Submission: The importance of consequences
I looked up from my laptop at the wide vintage clock hanging by the wall above the TV. Five minutes to eleven. Before I had a chance, an evil pop-up bloomed on my screen, a reminder I had another meeting in five minutes. I opened my calendar which was jam-packed, back-to-back meetings, not even a single breather.
I rushed towards the coffee machine, pushing a Keurig pod in the groove, and tore open a box of Belvita biscuits while the machine whirred, filling the mug up to the rim with delicious caffeine – my first shot for the day. I picked the mug up and drifted back to the couch.
I dialled into the audio conference and as others joined the meeting, I stayed on mute, munching the breakfast biscuits and sipping coffee before it was time for me to share the screen and explain the presentation I had created. When I next blinked my eyes, it was three in the afternoon and my stomach was rumbling. I pressed the shiny button at the edge of my teal leather couch to adjust the recline to a sitting position and got up, but my legs felt jammed, my knees blocked.
What!
Even my grandmother had no issues getting up from a couch, but I couldn’t? How was that possible?
I had no time to think about such trivial matters and hobbled towards the fridge, retrieving a frozen pizza and popping it in the oven, returning to my laptop to respond to the eight emails lingering in my mailbox. Another message appeared at the corner of the screen. It was my boss.
“Is the file ready?”
No, it wasn’t.
“Yes, just half an hour more.” I typed back.
When the pizza was baked, I didn’t bother to slice it up nicely but tore it into four random sized pieces and carried the plate back to the couch, eating while I typed away at the keyboard, my eyes glued to the numbers on the spreadsheet, hoping that they looked correct before I sent the file to him.
When other team members were offline, no one needed me any more, and it was well past six, I shut off my laptop, and prepared a nice cup of Twinings Earl Grey for myself, sipping it slowly to help unwind myself. The remote lying on the centre table waved at me, trying its best to grab my attention. How could I ignore it?
I picked it up and switched on the TV, flipping between Netflix and Amazon videos, trying to find something engrossing. Yes, the Monk.
One episode. Two episodes. Three episodes.
I felt a familiar tug inside me. Oh! it was dinner time, and I was hungry again. I had no strength to get up, chop vegetables, stand in the kitchen and prepare a meal. I rather lifted my phone, opened the Postmates app and ordered a zucchini grille burger with tomato basil soup. When the order arrived, I nibbled at it while sitting at the left corner of the same teal couch, binge-watching Netflix until it was time to sleep.
The next morning, it was a repeat affair. After days, weeks and months of shuffling from one crazy meeting to another, feeding myself with burgers, pizzas and noodles, and gobbling up endless Netflix shows, my body wasn’t mine anymore and my couch had sunk from one side.
I had put on 12 pounds, gained inches around my waist that I had to buy new clothes after every few months and my trouser size spiked from 2 to 8. My legs jammed often, knee pain was common and my arms couldn’t hold grocery bags from the car to the apartment. I was just 32 years old. I felt 82.
It was time I decided to change my life. I decided I would cook food daily, and exercise at least thrice a week but just like new year resolutions, it was a mere dream. When the pressure of meetings and stress of files weighed in, my motivation fizzled out.
When another wave of ‘What am I doing with my life?’ hit me, I searched online and found an accountability buddy on Reddit – a lady from Manhattan who wanted me to ask about her website every day, monitoring how much work she had done. In return, I was supposed to hit the gym at least thrice a week. It worked. But it worked only for a couple of weeks. Whenever I was too tired, I made an excuse and she was fine with it, encouraging me to try better. And I never tried better the next day. I definitely lacked the motivation to take care of myself.
Why was I so good at my office work? Why was I a star there and got promotion after promotion? Because I was dedicated. Because I had goals and someone was monitoring them.
What if I had goals for my health and someone was monitoring them as well?
This idea was like a seed in my mind and I googled, looking for someone who was ready to take me for such a program. My search was over when I stumbled across disciplinarianservices.com
I was wary of reaching out to a stranger but was desperate to change my life that I drafted an email and pressed the send button. Within a few hours, I got the reply, and I found Sir.
We worked together and created a plan where I had a fixed number of steps I had to walk every day. Eat healthy – fruits, veggies, proteins etc and I drafted a tracker to monitor the tasks – turning them red or green based on completion status.
But it was not just any random plan or a wishlist – the thousands I had created and trashed till now. It was the real deal. I was held accountable for my goals, and any rule that was broken earned me a punishment. Now, instead of worrying about my unnecessary meetings, I focussed on my meals, my exercises, my fitness, my life.
Fast forward to three months, I haven’t skipped a single breakfast, cook proper meals, and eat healthily. I wanted to exercise thrice a week, and now I exercise every day with no break, not even Sundays. I’m not allowed to sit on that couch anymore.
When I get up, I make my bed, get dressed and sit on a table and chair to work. I do not use any social media during work hours.
I already feel better, have more strength in my body and I’m active the entire day. My priorities have changed.
It’s easy to feel lazy again and slack on the goals, but Sir is always there to ensure that I stick to the rules.
Well, the journey has just begun and miles to go!
I rushed towards the coffee machine, pushing a Keurig pod in the groove, and tore open a box of Belvita biscuits while the machine whirred, filling the mug up to the rim with delicious caffeine – my first shot for the day. I picked the mug up and drifted back to the couch.
I dialled into the audio conference and as others joined the meeting, I stayed on mute, munching the breakfast biscuits and sipping coffee before it was time for me to share the screen and explain the presentation I had created. When I next blinked my eyes, it was three in the afternoon and my stomach was rumbling. I pressed the shiny button at the edge of my teal leather couch to adjust the recline to a sitting position and got up, but my legs felt jammed, my knees blocked.
What!
Even my grandmother had no issues getting up from a couch, but I couldn’t? How was that possible?
I had no time to think about such trivial matters and hobbled towards the fridge, retrieving a frozen pizza and popping it in the oven, returning to my laptop to respond to the eight emails lingering in my mailbox. Another message appeared at the corner of the screen. It was my boss.
“Is the file ready?”
No, it wasn’t.
“Yes, just half an hour more.” I typed back.
When the pizza was baked, I didn’t bother to slice it up nicely but tore it into four random sized pieces and carried the plate back to the couch, eating while I typed away at the keyboard, my eyes glued to the numbers on the spreadsheet, hoping that they looked correct before I sent the file to him.
When other team members were offline, no one needed me any more, and it was well past six, I shut off my laptop, and prepared a nice cup of Twinings Earl Grey for myself, sipping it slowly to help unwind myself. The remote lying on the centre table waved at me, trying its best to grab my attention. How could I ignore it?
I picked it up and switched on the TV, flipping between Netflix and Amazon videos, trying to find something engrossing. Yes, the Monk.
One episode. Two episodes. Three episodes.
I felt a familiar tug inside me. Oh! it was dinner time, and I was hungry again. I had no strength to get up, chop vegetables, stand in the kitchen and prepare a meal. I rather lifted my phone, opened the Postmates app and ordered a zucchini grille burger with tomato basil soup. When the order arrived, I nibbled at it while sitting at the left corner of the same teal couch, binge-watching Netflix until it was time to sleep.
The next morning, it was a repeat affair. After days, weeks and months of shuffling from one crazy meeting to another, feeding myself with burgers, pizzas and noodles, and gobbling up endless Netflix shows, my body wasn’t mine anymore and my couch had sunk from one side.
I had put on 12 pounds, gained inches around my waist that I had to buy new clothes after every few months and my trouser size spiked from 2 to 8. My legs jammed often, knee pain was common and my arms couldn’t hold grocery bags from the car to the apartment. I was just 32 years old. I felt 82.
It was time I decided to change my life. I decided I would cook food daily, and exercise at least thrice a week but just like new year resolutions, it was a mere dream. When the pressure of meetings and stress of files weighed in, my motivation fizzled out.
When another wave of ‘What am I doing with my life?’ hit me, I searched online and found an accountability buddy on Reddit – a lady from Manhattan who wanted me to ask about her website every day, monitoring how much work she had done. In return, I was supposed to hit the gym at least thrice a week. It worked. But it worked only for a couple of weeks. Whenever I was too tired, I made an excuse and she was fine with it, encouraging me to try better. And I never tried better the next day. I definitely lacked the motivation to take care of myself.
Why was I so good at my office work? Why was I a star there and got promotion after promotion? Because I was dedicated. Because I had goals and someone was monitoring them.
What if I had goals for my health and someone was monitoring them as well?
This idea was like a seed in my mind and I googled, looking for someone who was ready to take me for such a program. My search was over when I stumbled across disciplinarianservices.com
I was wary of reaching out to a stranger but was desperate to change my life that I drafted an email and pressed the send button. Within a few hours, I got the reply, and I found Sir.
We worked together and created a plan where I had a fixed number of steps I had to walk every day. Eat healthy – fruits, veggies, proteins etc and I drafted a tracker to monitor the tasks – turning them red or green based on completion status.
But it was not just any random plan or a wishlist – the thousands I had created and trashed till now. It was the real deal. I was held accountable for my goals, and any rule that was broken earned me a punishment. Now, instead of worrying about my unnecessary meetings, I focussed on my meals, my exercises, my fitness, my life.
Fast forward to three months, I haven’t skipped a single breakfast, cook proper meals, and eat healthily. I wanted to exercise thrice a week, and now I exercise every day with no break, not even Sundays. I’m not allowed to sit on that couch anymore.
When I get up, I make my bed, get dressed and sit on a table and chair to work. I do not use any social media during work hours.
I already feel better, have more strength in my body and I’m active the entire day. My priorities have changed.
It’s easy to feel lazy again and slack on the goals, but Sir is always there to ensure that I stick to the rules.
Well, the journey has just begun and miles to go!
