Hamenopi

With every change come a corresponding challenge. Big changes come with big challenges. I'm reminded of this with my most recent road trip. I live in League City. It's between Houston and Galveston. For our Christmas break, we decided to take a trip to New Mexico. That's over 750 miles one way. Over 12 hrs of driving. We also have 3 kids. Now it you're a parent, you're already nodding your head. But if you aren't, kids, particularly 3 and 6 year olds, start unraveling after 3 hours in a car ride. If we're honest, they start unraveling as soon as they get in the car but it's bearable for those first 3 hours. It helps when there's scenery. The thing is, after Houston, there's not much scenery between Houston and San Antonio. Just a lot of flat lands and rolling hills. Not much obvious change. It reminds me of my weight loss journey. I made a change, a resolution. I decided things will be different! I hit the road of life with new habits! But af...

You don't have to deprive yourself to lose weight. A diet of deprivation is starvation! Stop defining goals on can't. Good things don't grow from seeds of negativity. Instead, work on switching worse habits with better habits. It's not about perfection, it's about progression. Make a discipline of continual improvement. You can't solve problems with the same level of thinking that caused them. Switch up a few variables and discover a new solution. Take the wheel and explore until you find something that works, then worry about upgrading your autopilot. Though we be products of our environment, we have the ability to create our own environment. We have the ability to change. Try immersing yourself where you want to be. At least try to immerse yourself at the halfway point.

It was Spring 2014 and I was carting my 9 month old son through a Half Priced Books in his favorite stroller. I we there to scour obscure RPG supplements to breathe more life into my campaign. I sat sprawled, books circling me as people walked past toward more popular genres. A plastic motorcycle flies by, missing my head, followed by a mischievous cackle. I smirk, grab the toy, and return it to John as I mine the tome for literary nuggets of golden inspiration. But there was no gold that day and John was ever increasingly demanding for my attention from his buggy. The anxiety was also creeping back into my mind as my mouth dried from dehydration. I needed a cigarette. Returning the books to shelves in no order, I cart John outside, 25 feet from the entrance to the edge of a covered area. I then proceed to pace 10 more feet away, deftly producing cigarette and lit lighter in motion. By 9 feet, I was already devouring my first drag. Not Immediate I turned and glanced at John who c...