“Life is like topography, Hobbes. There are summits of happiness and success, flat stretches of boring routine, and valleys of frustration and failure.”
Calvin
I stepped on the scale this morning to realize I’m ten pounds heavier than I was about five months ago. Of course this is happening now, I just bought new skinny pants because my old pants won’t stay up. I would love to say the stress of trying to make a living as a writer might be catching up with me, but the truth is my late night routine of chocolate banana protein shake with a bowl of cereal chaser is most likely the culprit. That, after my three servings of dinner. And dessert.
I’d blame my wife, but the couch isn’t all that comfortable.
The real truth is I’ve fallen into a routine. When I originally lost the weight I was carrying, I did so by mixing things up. I was disciplined about my calories, and my sugars. I had a plan, and I was sticking to it. I rarely, if ever, ate anything after six at night.
Sitting for hours every day isn’t helping either. I’ve been surfing once in four months, haven’t been on a trail in over a week. The only exercise I have planned today is grocery shopping. I may have to buy dog food today just to get some weightlifting in. I’m not placing blame anywhere except my own motivation. I’m stuck in one of those flat stretches of boring routine. Question is, am I climbing up toward a summit of success or down into a valley of frustration and failure?
I’d be depressed by the question, but that just isn’t my way.
I still don’t have an answer to the question, but I’m not going to worry about it. I’m just going write it out, flush my concerns and apprehensions out onto the page. I’m going to tell myself that what happened yesterday is unchangeable, but what happens next is unwritten. I’m going to start a new routine, one more random and unexpected. Spontaneous. I’ll start today. I’ll start right now.
I’ll start with throwing out that tub of ice cream in the freezer…
Greg Morton 
You know, being self-aware enough, and accountable enough, to acknowledge and address it is half the battle :). You’ll pull it back to where you want it to be, I have no doubt. And you’re so right, there’s nothing to be gained in beating yourself – you have a little look at how you got there, decide how you feel about it, and make a plan to carry on from there based on that. Yay you!!!!!
And seriously? A Calvin and Hobbes reference? You rock.
Thanks Jackie! I am challenged right now with being diligent and consistent. But I’m not challenged with self-reflection. I’m in the middle of writing a non-fiction book centered around motivation and it is interesting for me to be able to look back on some of the big events in my life and put them into perspective. Everything, everything, everything is a learning experience I believe. And I think Calvin said it best about life being like topography!
Without a doubt, Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite comic of all time. My daughter’s cat is named Hobbes. Not only can I relate directly with MOST of Calvin’s antics, but there are some real life lessons in there. To me, it is without equal. I’m glad you enjoyed the reference!
Bill Watterson… that guy is a genius. That comic was so smart, so layered, so creative, so funny. I could gush forever…
So we can look forward to reading your book :). Excellent!.
I’m working hard to get it done and get it out to everyone!
If you’re going to throw out that tub of ice cream, maybe you could replace it with chocolate. Works for me! Great post.