Every now and then, I get a notification that someone has tagged me in a photo on facebook. The image shown in in this post was taken by my friend, Ann Lightfoot, at a recent New Media Cincinnati Meetup.
When I got the email notice, I figured I’d check it out. When the picture pulled up in my browser, I noticed that Ann had written something in the description of the photo that said… “Cliff has been very inspiring this year!”
I took a look at the photo and could hardly recognize the man in the picture. But it is me! I mean it IS me!!! I’ve changed so much since May 1st of this year. Of course I’m posting this after one of the most horrible weeks since May 1st. In fact, this is the first week where I’ve actually gained weight. (I gained 1 pound this week).
But it’s photos like this that just speak volumes to me about who I am today and how far I’ve come in my pursuit of a more balanced life. It was just about a year or so ago that I was tagged in this photo from Podcamp NYC.
It was photos like this that communicated a lot about who I was then. I didn’t like what my physical appearance said about who I was. As a husband and father, those older photos communicated that I had not made my wife and children a priority in my life because I obviously wasn’t taking care of myself so that I could live a longer life so that I would be able to provide for their needs for a much longer period of time.
Back in those days, I literally looked like I could suffer from a heart attack at any given moment. And for the past ten to 15 years of my life, these are the only types of photos I’ve ever seen of myself.
However, things have changed. Today, I see someone take a photo of me and I’m somewhat eager to see how it turns out. I mean I still have quite a ways to go to get to a place where I’m physically fit. But I’m on that journey and I’m thankful for the photos that show my progress along the way.
