Overcoming Fear

This morning I worked with a client whose sister lost a great deal of weight through gastric bypass surgery. I'll leave my opinion about radical weight loss procedures like this and why I feel the way I do to be explored in detail another time, but for now, let me just say, as a general rule, I'm not a fan.

My client is very concerned about her sister because after the operation, she never changed her lifestyle habits, forgoing exercise and continuing to eat nutritionally poor food choices - just much smaller quantities. So, besides the dramatic restriction of calories, her intake of vitamins, minerals and protein, which were already low because of her choices, has now also dropped to trace amounts.

As a result, at 5'9", she's under 115lbs and in poor health, with a frail body.

I believe fear of never being able to control ones habits is a major motivator for some who choose this option. There's also the fear that exercise and nutrition alone won't work, so this is the only alternative. But the procedure, if successful, still must be accompanied by those very lifestyle changes in order to be sustainable and preserve ones health in the long term.

So at some point, those fears need to be addressed.

Of course it's easy for me to say those fears are unfounded because of my experience with, and confidence in the principles I write about here all the time. But I have fears of my own that I need to address just like every one else.

So maybe what we all could use is a gentle reminder - a reassurance that fears are normal - but not necessarily well-founded. Maybe we need to have someone who has that confidence, that objectivity, to be a steady source of comfort and acceptance, while still remaining a light of inspiration and encouragement.

If you have that in your life, you're blessed. If you don't, trying being that light for someone else.

Or perhaps even for yourself.

“Every decision you make—every decision—is not a decision about what to do. It’s a decision about Who You Are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do.”

- Neale Donald Walsch