I have been thinking a great deal about inertia versus inactivity. Why? Well, because, as usual I am behind on my blog posts for the A-Z Challenge, and I need something for the “I” post. Additionally, I was wondering what it takes for an hour overweight person, such as myself, to get off their rather large posterior and make changes.
What is inertia – a property of matter by which it remains at rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line unless acted upon by some external force.
OR
indisposition to motion, exertion, or change (according to Merriam-Webster.com)
I have decided I have been in a state of inertia for the last 10 years, just sitting by and watching the weight creep on, and not really caring. Or maybe I did secretly care, but because of other things going on in my life, I just didn’t have the extra energy to make changes. It takes a great deal of energy to make changes – I remember that from a Sociology class I took in college.
What is inactivity – the state of being inactive or idleness.
OR
Reluctance to take action or apathy.
I believe I have experienced inactivity, although I am always quite busy – taking care of everyone but myself. And at the end of the day, when everyone else’s needs have been met, I sank into my bed, wondering when it was going to be my time, what was it going to take to get out from under this cloud of inertia and I would plan how to be better and do better the next day, but then life rears it’s ugly head.
And so, for about the last year, I have been making the tiniest changes, little changes no one else noticed, and didn’t take away from their needs being met. Changes such as not eating as much sugar, not having a Starbucks drink every day, not eating until that sense of fullness settles in my stomach, and makes me miserable and sluggish – just minute changes, but changes nonetheless.
And then, not so long ago, when I went to see my Primary Care Provider, and there was the blood pressure scare, did I get that proverbial kick in the ass, and realized something monumental needed to be done. That “kick in the ass” was the energy I needed to get out of my state of inertia, induced the motion and eradicated the state of inactivity.
For those of us that are overweight, especially mothers and caretakers, the process of losing weight can be considered quite a selfish activity. Going to the gym, and not staying at home and doing all the chores no one else wants to do, or chooses not to do, may feel like a self-absorbed thing. Preparing healthy food that is maybe not as tasty as all the fried foods, carbohydrate-laden food and offering it to their families seems selfish as well (but is really good for everyone). Of course one could prepare multiple dinners (which I have done, but then I am in the kitchen until 10 o’clock at night and then I become resentful). Also purchasing the items to prepare healthy meals is definitely more expensive, especially if one purchases the organic, non-GMO, free-range, cage-free and antibiotic-free food.
And telling an overweight person, they are fat and sloth-like only reinforces the feeling of inertia, only adds to the state of inactivity. Its hard to overcome that. Seeing all the super-thin, fat-free models and celebrities plastered all over the media most assuredly adds to the feeling of inertia, because becoming like them seems like such an improbability and one tells themselves, “Yeah, I could be like that if I had a personal chef, a personal trainer, a housekeeper, a gardener, someone to do the laundry, and had nothing else to worry about, except for looking good. But I don’t and I won’t” and then the clouds of inertia thicken and become darker.
Something must click, and I have waited 10 years for that click to occur inside my brain. But that cloud of inertia is lifting, I am over the whole “being selfish to my family” and I suddenly feel like I might be regaining control of my life. Now I just need to keep the momentum going, and not let that inertia and inactivity seep its way back into my life.
To sum it all up, I have developed a diagram. I like diagrams.
Inertia ———-> Inactivity———-> Kick in the Ass ———> Desire to Change ——->Activity
Photo credits:
adlerscience.wikispaces.com
cielitolindoranch.org
bellarmine.edu
chicagonow.com