Thought Is Worse Than Action Or Outcome
When I received the book, Whole30, in the mail and began reading it, my mind started to entertain the question, “How am I going to do this nutritional change?” I was mostly concerned with the fact I was going to have to include some sort of eggs, fish, or meat into my diet on a regular basis, which I had not done in years. Also, with other fasts and cleanses I had done before, I had been able to have some sort of “cheat” and feed my “food dragon” in one way or another. Even if it was a full on fast, I knew it was only for a week or so and then I would be able to have my favorite foods again: my granola, oatmeal, Elements Cafe white chocolate chaga cheezecake. But I knew if I wanted to go deeper within myself and uncover my hidden habits on this nutritional change, I was going to have to be more vigilant and honest with how certain foods are an addiction and a distraction. I wondered if I was ready and had the energy to be on guard in order to grow through this nutritional challenge.
Thought after thought began to fill my mind and then looming idea of the start date. Oye, the commitment of a start date…I would look at my calendar a few times a day and begin to feel into which day over the next few weeks would be a good day to start. It honestly took me until the few days before to finally commit to the actual day. And even then, the thoughts still continued to flood in. Would I be able to do this? What foods do I want to eat beforehand that I will not be able to have over the next 30 days? What foods will I miss the most? I wonder if I can eat XYZ on the Whole30?
I was overthinking the simplicity of what I was being asked to do and I noticed that all that thought was coming from fear. As we have explored in other posts, nutrition is just another medium that reflects what is occurring in other areas of our lives and how we encounter our daily tasks and goals. Over the last two weeks, my eating habits have given me insight into how I like to medicate, sooth, and distract myself. I have become privy to the deep, dark, distinct, and subtle ways in which I self-sabotage. But what I have found to be true throughout, witnessing the tricks of the mind and stomach, is that thought is worse than action or outcome.
The thought of change is worse than actual change. And when we finally accept the change, we somehow settle into a nice groove and forget any resistance we once had, even if it was an attempt at self-sabotage. In general, things are not as hard as we make them out to be and we are often more frightened than necessary, both of which are ploys to try to get us to turn away from our brilliance and masterful capabilities.
There is the quote, “The only way out is through,” and this is very true. The only way through these thirty days of deepening my self-knowledge via food is by taking it day-by-day, step-by-step, meal-by-meal, recipe ingredient-by-recipe ingredient. It is recognizing the thoughts that arise but not giving them a voice or power and letting them pass as I continue to walk through to the other side, breaking down my own self-built barriers one by one.
The last two weeks I have enjoyed reviewing how many new recipes I have tried. This past week it was 7 new recipes. Wow. I could not have done this unless I did it, unless I took it one ingredient at a time with the point being that I had to start somewhere in order to get to 7. This is not only a concept for food but for all things that we want to endeavor in. We have to start somewhere, why not now?
It is often just a thought that keeps us from exploring our fullest capabilities. That one thought, or many, keeps us procrastinating and/or believing in the falsehood that we couldn’t be good enough, smart enough, prepared enough, or worthy enough to attempt our heart’s deepest desires. But that is crazy talk, we have a unique gift that only we can give the world, and you know what, the world is truly waiting for it. I bet if you really pay attention you will feel the pull in your heart, it is life begging for you to burst out of your shell, showing the world what you can really do.
Do you want to write? Do you want to change jobs? Do you want to take singing lessons? Do you want to play jazz? Do you want to act? Start now. Don’t think about the outcome or how it will even unfold for you. Just take that first step and add that first ingredient to your special recipe. That is all you need to do. One step. One YES! One action, leaving thought behind. Go for it! Namaste.