Frances has lost more than half her body weight by going to overeaters anonymous (OA). Her books talk about the physical aspects of losing weight and the emotional side too. In a voyeuristic kind of way I am intrigued by the information given about OA.
Every night Frances answers the following questions to her sponsor.
"What did I eat today? What exercise did I have today? wheat did I do today that I like and respect myself for? (or how did I behave better than I felt?) What project was my priority for today and how much progress did I make on it? What do I plan to do next? What did I do for someone else today? What did I do for myself today? What happened today that I enjoyed and appreciated that had nothing to do with me? What boundaries did I honor? Where did I have problems today? What am proudest of today? On a scale of one to ten, how much close interaction did I have with people today? What made me feel feminine today? What made me feel loved and appreciated today? What will I eat tomorrow?"
Okay. Now aside from the eating questions (what, you're saying you didn't eat an entire candy bar today?) and some of the ones about boundaries the idea of answering those questions is appealing to someone who spends her days looking after a toddler.
What project was my priority for today and how much progress did I make on it? I wanted to get the bedroom cleaned up and to take the goodwill pile to the goodwill. I bagged it up and separated it out but didn't actually deliver it. And I put away all of the laundry for good measure.
What happened today that I enjoyed and appreciated that had nothing to do with me? Today Claire went to the beach without me. I had a doctor's appointment so she went to the beach with her friends Maggie and Jane. I hear she had a wonderful time. I am so pleased that she had fun but there is a small part of my heart that is sad that she didn't need me at all. I was reading on the couch looking out for her when she got back and when I saw her little pink tutu-ed body out the window as she got out the car my heart did a little leap inside.
I won't bore you with the answers to all of the questions (that would make for a very long blog post) but I did think that if I took the time each night to answer all of those questions it might be a little easier to remember that my life has great meaning.
What about you? What are you proudest of today? What made you feel loved and appreciated?
And the nice thing about these questions is that you don't have to fess up that you took a nap on the couch while your living room looked like this.
Sallee, I really appreciate this post! Answering those questions would remind us of the meaning and joy in our lives. Not that we don't recognize those things, but they can get lost on a daily basis. Since having a baby, I realized how important it was to accomplish one goal per day and it really fulfills me!
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