A couple of weekends ago, I dropped my husband off at a friend’s house and made my way over to another friend’s house to visit for a bit. They live several miles apart, and while I knew the way there from my house, that’s from a different direction. I suspected there was an easier way to get there, and my husband gave me a landmark along the way, so I pulled out my phone and plugged that location into my phone’s maps app.
I made it to that midpoint just fine but then decided to just look at the map and judge the rest of the way for myself. I was familiar with most of the roads and figured I’d recognize the landmarks to get me to my friend’s house once I was in her neighborhood.
What should I do with the fork, once I take it?
Oh, how wrong I was!
I suspected I was on the wrong course when I passed into another county, but thought maybe the road would turn back across the county line. It didn’t. I finally found a stopping point and put the right information into the mapping program, got on my way, and finally arrived at her house. I certainly didn’t save myself any time at all, but at least I got there!
Every once in a while, I go “off-map” and convince myself I’m on plan with my eating, even though I’m really not. I’ve done that recently. I tell myself I know the way perfectly well, and even though I see the signs that I’m veering off-course, I don’t turn myself around right away; I just keep going off-course and then have to make up more time in getting back on the right path.
The last week has been about finding my bearings and getting back on the right road. I didn’t stray too far from my path, but I really needed to pay more attention to the indicators that I’d made a wrong turn at some point, because it costs me time and effort to get back on track. Time and effort that could have been spent getting closer to my goals.
So here I am — back on track, hovering just above my low, and needing to remind myself that maps are made for a reason, whether they’re for finding my way to a friend’s house or finding my way back to where I need to be on my eating plan. I’m back to tracking everything I eat (I wasn’t being completely honest with myself), weighing daily (necessary for me, but not for everyone), drinking all the water I should be, getting enough sleep, meeting my step goals.
When I do everything necessary to get closer to my goals, I’ll move forward instead of feeling like I’m in a maze with no end.