I was cleaning out the shed today, cursing “past me” in my head while weighing down “future me.” You know the inner dialogue. We all struggle with it at one time or another.
Why did I haphazardly stack boxes here? I should have known that I'd eventually have MORE children and LESS time to deal with stuff. Is this really my priority? I need to work out. My body's a mess. Just like this shed. Tomorrow, I'll wake up earlier.
I can't be the only one who overburdens her “future self.” Sometimes it's a conscious decision, like when I store the big boys' hand-me-downs. “Should I work on getting this stain out now?” I contemplate. “Nah, that's a problem for future me.”
Future me always has more money, more time, more luxury. Past me gets judged. Present me barely seems to exist at times like this.
They say that hindsight is twenty-twenty. When it comes to our own lives, though, vision is clouded in all directions. In high school I'd beat up on myself for my clothes, swearing that I'd grow up and buy fancy stuff. In college, it was my grades. As a parent, now, there are all sorts of things to measure. As a woman I am perpetually bombarded with images of what I should be achieving. What I should look like. What I should weigh. The checkmarks I should have accumulated at this phase in life.
It's time to focus that lens a bit more. Each person, I believe, has phenomenal accomplishments that don't fit society's standards. Our unique achievements should be celebrated, and we should rejoice for the steps that got us here!
For me, it's this fixer-upper. I look at the house and I am so proud of the changes that have taken place. We've knocked out three walls. Poured stucco. Repaired cracks.
Planted greenery. Built a pool fence. Painted everything. Stoned walls.
Adopted livestock. Hung cabinets. Installed lights. Built furniture. Demolished structures. Laid concrete.
It's not really about the structure or the property. It's about the home. The community we've built here is filled with love and acceptance and a can-do atmosphere. The physical things are simply a reminder that we can thrive.
The family and the dwelling are nowhere near complete. We learn new things and advance ourselves and our surroundings daily. As any ambitious human does, I get caught up in the things yet to be done. That's the way of life. It's easy to see what we're lacking. We blame our past selves for not trying hard enough when the truth is, that person was doing the very best he or she could.
It's time to weigh ourselves on the things that matter. Be it arms full of love, or trophies and knowledge, or brooms and chicken eggs! Those reflections of our healthy self-commitment are boundless. We're working with the Lean Cuisine Team and I love the video they've come up with to spread the message that we should be weighed by our accomplishments instead of our weight.
No tape measure can stretch as far as the lives that we've consciously built.
To my future self, I ask just one thing. Focus on your progress in every category. Weigh yourself not on how far you have yet to go, but on the massive distance you've come. Weigh what matters.
What do you want to be weighed on besides your weight? Come share what you're proud of on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook with hashtag #WeighThis and we may feature your responses in a future blog post!