Dangling from a Cliff

Losing weight often feels like holding our breath until the pounds disappear. We grab control of the food, resist the temptations, and throttle our will power like dangling from a cliff where only one option exists, hanging on tight. With a death grip, we forcefully control our intake, awaiting pounds liberation, until we decompress, loosen, and release slightly the stronghold, testing survival. When we notice an inhale and exhale, we continue to slacken the grip, letting go a little more until suddenly we fall back into old habits. As we are falling, the fear escalates from believing we shall become our former selves. Yet without grabbing on fast enough, we continue to fall, and eventually fail. Our fear claims victory as the sugar infiltrates our bodies again like a resignation to the limiting belief of lacking worthiness, and the inability to clutch onto a piece of the rock that acted as support and footing.

The exhaustion, weariness, and same-old-same-old rearing its familiar head are overwhelming. Sleeping off the hangover of defeat seems best course of action when in actuality depression leads that journey. When hitting the water below this cliff, we stay afloat to watch where we could have been, until eventually we lose sight of the climb altogether, and let go, drowning in our sorrows of defeat. Beneath the surface, we relax into a space we thought earlier had been removed from possibility of revisiting. Yet here we lay where countless trek attempts resulted. We slumber into our discomfort of emotional imbalance, fear, and anxiety that has become our “normal” after repeated weight loss attempts. Challenging defeats are a cycle that necessitates an altered route. Finding that right path on the weight loss journey is finding the Holy Grail within.

What if we ease the process by eliminating holding our breath, release the death grip, and support will power in its fight for victory? Traveling into the journey with greater emotional awareness, learning from the defeats, and understanding what caused the weight to begin its ascent are helpful and powerful tools. Digging beneath the surface of our woes, traveling to places the past left dormant, wrecked, and in shambles, while unhealed wounds hid by consumption, numbing, and fear, an in-depth examination may lead to sustainable answers, avenues, and solutions to weight loss sustainability. Emotional triggers that led to physical triggers that led to additional pounds may be an internal step away from releasing pounds. With newfound knowledge, self-compassion, and understanding, finding a road that eases into sustainable victory eliminates our fear and increases self-love, self-respect, and self-care that felt impossible.

The place where lightness of being lives, removes the hardness of gripping goals, and liberates relaxation into a lifestyle designated for a lifetime. Strong arming food into submission results in a wrestling match that can exhaust the soul. Seek alternate avenues; answers typically lie beneath the surface as you lay like a scavenger upon the ocean floor. With awareness, changing the stories that define us from our past, healing engages movement toward the surface. As we swim and exhale with release, we break through the surface, healing emotional parts while physicality strengthens. Outpouring hands to grasp may appear if we clear our myopic vision, as to not venture alone upon the mountain before you. Drying ourselves off with support, the climb continues with others along the same plight. Handholds and footholds that initially were invisible suddenly appear, larger stepping-stones materialize, and we climb with greater ease than before. Holding on seems less challenging, our grip loosens, and we eventually stand on our own two feet without imbalance. Past same behavior was suicidal where now our strength coincides with intention, healing, and awareness.

Yet upon this steep cliff, crags, crannies, and obstacles engage learning to increase endurance, resilience, and sustainability. Recognizing their gifts to our soul and ultimate success enable their testing ground to educate rather than defeat us. Those normal struggles that life offers are necessary pieces that line the path, to engage in self-actualization and acquire personal growth. The crevices that make us stumble are meaningful lessons and opportunities to become our best selves. Living our life purpose utilizes these teachings and are blessings for well being. Because in the end, living fully with meaning gives us the lifestyle we were aiming for when we began this journey. It is unnecessary to dangle from a cliff when your next fall could mean new beginnings and eventual spectacular endings. When you are scavenging for scraps along the ocean floor, or slumbering in bed defeated, look up, and take that first step to the surface.