Life is a constant game of debt. Every decision you make, every action you take, no matter how small, matters.

That extra cheeseburger at McDonalds today isn’t going to hurt right? That extra hour of mindless television is needed to de-stress even though you have a looming deadline correct?

Here is what happens. That extra cheeseburger turns into a regular part of your meal choice. That extra hour of TV every night turns into a daily habit. The small decisions we make and actions we take compound one after another until we are in a hole that seems impossible to dig out of. It’s like a game of debt. The more debt we owe the harder it is to pay that back. Charging $25 dollars to the credit card doesn’t seem like a big deal at the time but it compounds little by little until it can be overwhelming and all consuming.

I have had to learn this the hard way. I was the guy that would constantly convince myself that the choices I made on a daily basis wouldn’t hurt. Like most people, I have a couple of bad habits that no matter how much I know I need to work on, I don’t. I was constantly convincing myself that that those small daily decisions wouldn’t hurt in the long run…

I can almost guarantee all of us know and understand our bad habits even more intimately than the good ones. As much as we try to hide the bad, they end up standing out to others more than the good. We evaluate our bad habits and get stuck in what can seem like a never ending loop of evaluating ways to fix them.

None of us will ever be perfect, and you shouldn’t expect to be. But there are three things I have learned in winning the game of debt.

1. There will never be an excavator available to cover the hole you created. You have to be willing to take the shovel yourself and fill it in one scoop at a time.

   My story to defeating obesity is as cliché as it comes, but it fits this analogy perfectly. After years of unhealthy living I had dug a pretty big hole for myself when it came to my health. This was to a point where there was starting to be areas of concern with my bloodwork at annual checkups. I had spent years trying to figure out an easy fix to my issue. The only only obvious solution was a little self control and a willingness to get my ass in gear. I dropped 80 pounds in about a 6 month period through no other solution than hard work and determination, day, after day, after day, after day. I had to be willing to say no to that extra helping at the family BBQ. I had to be willing to get up and go running even if it was pouring rain. I had to train my mind to be okay with being uncomfortable constantly, and eventually it adapted.

2. You have to be willing to take complete and total responsibility for your actions before you can ever make any progress forward.

   I knew my health had gotten out of control, but I was in self denial. There was always some excuse. I am so busy at work that I don’t have time to exercise. My doctoral work is all I ever do, I never have time to focus on my health. With the kids, I don’t have time to dedicate toward healthy options when preparing meals. The moment I was willing to take responsibility for my actions was the moment things started to change.

   I made the decision to make unhealthy choices when it came to the food I ate and that compounded day after day.
   I made the decision not to exercise my body on a daily basis and that compounded day after day.

   I made the decision to take back my health and strive toward a better life.

3. You have to stay ahead of your choices and put strategies in place so you don’t fall back into bad habits.

   Like I said before, none of us are perfect. The bad habits we cultivate and the weaknesses we have just don’t go away. You have to stay sharp and keep them from creeping back into your life.

   Those cravings come back every day to eat that extra brownie, or have another helping of lasagna. I know that I don’t need it, but I’m human. A little strategy and intervention helps not fall back into those bad habits. For me, if I am at a weak point, I make the conscious decision to occupy my mind somewhere else. Go for a walk, wrestle the kids, etc. Or to curb that craving, I eat something that doesn’t have a bunch of calories like a pickle, or some carrots, even an otter pop works in a pinch. Taking yourself out of that tunnel vision where you feel like you need immediate satisfaction, even for a couple of minutes, is oftentimes enough to stay sharp.

We should strive to look back on our life and say with certainty and truth…

I made it here because of my decisions!
I made it here because of my mental strength!
I made it here because I never gave up!
I believed it would add up and it did add up!

Don’t focus on who you were yesterday. What are you going to do today? Who will you become tomorrow?