Mistakes. LOTS of mistakes
This afternoon I had a very distraught client tell me how he wasted his life with mistake after mistake. He self diagnosed the issue of his weight inflating to close to 400lbs as a mistake. He literally said “it has been days and years of bad choices and mistakes that have lead me here. I feel hopeless.” I have to question that theory. I asked him a series of passive questions pertaining to his diet that he LITERALLY did not know the answer to. An example of a question is “what is your average daily Caloric intake?” My client did not know the answer to my questions. My client did not make a “mistake” or even multiple “mistakes” to gain weight, he lacked knowledge. Once you have knowledge of what is best or harmful, at that point you have choices. Every one has choices. You make these choices and live with the consequences. Sometimes these consequences are good, other times not so good.
This conversation I had with my client lead me down a slippery slope of asking myself “what is a mistake.” The definition of a mistake is “an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong.” That means, I made a mistake marrying my first husband! I did not correctly judge his character and I was horribly incorrect about what a marriage truly is. It was expensive, messy,uncomfortable and stressful to leave that situation. I cried, ended up flat broke, lost all of my “married friends” and had to move to another state. In that other state, flat broke and living with my parents, my new friends decided to throw me a divorce party. In a seedy club with Excellent music and a lot of liquor- I met my future husband. I didn’t know that we were going to marry when I met him, or move to a different state, or build 2 homes, or have 2 beautiful daughters however he was in my stars. Without my divorce I would not have this life now.
I was driving down the street in an unfamiliar neighborhood and made a wrong turn. The wrong turn was most definitely a mistake. As I drove down that dark street, I found this AMAZING night club that played the best music. The singer was phenomenal. Turns out, that singer is now a multimillionaire R&B artist. I had one of the best nights of my ENTIRE life. One of those nights where your buzz is perfect, the music was perfect, the atmosphere was perfect and the people were perfect. I would never take that wrong turn back. Yes. The turn was a mistake but everything that followed was in its perfect order.
I could write a novel on the mistakes I have made in life. I went to my high-school prom with my good friend’s ex-boyfriend. That was a HUGE mistake! I learned valuable lessons on character! The list goes on and on. It is so important that we all understand that these decisions we make and paths we take are essential for growth. One day my client will look back and see that his journey lead him to me, which will lead to change and hopefully a lifelong commitment to health! Perhaps he will touch someone else’s life and inspire another person to commit to healthy change. All things happen as they should.