One day at a time: A tribute to my late mother-in-law

It’s been one year since we said goodbye to an extraordinary woman and my every day hero – my late mother-in-law, Cathy Coffin.

Diagnosed at nineteen with a rare autoimmune condition, she experienced a slow and steady loss of her physical capabilities throughout her entire life, which ended shortly after celebrating her 59th birthday.

As we greeted over two thousand people who came out to pay their respects, I couldn’t help but notice a pattern in the conversation.

She was always smiling. She never complained. She was so positive.

I can attest to all of the above. Never before have I met someone with a healthier outlook on life despite being sick and in pain for forty years.

Was it luck? Was she just born with a positive disposition? How did she defy the odds?Those who knew Cathy will tell you that she took it “one day at a time.” This was the mantra she lived by, and the incredible legacy she left for all of us.As outlined in their book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, Chip and Dan Heath argue that one of the best ways to put large obstacles into perspective is to shrink them down.Shrink the ProblemCathy’s “one day at a time” philosophy is a classic example of shrinking the problem. She reduced a lifetime of physical pain and suffering to a single day. Why? Because she knew she could handle a single day. And the next day she’d do it all over again.Inspired by Cathy, I have made this concept a key component of how I teach people to eat real food.One Meal at a TimeUnderstandably, most people get a bit overwhelmed when they think ahead to a lifetime of healthy meal choices. My advice: ”Just take it one meal at a time.”

Most people feel they can eat healthy for one meal, and usually they’re right. But if one meal becomes two, and two becomes three, before long they will build up the identity of someone who eats real food.

Just like Cathy built up an identity of someone who remained positive and empowered against all odds.

RIP Cathy Coffin