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Certain health scares come into our lives as glaringly blaring as a car alarm going off outside the bedroom window at 3 AM!!!  Others can be much more subtle.  Quiet enough to easily ignore

A few months back, I had my blood pressure taken and it was much higher than I expected.  High enough that the discussion of blood pressure medication was on the table. 

I suppose I could have shrugged off that blood pressure reading, chalked it up to nerves, and gone on with my exact same eating habits and exercise routine, after all I’d had these habits for a long period of time, knew them well and they’d gotten me this far.  But this subtle alarm hit me differently.

And it hit in a place that I’ve known “could” be an issue but I’ve been too stubborn to address.

See, I don’t drink alcohol or take mind altering substances, BUT I do have a long standing routine of eating in excess.  I have a particular weakness for all manner of candy, cookies, ice cream, pies, oh my….the list of sugary goodness is practically limitless.   

I’ve always justified my daily eating patterns by telling myself that I walk more than the average bear, so I can burn off the excess calories of my overindulgences.

But when I walked out of the doctor’s office that day with yet another high blood pressure reading to my name, I finally was ready to choose, on my own accord, to make a change.

Now I’ve never found enjoyment in diets, nor do I like to even consider making changes to what I feel are the essential cornerstones of my joyful existence. 

So, I compromised.  I decided to keep eating everything that I enjoy AND AT THE SAME TIME to concentrate on eating it in smaller portions.

I soon discovered that this came with some obstacles to my plan:

  1. Not wanting to waste food.  I was raised in the Midwest, where you finish what’s on your plate….and feel guilty if you don’t.
  2. Missing out.  I feared I would miss out on the social aspects of meeting over food and having conversations.
  3. Surrendering my youth.  For whatever reason, eating a lot helps me feel young.  Cutting back is a recognition that I’m almost 50 and that it’s not prudent to eat in the same way as I did at age 20.
  1. Losing my quick-fix solution.  When I was bored, eating gave me something entertaining to do.
  1. The prospect of retiring from the only sport I’m good at.  Ever since I was a kid, I have felt victorious about being the one to eat more than the people around me. 
     

When we embark on making positive changes in our lives, there are almost certainly going to be complications, obstacles and challenges that follow.  Sometimes enough to make us want to surrender to the safety of our old patterns.

I’m now a few months into this intentional routine and I’m pleased to report that I’m eating maybe 25% to 40% less on any given day than I used to.  I’m certainly not perfect in my efforts every day, but my blood pressure has gone down into a much less concerning range.

To change our lives for the better we needn’t be perfect at it.  Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities we’ve been given is to listen to our bodies and notice the quiet alarms before they become crisis situations.

Are there any quiet alarms in your life patiently and consistently asking for your attention?

What are your next steps in creatively responding to them?

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JASON FREEMAN is a Professional Speaker and the proud owner of a Speech Impediment.  He is also the author of “Awkwardly Awesome: Embracing My Imperfect Best” and a Perseverance Coach.

He excites and encourages his audience to break through the barriers of their own limitations using a method he created, called “Doing your Imperfect Best ™”.

His Imperfect TEDx Talk can be viewed here.