Could This Be My Year?

I'd like to begin my blogging for 2011 with a bit of optimism. We're eight days into February and I'm in the process of making my life better. As many of you know 2010 was not a good year for me. My grandmother passed away. I had to move yet again, and then three months into the new lease my boyfriend broke up with me. There were a few other things that happened too, but I won't bore you with the gory details. My weight-loss journey continues, but as of late I've been gaining and losing the same two or three pounds. I actually figure that's not too bad for someone who is an emotional eater and has had to deal with quite a bit of upheaval. I'm proud of the fact that I haven't let myself go and fallen back into old, self-destructive habits.

As I continue to take back control of my life, I'll be moving into a new apartment next month. It's a cute place that's very convenient with regard to getting to work via public transportation. No more waiting in the snow for the bus to come. All I have to do is walk across the street to the subway station. I already have all sorts of ideas for making it a home for me and Topaz.

After I'm settled in, it'll be time to finish up my classes for my copyediting certificate. I'm hoping to do some freelance work in that arena to earn some extra cash. Hopefully by the time spring rolls around I'll be able to meet my weight loss goal and become a Weight Watchers leader. It would bring me a great deal of joy to assist others on their journey and to let them know that although it's not easy, it is worthwhile. Maybe, just maybe by focusing on those things, I can make 2011 my year!

New Year's Resolutions are So 20th Century!

As we embark on a new year, there are many who will be performing the annual ritual of making New Year's Resolutions. We all know that they're mainly a big joke. Studies show that 82% of people who make resolutions only stick to them for a week. After that, it's pretty much a free for all. We all spent most of our lives living in the 20th century, where New Year's Resolutions were really big. The late 20th century was the age of life coaches and gurus who tried to tell you how to live your life. Well, we've been in the 21st century for a while now and it's time to set aside the concept of New Year's Resolutions. You know how you want to live your life, so you don't need a life coach or a guru to tell you how.

At Weight Watchers last night we discussed goals. For a lot of people in Weight Watchers their goal is some nebulous number that they want to reach. Many think that once they reach that goal/number, their life will magically be better than it was prior to that. They don't think about the fact that once you reach your goal, you need to continue putting in work to make sure you stay there. There is no real end of the road here on Earth until we stop living. Along the way it's necessary to set goals, come up with a plan to reach them, and then try to maintain them.

I challenge each and every one of you to set a realistic goal for the coming year. Make sure that it's something within your power to do. As you think about that goal, think about how it will benefit you. Will you be healthier? Will you have more confidence? Will you be happier? Will you be able to spend more time with those you love? When you've come up with your goal, write down the steps you'll need to take to get there. Also, think in the short-term. Break your goal down into little milestones that you'd like to reach within a certain timeframe. If you do this, you won't be overwhelmed. All of those little milestones will give you little victories to celebrate, and they will also let you know you're on the right track. For any of you that have read my previous blog entries, you know that I was never a runner, but I broke running down into small little milestones, and managed to be able to run over 3 miles. Conditioning your body for running is not easy if you've never been much of a runner, but I did it. Did I think a year ago that I could say that I ran all the way around the lake in my town? Hell no! If someone had told me that I'd not only be able to, but that I'd really want to, I would've told them that they were out of their mind! You never know what you're capable of until you try. Make this new year a great one by setting a goal for yourself. I wish you all peace, love, happiness, and prosperity.

Inspiration

Have you ever inspired somebody and not even known it? There you are going about your daily routine, trying to reach your goals, and trying to stay focused; meanwhile, someone's looking at you and what you've accomplished and deciding to take action.

That's what happened to me at my Weight Watchers meeting last night. During every meeting we do celebrations as a means of receiving positive feedback for our accomplishments, whether they be scale-related or not. Last night, during celebrations one of the other members said that she wanted to give a shoutout to me because I inspired her to start running. Prior to WW, I was not a runner at all, not even when I was younger. Back then it wasn't a matter of my being heavy (I was skinny until I was about 14), it was about me just not wanting to push myself to do it. During this past summer our WW group set individual 6 week goals and my goal was to be able to run for 15 minutes. In order to reach that goal I ran a little bit each week, increasing the amount of time until I got to 15 minutes. After I found that I could do that, I decided to push myself to run for 30 minutes. Once again, I just kept incrementally adding time until I got there. My final goal was to be able to run all the way around the lake near my apartment, which is 3.5 miles or so. A few weeks ago I was able to do it for the first time. I did it over Labor Day weekend. After that first day, I decided to do it again the next day to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Day 2 I was able to do it, so I decided to go for the hat trick and run around the lake 3 days in a row. On Day 3 I had to push myself a bit, but I still made it.

I used that story as a celebration in the meeting 2 weeks ago, and a girl in the meeting, Amy, decided that she'd give running a try. When she talked about it last night, she said that she was on a track and would run for 2 laps and walk for 1 lap. She did that 4 days in a row. She said the whole time she was doing it, she was thinking of me. That made me so happy because that was unexpected proof that I'm having a positive impact on someone else's life. I always say that when I die, I want to do so having made the world a better place for my being in it. Although things I do or achieve might not necessarily have a global impact, I'm glad that I can truly touch and inspire the individuals that come in contact with me. Not only does the fact that I inspired Amy to start running make me proud, but it also motivates me to keep reaching toward my goals.

Commitment

It's a long word with scary connotations for some, but it's also a motivator. By committing to the things you know you need to do to get the things you want, you have something to strive for. Working toward our goals keeps us sharp, focused, and happy. When we're not working toward or trying to accomplish something, we get bored and sometimes even depressed.

Committing to something doesn't carve it in stone. Instead it gives you direction and a guideline to follow. As the situation changes you can adjust your plans to accommodate it. Life is always going to manage to throw a wrench in the works at some point or other. The way that we deal when that does happen shows what we're made of. It's hard to keep moving forward when something knocks us back. After fighting the good fight over and over again, the desire to give in can become very strong. I speak from experience on this one. It's easy to take a divergent path, but if you do that, you'll have to start from square one again, which is harder than continuing when you want to quit. When you're in the moment, it's hard to remember this, but keep it tucked away in your mind so that it's handy when you need it.