The research shows...

I sat this morning readying myself for my morning writing practice as I normally do, a quick perusal over top news stories. I like to run through headlines and see if there’s anything that sparks my interest and would be relevant to readers.

Well today, the headline was shocking: Combining Carbs w/ Diet Soda May Cause Metabolic Syndrome.

My mind went into overdrive thinking of how to get in front of this and assure my clients that having a Diet Coke with lunch is not what’s responsible for their weight. So I started digging for the study to start breaking it down. Well, there’s no link to the study in any of the articles but what’s more important was my response. In fact, my inability to find the study might be what saved my morning.

I fell into an emotional reaction and behaved irrationally based on a headline. I was acting on the presumption of how others might react instead of continuing with my scheduled activity.

Think about how that can parallel our relationship with food. We have a plan and we are set for our day but something comes along to jolt our comfort and we act on emotion. We jump to conclusions and reach for comfort.

Be aware of the genesis of your decisions and whether they are in line with your values. Are you interrupting your plan for the day as you look to put out fires of your own making? Are you projecting the behavior of others with no evidence? If so, pause. Breathe. Be present in your situation and practice acceptance.

And don’t base any life decisions on one study.