As a child of the 80’s, I was so excited when my sister and I got our first Atari. It was Christmas morning in 1980 something when we unwrapped that marvelous gift.
One of my favorite systems was Nintendo and playing Mario Brothers. I loved to play each level perfectly, hitting every brick, jumping over every enemy, stomping on enemies, and jumping as high as I could at the end to hit the top of the flag pole. If I did not get a perfect score, I found myself at times hitting the reset button. Then, I could start over fresh and get another chance to play the perfect game.
The reason I thought about this recently is how many people have been telling me they want to start fresh, start over, and go back to a time when they felt better about their eating habits and exercise. It made me think about that reset button. The reset button can be a fabulous gift when you need it. Each of us has to find our own reset button and perhaps something that will help us find that reset button.
The one difference though in my video game analogy and real life is that to be successful at healthy eating and exercise, you should move away from the idea that it will be perfect. Please hear me when I say I spent years trying to be perfect on my diet. I would spend hours planning which program I was going to use and putting together diet and exercise sheets. If I made a mistake like eating too much during the day, I felt like I had to start over, had to be perfect and hit that reset button every time.
Now I understand we all need a reset button for the times we’ve gotten away from where we want to be. 2020 has been a very stressful year for many people. This has been true for many people around me. People have shared they stopped going to the gym, they find themselves snacking all day, the stress is getting to them. Again, I understand that eating right and getting exercise may not be something people can focus on right now. Other pressing priorities may need to be the focus for now. Hold onto the thought if you want to eat healthier and exercise or simply try my suggestion of starting slow.
So, where is that reset button? When I need to find my reset button, I take a moment to write down some thoughts or goals. Start slow and ease into the idea of starting over. Remember, you do not need to hit the reset button every time your choice is not perfect. My suggestion after years of working on my healthy eating habits is to pick one thing you want to focus on and stick with that first. Trying to be perfect will cause more stress and frustration. Perhaps try eating out less as a first step or start walking a few days a week. Once you have achieved that goal, you can add another goal in.
I am not writing as much right now because my job is keeping me busy. One of my goals is to write more over the next year. I do plan to write the second article on planning your own storyboard. I will also write a follow up story to finding the reset button and giving some ideas from my support group on how they find their reset button.
As always, remember to talk to your own healthcare provider to assure the goals you pick for yourself are realistic. You can also consider asking your healthcare provider for ideas on how to start with an easier step to move forward.
As a side note, I do still love playing Mario and especially a game called Mario Party. I still get a little frustrated when it doesn’t go my way, but I don’t hit the reset button anymore. I let the game play out, even when I am not winning the game or doing as well as I wanted.
Until next time, take care and stay well.
Mandy