"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” Mark Victor Hansen

Boy, this quote hit home. I can't even count how many times I've said to myself, 'I'll start exercising at the beginning of the new year" "I'll work on my weight after the holidays"... It's always sometime in the future, when the conditions will be ideal and the perceived temptations will be gone. But I know different; there is no better time than the present to take that first step. No doubt about it--I'm scared, I've tried and failed so many times--but I'm also committed to making a better life for myself, to become stronger and more self-confident. So I'm making a commitment to myself--I will NOT focus on my past. I will find positive things I've done each day, write them down, and say them out loud no matter how small (today I didn't even venture down the "goodie" isle in the grocery store--maybe insignificant for you, but a big deal for me, I love the smells). I will set, and focus on, reasonable goals and praise myself for each victory, I'm not naive, there will be ups and downs and I'll work through them, but at the end of the day, when all is said and done, I know I will succeed.

Hi McC

I really like how you are so in tuned with your *self*! Yes, the past is in the past and like many of us we set ourselves up to fail each time we give ourselves a new start date for making the changes. I know that I too am guilty of doing the very same thing. Procrastination at its finest and I have the art of procrastination down to a tee. Like you, I have seen how that’s been working for me! LOL I too know that there will be days in which I struggle. But gosh, if we didn’t have struggles now and then we would not really appreciate the times when we are successful? Understanding our past allows us to change our future and living in the moment allows us the ability to create our moments. So many people think that having weight loss surgery fixes all the wrongs in their lives. This isn’t so people! What issues you had before the surgery are still goanna be there after surgery. Only way to resolve the issues is to really look at your past issues and find resolutions and acceptance. Then work on changes, one step at a time and before we know it all the hard work has paid off and we are living our best life!!!

Thanks for sharing Mac!