willpower

The Cheesecake Dilemma! (Archives)

Update: The Cheesecake Fetish is all but out the door! I’ve toned it down to once a week and small bites at a time. No fun? Exactly but I had to do something before the cheesecake monster took a hold of me and took me to places I didn’t want to go! The guy is gone and so is the constant presence of cheesecake in the fridge. So things are looking up and I hope that I’ve got the cheesecake dilemma or rather “fetish” where it belongs!

One of my resolutions for this year is to cut out the “Cheesecake Fetish” altogether! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it is this all-consuming lust for cheesecake!

This particular fetish started last year and since then it has taken on a gigantic personality. I never used to be a person who needed a “fix” of something sweet or of anything else for that matter. Somehow I got on the cheesecake train and have refused to get off.

To make matters worse and as life would have it, I met someone who offered me a slice of the best cheesecake in town and I was hooked. I wasn’t hooked on the guy but on what he had to offer. This love fest took off to new heights when every time he went to play tennis, he would bring me a whole cheesecake from the store close to the tennis club. How convenient? What’s that saying? “The way to someone’s heart is through their stomach.” He basically took it to heart and I had my never-ending supply of cheesecake of the very best kind.

The problem. Ever heard of cheesecake taunting? Neither have I but every time I walked past the refrigerator, I would hear it knocking and calling out my name! It got to the point where I would just open the fridge, stand there in its all-encompassing presence and bathe in its scrumptiousness. I was able to ration it to one slice a day and so it has been until I realized that thoughts of “cheesecake” accompanied me on my walks!

It was time to hit the brakes. Willpower needs to take a stand and show this bad behavior the door! This year I’m going to have one slice per week, no ifs or buts about it. It will be my reward for working on myself. I don’t care how loud it cries from behind the refrigerator door and begs me to take a bite, I WILL turn a deaf ear and sip on mundane coffee to stave off the craving.

Hard is not the word for it, but I’ve got to start somewhere before that “craving” takes over my life! What about the fixer? Well, I’ve put him on notice not before seeing the disbelief go flitting past his face but I’m sure he’ll find new ways of getting through to the heart that has locks, chains and a moat surrounding it! If there’s a will, there’s a way as they say.

It’s time for coffee and I swear I can hear the half- finished cheesecake screaming my name but nope not today. It’s time to put on my shoes and do 30 minutes of HIIT training! Willpower do your thing! Yes, WE CAN do this!

I’ll keep you posted.

Have an amazing day.

Stay Calm, Stay Focused (Archives)

Staying calm and focused when your mind tells you otherwise is normal. It is human nature. My mind goes haywire and jumps around like a monkey when I’m stressed or I have to concentrate on what is before me and what needs to get done. Oftentimes I need to take a step back, go within myself to find the strength and to focus on what I need to do to move on. It doesn’t always work but it does work if I stay focused.

“The ability to remain calm and focused on what truly matters is a superpower.” Unknown

Be like the tree that has weathered many storms and is still standing. It takes practice and a certain kind of mindset to weather a storm, any storm. If you’ve never worked a day in your life and the time has come to find a job, to get independent and to stand on your own two feet, you tend to lose focus because the unknown is formidable. However, with each fall you take, you gain the strength and the know how to get back up and to keep moving. Time, focus, calm and lots of practice makes it possible and soon you will be standing like that tree, strong and unshakeable in any storm. Breathe and keep moving. Standing still is never the answer.

“Breathe darling. This is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” S. C. Lourie

Stay focused but not on the wrong things. I can’t do this is not one of them. This is way too scary is not one of them. The ‘monster’ is too hard to slay is not one of them. Focus on finding the positive within the negative. Be prepared to put one foot in front of the other but whatever you do, do not take the easy way out or rather the coward’s way out and give up. It is easy to give up but much harder to step into an unknown arena and to win the day. YOU CAN DO THIS!

“Sometimes you need to slow down, remain calm, and simply let life happen. Take a deep breathe and focus on the simple important things: you are alive, you are breathing, you are enough as you are. You got this.” Unknown

Finally, tell the monkey in your brain that keeps dragging you all over the place with no end in sight to take a hike! Breathe, calm yourself down and stay focus on what you need to do to make it. YOU’VE GOT THIS!

Have an amazing day.

Willpower is defined as, “The strength of mind or determination to overcome challenges and achieve goals.”

Where has my willpower gone? I thought I had trained it well. If it wasn’t good for me, I said NO thank you and left it where it belonged. Nothing could sway me or push me into just trying a little bit. Nothing.

Until I met my nemesis. It started with a nonchalant trip to the bakery to get some cake for a friend. She loves her pastries and cakes. Displayed behind the pristine glass case were different cakes all perked to perfection and begging to be devoured but my eyes settled on a bland looking creamy concoction and for some reason it had my name written all over it. How much harm could come out of eating just a small piece of whatever it was I thought. It had no fruits on it and no added decoration to make it look pretty and yet there was something about it. I couldn’t put my finger on it. If I had known, I would have run screaming from the store!

“Willpower is like a muscle, the more you train it, the stronger it gets.” Unknown

Right, I had trained mine to withstand anything so coming back to that almost innocent looking piece of nothingness in that glass case. It was a cheesecake I was told. I’ve had cheesecakes before but this one looked different because it was almost crustless or perhaps because it had my number and was looking to break me!

I brought it home and that afternoon I took a bite into it. My eyes lit up. It wasn’t sweet as cakes go but there was something. I could feel my WILLPOWER crumbling and disintegrating into a thousand pieces. Well, it felt that way anyway.

The battle was lost. Every chance I got after that fateful afternoon I made it to that bakery or I found excuses to go by there. Each time the lady would grin and say, “I don’t have to ask. One cheesecake?”

Me: “Hmm…yes.”

All fine and good. Cheesecake alone is not going to bring my world down. I’m still fine on all other fronts as far as willpower is concerned I had thought. What I didn’t know is that WILLPOWER is a learned thing and when one thing crumbles, the other parts get shaky. Anyway, I was invited to a friend’s place for coffee and cake. Yes, you guessed it. He had cheesecake and not just any cheesecake. He said it was the best in the land. I politely refused but he insisted. I tried a small piece and put my by now non-existent willpower on the line. I raised that dessert fork filled with creamy cherry filled cheesecake to my mouth and tasted it. The portals opened and I heard, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” It was sumptuous, delicious and mouth-wateringly good! I had two pieces and as my WILLPOWER cowered in the corner somewhere all but forgotten, “I asked, “Can you get me a whole cake the next time you go to that bakery?” He grinned and said, “YES!” My eyes glistened with joy but my willpower screamed, “I GIVE UP!”

“Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands and then eat just one of those pieces.” Unknown

I was there once. Hell, I could even say “No chocolate for me please.” However, chocolates are not cheesecake and to prove a point, the friend brought me the cheesecake I had asked for. It was beautifully packed and when he opened it carefully, I saw my ‘nemesis’ staring back at me. It didn’t know I was putty in its hands. To make a long story short, I had two pieces and it was scrumptious. Then I noticed all the other pieces mouthing, “Eat me too!”

“Rule your mind, or it will rule you.” Unknown

It’s time to break the cycle and to send my cheesecake fetish packing! I shut the cake box, put it in the fridge and made myself some green tea. It’s supposed to be healthy. Tomorrow, I will walk an extra mile in the fields AND I will train my WILLPOWER to heel when it’s told to heel!”

“It will hurt. It will take time. It will require dedication. It will require willpower. You will need to make healthy decisions. It requires sacrifice. You will need to push your body to its max. There will be temptation. But, I promise you when you reach your goal, it’s worth it.” Unknown

HAVE AN AMAZING DAY.