The Story Behind Rocket Nutrition by Sheryl Louise Moller

As second graders, we had these incredibly fun paper rockets that were taped to the wall to signify our progress in math. Every day, the teacher would move everyone else’s rocket a little closer to the moon at the top of the wall. For some reason, my rocket never moved. I would stare at my rocket all day, silently begging for it to shoot toward the moon by sheer force of will. But it never budged.

And hereʼs why: Because nobody had ever explained to me WHY some rockets moved and others didnʼt. I didnʼt understand that there was a connection between successfully completing my math assignments and satisfying rocket mobility. Somehow, I thought you could move your rocket by WANTING it to move. So I spent all my time staring at my rocket instead of learning my equations, and I never got anywhere…except to a feeling of frustration and failure.

Obviously, this is not a story about my being bad at math (a subject I have yet to master). However, this IS a story about diet and nutrition, and about the trap we have all fallen into at times — believing that we can change our bodies and our lives just by sheer force of concentrated will. Fiercely focused will is not enough. We also need guidance, information, tools, assistance — and we need somebody to help us finally draw the connection between actions and results.