked and gained some insight into the use of the word "little." Oh, not to refer to the "Little" family but throughout our days and how focusing on that "little" word can help us succeed with our weight loss and exercise.

What I realized was that while it appeared I would never get all the leaves up I kept telling myself, "One little scoop full at a time." When I got tired and my back began to hurt, I told myself, "Do just a little more" and soon another full bag hit the pile.

We know we can not exercise indefinitely, but how often have we stopped short of what we are capable of doing? Could we have jogged a little more, perhaps to the next streetlight or driveway? Could we have added a little more weight in our reps at the gym and not taking the easy way out by staying with a weight with which we're comfortable?

How about with our eating? Do we adversely work our nutrition plan by telling ourselves we'll have "Only a little bite" of the pie or a "little" helping of potato chips only to find ourselves eating the entire slice of pie and half a bag of chips?

Just as the attitude we take toward the word "little" can lead us to ever greater physical accomplishments, so too can it easily lead us astray with our eating if we're not careful.

But we can all reach our weight loss goals, a "little" at a time. A few ounces here, half a pound there, doing a little more exercise, showing a little more restraint when eating, all adds up.

A little progress every week can take us to the weight we want to be. Little steps, little changes in our attitude, looking at things a little differently, will help us succeed, not all at once but little by little.

Thanks Lori.