The Plank
The other day Greta exclaimed proudly, "Oh! That's a great quote. I'm gonna write that one down!"...about something she'd just said. (Was I proud at that moment? Yes. Was I amused? YES!) What was it she said, you wonder?
"It's not the wrong way if it's working."
Apparently she had just said this to Therese, in defense of something probably. And then she felt quite impressed by herself. This got her thinking...hmm maybe I can come up with some more quotes!
Next was, "Negativity is just a word, and like all words we can choose to use it or not use it."
When she read that one out loud she sounded a bit like she was sarcastically impersonating a teacher or something.
"I'm coming up with quotes," she told Hosea, as she sat at the table to write them down, to which he quickly responded with, "Chicken nugget!", "Oh, gooooooooood one!" we both told him, laughing.
Aside from the card she made for her step-brother tonight, on which she drew money and wrote, "Money can't buy happiness, but it does make you RICH!", that
was the end of that whole quote thing.
For now.
I think these things are best not forced.
I'm not really big into making new years resolutions, but this year I made a couple, quietly to myself (for the most part). Here I go getting all vulnerable to accountability, putting this out there, though! One of these resolutions was to read for 15 minutes a day. And by "read" I mean NOT my phone. Ugh those things, that internet, it's all such a time waster! I mean "read" a book.
How's that been going, you wonder?
Well last night Simon reminded me about it as I was falling asleep, "Don't you want to keep up with your resolution? Read a bit?"
"No...!" I said, in my grumbly-sleep voice.
"I've already broken that one plenty of times!"...and I went to sleep.
So that's how it is, ha?
How about for you? Break the resolution one time and then use that as permission to break it the next time? As permission to just say, "Oh, nevermind," or "Whatever," or "F that," or "There's no point anyway," or "I'm always a failure at this stuff," or I don't know, some other good old excuse. Like when I just want a couple chocolate chips because I have a sugar craving, but my teeth are kind of sensitive right now, so I really and truly just want "a couple", but then, well I've already eaten a few, messed with my teeth, so why not eat more? Whatever! (Is that why my mom uses her strange "couple-few" phrase?!)
I'm pretty sure we all do it. This weird rationalizing. But as my wise daughter said, albeit facetiously, "Negativity is just a word, and like all words we can choose to use it or not use." Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm prone to cynicism, so the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree there! But...one of my other new years resolutions was to do the plank every day for a few minutes. I did THAT the night I didn't read! In fact, I've done that every night since 2019 began!!! As you know, I've had 3 babies. That does a number to the stomach. I run, I ride my bike, I can fit into clothes I wore as a 22 year old (YES I'm bragging here, but we alllllllllllll have things to brag about don't we?!), however my stomach just never has seemed to want to get those muscles back. I figured well who cares, F-it, whatever, "I've had 3 babies", what's the point in trying, you know--all that. I'd tried hula hooping and sometimes planking, but I never could get into a good routine. When I had myself just doing every other day or something like that it was easy to forget. "But! Isn't it BETTER for your muscles to take a day off?"
..."But! Isn't it BETTER to work your muscles than to NOT work your muscles?" began to be my counter-argument. Should I be writing these quotes down too, like Greta? ;-)
Anyway we can use all these quotes, for positivity or negativity, with many things.
Stomach muscles! Ha! Speaking more kindly to people. Eating healthier snacks. Getting places on time. Staying off the internet. Eating at home more often. Practicing the piano (another one of mine!), and yes, reading a book 15 minutes a day.
It's always easy to make excuses.
Another reason I tend to make excuses is when I feel like whatever it is I'm doing isn't actually working. When I feel like "nothing makes a difference anyway!"
I nearly let that thought creep into my head, about the planking, a couple weeks ago. But it didn't dwell. And I hadn't even any proof, it was just that the thought is such a habit sometimes, it sneaks in so naturally, so very uninvited. Then the other day I happened to notice in the mirror (honestly, don't ask me how, I really don't remember! I wasn't intentionally looking to see how my stomach looked though...at least not at that point!)...anyway I noticed suddenly that my stomach looked different!
THEN I started looking intentionally.
I started flexing it, hitting it, checking from other angles, feeling it. It actually HAS MUSCLES IN IT! You know, those things that are there BEFORE you have babies? It wasn't just an empty cavern!
The plank was working!!!
No, this is not going to turn into some working-out blog! I'm not into that kind of thing. But wow, that was an amazing revelation for me! So simple, I know, but really powerful. If you make a change, and stick at it, it REALLY DOES make a difference. And slowly but surely we can see it, and feel it.
We all know this intellectually. But sometimes we forget. At least I know that I do.
This was such a beautifully concrete reminder.
So whatever it is: piano, reading, kindness, health, avoiding those terrible temptations...it's possible. And if you're a perfectionist, maybe Greta's "It's not the wrong way if it's working" is for you? Because we might as well DO the thing, instead of NOT do the thing. Besides, in DOING IT we get better at it.
I was listening to some of my older youtube songs today. Thinking with a few of them, "Oh, that's too bad, you could've done that better," and then with other newer ones I was thinking, "Wow you're really improving!"
I suppose I could be embarrassed about those old ones. Delete them. Pretend they never happened. But, aside from that being kind of contrary to the whole point of the my channel... I love how it can show progress, and change, and growth. Maybe other people notice, but if they don't that's fine, because I do.
And this summer I plan on wearing a really great bikini, and I don't care if other people notice my stomach, because I WILL NOTICE IT! The excitement will be MINE!!!
So, after allllllll that, my quote is this:
"Plank it till you make it", ok?
And then keep making it!
"It's not the wrong way if it's working."
Apparently she had just said this to Therese, in defense of something probably. And then she felt quite impressed by herself. This got her thinking...hmm maybe I can come up with some more quotes!
Next was, "Negativity is just a word, and like all words we can choose to use it or not use it."
When she read that one out loud she sounded a bit like she was sarcastically impersonating a teacher or something.
"I'm coming up with quotes," she told Hosea, as she sat at the table to write them down, to which he quickly responded with, "Chicken nugget!", "Oh, gooooooooood one!" we both told him, laughing.
Aside from the card she made for her step-brother tonight, on which she drew money and wrote, "Money can't buy happiness, but it does make you RICH!", that
was the end of that whole quote thing.
For now.
I think these things are best not forced.
I'm not really big into making new years resolutions, but this year I made a couple, quietly to myself (for the most part). Here I go getting all vulnerable to accountability, putting this out there, though! One of these resolutions was to read for 15 minutes a day. And by "read" I mean NOT my phone. Ugh those things, that internet, it's all such a time waster! I mean "read" a book.
How's that been going, you wonder?
Well last night Simon reminded me about it as I was falling asleep, "Don't you want to keep up with your resolution? Read a bit?"
"No...!" I said, in my grumbly-sleep voice.
"I've already broken that one plenty of times!"...and I went to sleep.
So that's how it is, ha?
How about for you? Break the resolution one time and then use that as permission to break it the next time? As permission to just say, "Oh, nevermind," or "Whatever," or "F that," or "There's no point anyway," or "I'm always a failure at this stuff," or I don't know, some other good old excuse. Like when I just want a couple chocolate chips because I have a sugar craving, but my teeth are kind of sensitive right now, so I really and truly just want "a couple", but then, well I've already eaten a few, messed with my teeth, so why not eat more? Whatever! (Is that why my mom uses her strange "couple-few" phrase?!)
I'm pretty sure we all do it. This weird rationalizing. But as my wise daughter said, albeit facetiously, "Negativity is just a word, and like all words we can choose to use it or not use." Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm prone to cynicism, so the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree there! But...one of my other new years resolutions was to do the plank every day for a few minutes. I did THAT the night I didn't read! In fact, I've done that every night since 2019 began!!! As you know, I've had 3 babies. That does a number to the stomach. I run, I ride my bike, I can fit into clothes I wore as a 22 year old (YES I'm bragging here, but we alllllllllllll have things to brag about don't we?!), however my stomach just never has seemed to want to get those muscles back. I figured well who cares, F-it, whatever, "I've had 3 babies", what's the point in trying, you know--all that. I'd tried hula hooping and sometimes planking, but I never could get into a good routine. When I had myself just doing every other day or something like that it was easy to forget. "But! Isn't it BETTER for your muscles to take a day off?"
..."But! Isn't it BETTER to work your muscles than to NOT work your muscles?" began to be my counter-argument. Should I be writing these quotes down too, like Greta? ;-)
Anyway we can use all these quotes, for positivity or negativity, with many things.
Stomach muscles! Ha! Speaking more kindly to people. Eating healthier snacks. Getting places on time. Staying off the internet. Eating at home more often. Practicing the piano (another one of mine!), and yes, reading a book 15 minutes a day.
It's always easy to make excuses.
Another reason I tend to make excuses is when I feel like whatever it is I'm doing isn't actually working. When I feel like "nothing makes a difference anyway!"
I nearly let that thought creep into my head, about the planking, a couple weeks ago. But it didn't dwell. And I hadn't even any proof, it was just that the thought is such a habit sometimes, it sneaks in so naturally, so very uninvited. Then the other day I happened to notice in the mirror (honestly, don't ask me how, I really don't remember! I wasn't intentionally looking to see how my stomach looked though...at least not at that point!)...anyway I noticed suddenly that my stomach looked different!
THEN I started looking intentionally.
I started flexing it, hitting it, checking from other angles, feeling it. It actually HAS MUSCLES IN IT! You know, those things that are there BEFORE you have babies? It wasn't just an empty cavern!
The plank was working!!!
No, this is not going to turn into some working-out blog! I'm not into that kind of thing. But wow, that was an amazing revelation for me! So simple, I know, but really powerful. If you make a change, and stick at it, it REALLY DOES make a difference. And slowly but surely we can see it, and feel it.
We all know this intellectually. But sometimes we forget. At least I know that I do.
This was such a beautifully concrete reminder.
So whatever it is: piano, reading, kindness, health, avoiding those terrible temptations...it's possible. And if you're a perfectionist, maybe Greta's "It's not the wrong way if it's working" is for you? Because we might as well DO the thing, instead of NOT do the thing. Besides, in DOING IT we get better at it.
I was listening to some of my older youtube songs today. Thinking with a few of them, "Oh, that's too bad, you could've done that better," and then with other newer ones I was thinking, "Wow you're really improving!"
I suppose I could be embarrassed about those old ones. Delete them. Pretend they never happened. But, aside from that being kind of contrary to the whole point of the my channel... I love how it can show progress, and change, and growth. Maybe other people notice, but if they don't that's fine, because I do.
And this summer I plan on wearing a really great bikini, and I don't care if other people notice my stomach, because I WILL NOTICE IT! The excitement will be MINE!!!
So, after allllllll that, my quote is this:
"Plank it till you make it", ok?
And then keep making it!
Comments
Post a Comment