I said something remarkable yesterday and it wasn’t until about five minutes later that I realized the import and of what I had said:

When I’ve lost the weight…

Just so there’s no misunderstanding, and because I can never say something in 10 words when a 100 will do, I need to elaborate and explain.  The importance of this phrase lies in that there are no qualifiers.  It is a simple declarative statement that says what will happen.  The path from A to Z is assured and will occur:

When the rain stops…

When winter is over…

When the sun comes up…

When Jupiter appears in the sky close to the full moon…

When Mars appears to move backwards in its orbit…

Or on a more human level…

When we finish eating…

When I stop to fill up the truck with gas…

When I file my taxes…

When I go to bed…

When I go into the studio today to practice…

When I’ve finished my third cup of coffee I will be more human.

I’m sure that skeptics, naysayers and those with a glass half empty outlook on life will point out that an adverbial  phrase beginning with the word “When” is in and of itself a qualifying statement indicating conditions.  To better understand this let’s look up the definition of “When”

when [hwen, wen; unstressed hwuhn, wuhn]  adverb

1.  at what time or period? how long ago? how soon?: e.g. When are they to arrive? When did the Roman Empire exist?

2.  under what circumstances? upon what occasion?: e.g. When is a letter of condolence in order? When did you ever see such a crowd?

I concede the point.  If you look at the second definition, then “When” indeed could imply a conditional situation.  However, consider the context by comparing the first “when” to those in the second set of “whens” and you will see that the difference here is in the mindset of the speaker.  In all of my examples, these are conditions which have such an extremely high probability of occurring that they are for all practical purposes certain to occur thus definition #1 applies, not #2.

And therein is what makes my simple phrase so remarkable.  It wasn’t:

IF I lose the weight…

or

I’d LIKE to lose the weight.

To make the remarkable in the statement absolutely clear, I did not say:

When I lose the weight.

Instead, I said:

When I’ve LOST the weight…

What follows that introductory phrase is unimportant.  What is important is the implied certainty, the use of the future “past” tense.  This will happen.  In my mind, the possibility that I will not lose the weight over the coming months, that I will not meet my goal of being fit and healthy by Worlds is so low that it is almost zero.

The journey has begun and it will happen.  I am as certain of this as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow.  Granted, there are many steps between now and then, but those steps will be taken.  And then there will be a new goal–that the weight never come back; that I live healthy for the rest of my life.  That too is certain.

“There is no spoon”

                   —The Matrix

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It’s a Whole New World

Frank and Ernest by Bob Thaves: “Paradigm Shift”, originally published on February 2, 1998. ©1998 You can have this cool image for your very own at http://www.cafepress.com/comics/s_frank-and-ernest?design=38268366

What has happened here is earth-shaking.  It is fundamental.  It is the proverbial Paradigm Shift, a shift in my world view.   What seemed like an impossible mountain to climb now is not impossible at all.  It isn’t even unlikely.  This. Will. Come. To. Pass.

Not to belabor the point (Don’t you love when someone uses that phrase? Because it indicates that they are indeed going to do exactly that and pound the point home again, just in case you haven’t gotten the point yet.)

But I digress…  😉

The point?  Let me ask you to engage in a mental exercise which will put this into perspective.

If for some reason you needed to get from wherever you live in the world to New York City or to London or to Tokyo, in the next 48 hours, could it be done?   I’m not asking if it is easy to do.  I’m asking is it possible?

If you decided that it was important enough for you to make the journey could it be done?   Granted, there are logistic and financial issues which would need to be managed.  But it is possible?  Is it probable that if the need were great enough that a way could be found to make it happen?

Lest someone point out the fallacy in this mental exercise, I’m making an assumption that (a) if you are reading this blog, then that implies you are living somewhere with high-speed Internet access and that implies (b) that you live somewhere is in the developed world, with its established transportation systems like good roads or reliable rail lines that lead to an airport.  If, however, you live somewhere in a less developed region, then change the time frame in this exercise from 48 hours to 3 or perhaps 7 days and continue the exercise.

Now travel back in time for a moment.  If you asked the same question a 100 years ago, then the answer would be “no”.  Absolutely no.  Not possible.  It can not be done.

The point?  In my mind, “getting fit and healthy” was a herculean task like unto traveling to New York or London, or Tokyo fifty  or a hundred years ago.

Now, in my mind, getting fit and healthy, is like traveling to New York, well, “now.”  Not only possible, but once the decision to do so has been make, so highly probable that it is near a certainty.  No more impossible than saying “When I go to the gas station and fill up my truck…”

And to belabor the point even more….

Not once during this post (well until now) have I engaged in any of my normal silliness.  THAT friends and neighbors, and the six people reading this blog,  should give you more of an indication about just how BIG and serious a thing this shift in my outlook really is.   My Inner Domestic Diva has even offered to reduce her bon-bon consumption by 10% in honor of my new outlook.  She refuses however to do windows.  She likes her Mac too much. 😉

Week One on Jenny Craig

Tomorrow is day one of week one on the Jenny Craig program.  Today, I have five hours in the dance studio,  and I have to swing by the grocery store for some veggies and fruits.  I also plan on cleaning the pantry, the kitchen cabinets and the frig though those, glancing at the clock, may be postponed until Wednesday.  I’ll post more about Jenny Week One tomorrow.  🙂
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See you on the dance floor!

and remember  “There is no spoon”

Related Links and Articles:

• “As the Boots Turn” #1, A Disaster or Opportunity? Glass Half Full or Half Empty? (txcowboydancer.com)
• “As the Boots Turn” #2, Sleep, Stress, and Number Two (txcowboydancer.com)
• “As the Boots Turn” #3: An Episode of Road Rage, almost (txcowboydancer.com)
• “As the Boots Turn” Episode #4, Depression, Drugs and Medical Varmits! (txcowboydancer.com)
• Dictionary.com (dictionary.com)
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