Overwhelmed by Starfish

By , SparkPeople Blogger
Editor's Note: At the Spark Your Life Convention in Cincinnati this fall, we were lucky enough to hear from a panel of talented, inspiring and successful members. One member in particular stole our hearts. The video of her story, along with some of her best one-liners can be found here. She wanted to share this essay.

by Beth Donovan (~INDYGIRL)

So many times I’ve started the new year with hope and aspirations to really change my life for good this year. All it is going to take is some willpower and a can-do attitude until I’m on top of the world. It’s maybe a few weeks or months until I realize that a life overhaul is very strenuous and takes more energy than I can afford with the rest of life banging on the door. Family and job take priority and soon I find myself slacking on exercise and recharging my batteries on vending machine fare. Career, family, dealing with life and emotions all take over my best laid plans. I know I have to do something. So, sometimes… most times, I’ve done nothing.

What if it were hot and dry, and water were scarce? If I set a bowl outside, it would collect water from eventual rain. That bowl would be filled--it would be filled by lots of tiny raindrops. Raindrops are pretty small things, but they could make a big impact on someone’s thirst if collected.

The question is: “Do I want to set my bowl outside?”

With health and fitness, a little goes a long way. Studies have shown that losing just 10% of your body weight vastly improves your health and chances of avoiding diseases such as Type 2 diabetes. Maybe you aren’t at the stage where you can stick to a particular calorie range, but you might be able to eat smaller meals through the day and do so off of smaller plates. If you are disabled, maybe you can’t do traditional exercise, but get creative and find things you can do. The trick is to move any way you can. Your doctor might even prescribe in-home physical therapy. That’s how I got started. Studies also show that small amounts of exercise throughout the day are as effective as the equivalent time in one session.

Doing nothing because I can only do a little is very unfulfilling. The quote “You can’t save the world, but you can help those around you” hit home with me. I may not be able to do everything, but I can do something.

Quick story: A little girl is hurrying along picking up starfish that have washed up on the beach. A passer-by observes her throwing them back into the water one after another. He asks her why she is bothering, reasoning to her that there are so many that it won’t make any difference. The little girl tells him “To the one I throw back, it makes all the difference.”

When life seems to overwhelm you, what makes the difference to you?

Beth Donovan lives in Indianapolis and has lost more than 110 pounds using SparkPeople.com during her two years on the site. She has gone from being immobile to using a wheelchair to using a walker, which she calls "Freedom."