Emotional Intelligence- the ability to accurately perceive emotions, understand their meanings, use them, and manage them in productive ways.
This month of January my one little word is showing up at the table. Being mindful of the sensory experience of eating is one step but I believe I also need to address the emotional smorgasbord I deal with from meal to meal and in-between.
Too often the business of eating is about calming my stress. Teaching and talking with people all day makes me conform to my goals and intentions. When it is time for a meal I have the desire to rebel. Worse is that often I have the desire to vegetate, the exact opposite of being mindful. What I know is often over-shadowed by what I want. Take for example my decision yesterday to have hot chocolate after dinner. I made a conscious choice to avoid added sugar this month. I have not had candy, pastries, cookies, at all. Except, last night, I decide to rebel. In hindsight I see that the day required much of my emotional intelligence. I played the organ for church, taught a spiritual lesson to 18 people, made dinner for six, and entertained three granddaughters for the rest of the afternoon while their dads watched football. I enjoyed it all but I was emotionally finished. Making wise decisions with an emotional intelligence deficit is impossible.
"The goal is to take care of the business of the body-to feed it well and negotiate the best deal for your health and well-being"
More about mindfulness here.
I too have been avoiding sugar this month. I have found the more you eat it, the more you want. I've found the same to be true about processed foods. Our friend Gretchen Rubin says it's what you do the majority of the time that matters more than what you do every now and then. I'm quick to beat myself up because I tend to be an all or nothing person. I'm slowly changing this. I've been mindful of my eating this month and with the help of Weight Watchers I'm getting close to my goal weight. I'm hoping I don't have to pay tomorrow when I go to my meeting!
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