Lessons from History

My husband and I were watching a very interesting documentary on the History Channel last night about WWII. Do you see it? It was very well done. (it was called 'The World Wars - Extended Edition' in HD).  I'm sure they will run it again. It may be available on demand on cable as well.

Specifically, it focused on the lives of the world's leaders and movers and shakers of the time period, and how they each rose to power.  Men like FDR, Churchill, George Patton, Douglas Macarthur ...even Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin. How did they get to be so powerful? What drove them, and motivated them, to do what they did? What pivotal role did they play in the war?

What I found most fascinating was the fact that many of these men suffered hardships, setbacks, and personal tragedies and/or humiliations -- and came out stronger and more determined (but sometimes more twisted) because of them.

FDR, for example, was well on his way to a successful political career when he was sidelined by polio.  This disease totally paralyzed him from the waist down, leaving him unable to walk, and many believed his future in politics was over.

NOT SO!  In fact, he not only triumphed against his paralysis, refusing to let it stop him and working long and hard to be able to take just 2 or 3 steps when necessary to make it appear as though he could stand and walk on his own....but he concealed his disability pretty effectively when necessary (a feat that probably could NOT be accomplished today).  More importantly, he was able to USE his experience with polio to become a better human being, developing a compassionate and understanding mindset that would result in the "New Deal" program he initiated to pull this country out of the Depression. 
AND his inner strength and determination served to tighten and firm his resolve to triumph over our adversaries after the devastation of Pearl Harbor.

In short, when it looked like this country was 'down and out' with the nearly complete destruction of our Navy due to the Japanese attack in Hawaii, HE stood up and said "We shall become victorious" and rallied a nation behind him.

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself" - Franklin D. Roosevelt

THINK about those words for a minute. And how they can apply to US as we work to stay OP every day.

When we fear FEAR, we overstress, we let Fat Brain's ridiculousness "take over" our thoughts and rule the day. We listen to her crap like "I deserve this" or "One won't hurt" or "I'll restart tomorrow". 
But when we understand that fear is the ENEMY, we choose NOT to listen to that ... and stay focused on the goals ahead.

And what about Churchill?  His grandiose plans for victory at Gallopoli were so disasterously WRONG that he was publicly humiliated and ridiculed for years afterwards. Many others in his position would have simply given up.
But he didn't.
He kept his ear to the ground and (correctly!) interpreted and understood Hitler's agenda (and his threat) before most leaders in Great Britain even had a clue. He hung in there politically, and when he finally came into power, he was able to rally a nation, just like FDR did, with his words.  His "we shall never surrender" speech will go down in history as one the most motivating speeches of all time.

Here's an excerpt -- and my own interpretation of how this can apply to Fat Brain (in capitals):

We shall go on to the end (TO GOAL!), we shall fight in France (ON VACATION),
we shall fight on the seas and oceans (AT WORK)
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island (WE SHALL DEFEND OUR SLIM BODIES!) whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches, (AT HOME)
we shall fight on the landing grounds, (WHILE AWAY)
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, (IN THE CAR OR WHILE RUNNING ERRANDS)
we shall fight in the hills; (AT FAMILY GATHERINGS)
we shall never surrender!

That persistence, that determination to keep 'fighting' NO MATTER WHAT, to NEVER SURRENDER to Fat Brain and the demons that may haunt (and taunt) you, telling you to just quit already, because maybe you're a slow loser and the scale only goes down 1/2 lb a week when your friends are losing 2-3 lbs. a week...OR that the MF meals are "too expensive" (what PRICE can you put on your HEALTH and well being!?) .... OR that this is "just too hard" and "not fair" because you can't eat like "normal" people....yada yada....

....that ability to persist is absolutely essential if you're going to get to goal. 

"Never give up, Never surrender" - Winston Churchill

And so it goes, with ALL of these men who played pivotal roles in history! 

Macarthur LOST in the Phillipines....was ordered to leave...it was a complete, unmitigated DISASTER and his troops were overrun....! 
Yet he swore "I shall return"....and he DID! 
And ultimately triumphed.

And what of the 'bad guys' in history? The adversities in their lives strengthened their resolve as well....but in their case, they twisted their own solutions and lost their way -- because,  here's the thing --- they WOULD NOT LISTEN TO REASON from their own advisors and generals --- believing it was 'their way or the highway'. 

Hitler fought in WWI and was hospitalized due to mustard gas exposure....he and his fellow troops were gassed over and over again....and he suffered pain because of it. Upon his recovery and ascending into power he used gas against an entire segment of the population -- the Jews -- in a sick form of twisted 'revenge'.

And again, many many times he disregarded the advice of those around him, believing he was a genius and everyone else mere mortals.  As a result of his narrow-mindedness, he was unprepared for D-Day and that ultimately led to his destruction.

Mussolini and Stalin were similar personality types -- totally self-involved and convinced that they were 'right' and everyone else was 'wrong' -- and they KILLED anyone who disagreed with them!

Their narrow points of view and refusal to open their minds to other ideas led, ultimately, to their downfall.

How many of US become so set in our thinking that we "close off" from new ideas and refuse to listen to advice? 

We've decided we 'know' what to do....irregardless of the facts, somehow we're 'different' or 'special' or in some way so unique that the program won't work as written for us....so we make up our own rules, and heaven help anyone who disagrees with us!
We can't see the forest for the trees! 

So often during the course of my journey I would blog about some idea I had....or something that went wrong and be perplexed about it....only to find that at least one person (and usually several!) could pinpoint 'in a heartbeat' the errors in my thinking and in my words. I couldn't SEE it because I was too close to it...too stressed out over it...and just by opening my mind and LISTENING I learned so much!

"PRIDE goeth before a Fall" - Proverbs 16:18

So TRUE, right?

When we're too proud to admit we screwed up, we ate off plan, we had just a little (or a lot!) more of a food than is allowed, we can't learn from that mistake and will continue to 'fall' over and over again....because we're hiding the truth from OURSELVES as well as everyone else.

I've said it over and over again...we're HUMAN....NOBODY is perfect, we ALL make mistakes -- but what separates the ones who succeed vs. the ones who keep failing and having to restart is sometimes as simple as ADMITTING we screwed up and maybe, just maybe, our original premise was wrong.

Don't let pride get in the way of your growth in understanding your eating habits as you work through this program. It takes a lot of headwork to decipher some of the things that have gotten 'set in concrete' in our heads....about how we 'need' to eat because of (insert excuse here)!

Some of the most helpful suggestions and ideas in my journey have come from OTHERS. And I resisted at first;  I 'knew better', I was 'different' and they were 'krazy'.

Examples range from the mundane (cauliflower pizza? Are you kidding me? NO WAY....it's GOT to be awful. Oh boy was I wrong! LOL), to the sublime ('Just sit with an emotion' and FEEL it versus trying to 'stuff it down' with food or 'cover it up'.  That was tough to hear....and even tougher to implement....but once I did, I realized it wasn't that hard, after all!  Emotions can't KILL you. They sometimes feel bad....but FEELING them instead of covering them up will enable you to feel OTHER emotions, too....like, the GOOD emotions!

You can't experience JOY without knowing what SORROW feels like.

Sometimes these ideas and suggestions, if we take a deep breath and swallow our pride and just TRY them, result in the SKY opening up and the angels singing because they work to an amazing degree and give you a big 'leg up' along the way!  You now have another resource, another alternative, another 'weapon' to use to fight Fat Brain and CHANGE your eating habits for GOOD.

And this doesn't end when you reach goal.  Maintenance has been very educational....and I've learned to STOP 'experimenting' with what I can 'get away with' and just finally, once and for all, ACCEPT and RECONCILE myself to my Food plan and follow it like my life depended on it. (because it DOES!) 

ACCEPTANCE was key. I can rant and rave all I want, but my TEE Is my TEE. My body doesn't care if it's Friday or I'm stressed out or I'm too busy or too NOT busy (i.e. bored and looking for 'foodutainment') or ....whatever excuse Fat Brain can come up with.

My body is going to react the same way when I go over my TEE....it's going to GAIN WEIGHT. Period.

There is no get around, no magic bullet, no special exercises I can do, no pill or magic vegetable or fiber or...whatever.  The bottom line is, too much food = weight gain. PERIOD!

Ultimately, I  think we can learn a lot by remembering that life -- AND our weight loss struggle -- is an ongoing journey and there is no 'straight path' to follow (other than staying OP, of course!)

You WILL get sidetracked at times, you WILL stumble and fall, you WILL fail -- sometimes in spectacular fashion! -- but knowing you're HUMAN and being able to LEARN from your mistakes, plus keeping an open mind to other ideas and suggestions, as well as using your innate strength of will, commitment, and determination, can result in eventual SUCCESS.  Sometimes despite all odds!  The great men in history weren't BORN great. They were MOLDED by their experiences. And they learned from them and changed because of them. The ones who overcame adversity and developed a sense of compassion and understanding became our HEROES. And rightly so.They teach us to NEVER give up, NEVER surrender, be strong and do what you KNOW is right -- but keep your mind and your heart OPEN at the same time.

You can do the same with your own weight loss struggle. You WILL fail, you WILL have hard times, but if you learn from them and believe in yourself and never give up, you WILL ultimately TRIUMPH, reach goal....and STAY there!

Keep on keepin' on.....!