Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?
For a lot of people, that’s it in a nutshell.
Not calories, not fats, not bad foods or good foods. Just one simple question: are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?
Let me explain.
If you watched PrimeTime with Diane Sawyer last night, you met Randy Pausch. He’s a former computer science professor from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
He’s dying of pancreatic cancer.
So what does that have to do with losing weight?
Nothing… And Everything…
Here’s a guy with a beautiful wife whom he clearly loves… and three adorable children, two of whom are so young they may not remember Randy as they get older.
He gave his last lecture at the university in September 2007. He could have pitied himself… but no, he’s a Tigger right to the end.
You see, his philosophy for living life is this: you can be a Tigger — upbeat, bouncy, looking for adventure and the good in things — or you can be an Eeyore — pessimistic, gloomy, always looking at the dark side.
In case you’re not familiar with Tigger and Eeyore, they’re characters from A.A. Milne’s book series, Winnie-the-Pooh.
The lesson to be learned from Randy isn’t how to physically lose weight; it’s how to approach life so that you can lose weight.
Now I’m not talking about eating too much at Thanksgiving and putting on a few extra pounds. I’m talking about people who’ve battled weight problems most or even all of their lives.
We all know that battle is not about calories; it’s about self-esteem, loneliness, heartache. Even depression.
It’s About How You Choose To Live Your Life
Do you avoid going to the beach because you look too fat in your bathing suit?
Do you crawl into bed for 2 days and hide under the covers because you cheated on your diet?
Do you cry when people make cruel or thoughtless remarks about your weight?
Then I’d like you to watch Randy Pausch’s last lecture. It’s about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Don’t take phone calls. Don’t check your email. Just watch.
And as Randy says at the end: there’s a head fake. Two, actually.
But here’s the first one. The lecture isn’t about losing weight or making your childhood dreams come true. But once you realize what the lecture is about, you’ll have the ability to do both.
And in case you’re thinking it’s different for Randy, that everyone is rallying around him… you should read some of the comments on YouTube.
Heartless, cruel comments like, “Isn’t this guy dead yet?”, and jerks who claim his lecture was for his ego.
But most have been inspired. I believe you will be, too.
I’ve embedded the video below. If it takes too long to load, then watch it at YouTube by clicking this link:
