I have had a tumultuous relationship with my Garmin navigation system over the years. The voice in a box (endearingly nicknamed “bitch-in-a-box” by my friend Moe) has taken me on detours, not always had accurate road updates, and never seems to perfectly predict my arrival time, however the one consistent thing about my bitch-in-a-box is that she gets always gets me to my destination.
One reason that diets never work is because a diet is a sprint, and no one can sprint for forever. Lifestyle changes on the other hand, are like a marathon and are all about pacing. Real life has mess-ups, real healthy eating diets have splurge days, and real people can’t be perfect all the time. This is why I love my bitch-in-a-box. If I miss a turn, she doesn’t yell at me. She doesn’t belittle or berate me, and she surely doesn’t tell me that I might as well give up and stop my journey because I failed so greatly in missing the turn. No, instead she gently (and loudly) tells me “RECALCULATING,” …. “please take the next left and do a legal U-turn in 500 feet”…. and then I do, and I am right back on track.
Don’t ever feel lost in your goals or along your journey when you get “off-track”, for it is in getting off-track that we learn the most about ourselves. I surely know that when bitch-in-a-box is “RECALCULATING…” I learn patience and grow in my ability to laugh at myself. Most importantly, I remember that the fun part of a journey is the journey itself rather than the actual arrival at the destination. Stop beating yourself up for times when you get off-track and remember that life has a bitch-in-a-box navigation system already built in, all you have to do is take the next available U-turn when you get lost.