Thoughts on Continuing...

For me, I am going to get out of this thinking of "restarting" and "new beginning" only because it implys that I have stopped. We cannot ever, ever think that we have stopped....even when we are at Weight Goal and on maintenance.

This is definitely an ongoing process...there is a beginning - but there is no end. The minute you decide to take control of your weight you are on a journey of self-discovery which will be forever. Liken it to having all the money you'll ever need to travel and see the world. New places - new people - new foods - new cultures - new ideas - new music - new hobbies - new experiences to enhance your life. If this was your dream -- to travel the 7 seas -- and you finally had the time and money to do it -- you woudln't stop, would you??? You'd live your passion.

So, every day we continue on our personal journey...and every day affords us an opportunity to move forward toward the life we were meant to live. It doesn't matter what the days and weeks are like.

Whether it be good days and bad days.

Whether it be exercise or no exercise.

Whether it be "I don't care and I'm gonna eat" or "I'm in control."

Whether it be "I am too embarrassed to go to myWW meeting" or "I'm going no matter what."

Whether it be reach Lifetime and maintain or have something happen to you in life and regain a bit and return to WW so you can be reminded why you did this in the first place.

All these things are necessary steps. Necessary assignments to keep us moving forward. I consider them rest-stops. Like the "pause" button on my remote control. I cannot ever, ever think that any of the above scenarios means I have turned back and am back to the beginning...no, no, no.

Starting this week, I have started to say "I am continuing..." or "I am ready to continue"...."I am resuming"..."I am going on...I am proceeding to..."

I find that this statement in a subtle way acknowledges my success to date... the little changes I have made this week in my thinking and exercise and eating to "continue" on my quest to remove these pounds once and for all... makes me feel good about myself.

Continue connotes movement forward. When I say to myself "today I continue on my journey" --for some odd reason, I feel empowered. I take ownership of all my accomplishments up to this point. I acknowledge that I did something yesterday to better myself. I become grounded in how far I've grown as a person. My passion is reignited. My motivation is jump-started. My "can do this" positive thinking goes into high gear. My "it's possible" is reaffirmed.

I have discovered that every time I have used the phrase "recommitted" or "start anew" I had this little sense of defeat. I sighed and started the "shoulda, woulda, coulda" mind shuffle. I would say to myself: If only I had done this a little better, if only I had tried a little harder, I wouldn't STILL have these pounds to lose.

In short, I started to beat myself up.

So, now I say...okay I've regrouped and had it with this rest-stop. It's time to keep going. What do I want next? I want to achieve my 10% difference.

So, let's stop thinking about restarting and recommiting.  Let's keep going. Let's write the next chapter. Let's resume pursuing our individual goals. Let's move forward together.

Adopt this attitude to your life, too. Get out of the safe harbor and go into the wilderness of the unknown. What's my next destination on my life's itinerary...where do I want to go? What do I want to learn? Whom do I want to meet? What do I want to experience?

Continued success!

Love to you all,

Rosie (A WW Leader friend of Wayne)