Prompt – What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

I have already spoken on the roughness of the year.

I have already spoken of how instrumental being aware can be.

I have spoken on what support can do for you.  Or have I?

Let’s talk about something I appreciate, and if it wasn’t for this one aspect of my life, I don’t think I could have made it through the year in one piece.  Plain and simple it’s SUPPORT.

If it wasn’t the support that I got from being a member of Happily Thinner After, I really don’t know where I would be.  What were the different aspects of support that kept me sane?

• Accountability – just the mere fact that I had to report in as a coach daily to my clients and weekdays to Boot Camp prohibited me from wallowing in self-pity and feeling of unworthiness.  At least every day when I woke up I had a purpose, I had a plan, somewhere I could feel needed and appreciated (oops, there is that word!!!) without judgment or questions – just a place where I was expected to be.

• Camaraderie – this can surface as any other type of word and mean the same thing, companionship, friendship, community, wherever you feel a sense of belonging, that you are a part of something no matter where you are in life.  It’s such a great feeling to be a part of a group that really, there is nothing new, there isn’t one person on the forums that cannot empathize with you at the very moment you find yourself in.  There are kindred spirits flowing in abundance there, that cannot be beat.

• Encouragement – when I was really at a low point, and I decided to be vulnerable and announce to my cohorts on the forums where I found myself when I left my husband, how the feelings were of hurt, of unworthiness, of shame, of anger, of sorrow, when I allowed my core to be exposed like that, the out pouring of encouragement, the stories of being in the same boat and surviving (and even some being better off because of it) were more than enough to get me and keep me going.  THAT is what support is all about, and for that, I am appreciative.

So yeah, the community at Happily Thinner After is what I have come to appreciate most in the past year, and I express that gratitude by getting my butt in gear and giving back to them.

What have you appreciated most about this year?

Prompt – When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?

Now why couldn’t this have come yesterday?  ::giggle:

The prompt is right on when it says that aspirations are nothing without action.  However, let’s take it a step further that there is no action without a plan.

Enter in the phrase “physician heal thyself” – yeah, you all will say a big I TOLD YOU SO when this post is done.  I preach a lot to my clients and Boot Camp members the value of being proactive – and all that means in simple terms is to have a plan, and then STICK to the plan.

I was reminded this last week of how incredibly useful this one thing is in accomplishing any task.

Earlier this year, I learned about CK’s little exercise that she calls the “Sunday Summit” in which she has her clients spend just 30 minutes every Sunday to plan out the week.  What is quite amazing is that she only wants us to focus on 3 things to accomplish – not much right?  But for those of us that are perfectionists out there, it’s MONUMENTAL to just pick three things, and then she adds a caveat, one of them must be focused on ME, geesh, narrow it down just a bit more why don’t you???

I have been a bit haphazard about doing it, but with the accountability group that I am with now, I pretty much felt compelled to get it done.

And boy am I glad I did, cause I gotta tell you, it worked!!!  I got a whole mess of things done this week!!!

• My Facebook page is done and if you want to venture over there to LIKE it, it would be awesome!
• My Blog had a face lift, and for those that only get my posts via an eMail, take a gander when you can!
• My NEWSLETTER is finally going LIVE!!!  It’s been three years in the making, and it’s finally here – so again, for those of you that only get my blog posts from a reader or through the email, visit one of two places mentioned above to sign up for The Biz Buzz – Your Nutritional Wake Up Call – or the front page of Happily Thinner After.

So truly, what a great motivator to continue to use the Sunday Summit as a tool to get things done.

And yes, one of those three things were to take care of ME, and I am happy to report that I did indeed take care of me this week, to the tune of 2.6 lbs lost!  YIPPEE!!!

So it’s Monday – can you think of three things you would like to accomplish this week?

Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. ~  Benjamin Disraeli (British Prime Minister and Novelist)

Profound eh?  We are responsible for our own happiness, plain and simple.  We control and create our own futures, including any and all happiness attained.

No more blaming this person or that situation, no more excuses that this thing is standing in your way or reasons WHY you are the way you are.

Do you find yourself stuck in a rut when it comes to protocol?  Do you find that you just can’t get the mojo back to do another round?  Do you find that you are getting tired of ‘dieting’, or what I usually call ‘diet fatigue’?  Do you sometimes get resentful that nothing seems to be working on the weight control front, that you are seem to be playing with the same few pounds over and over again?

Have you seriously taken action to get yourself out of the above?

You and only YOU can move yourself past that.  It’s all about you making the choice and then taking the action.

For some of us, that means getting CLEAR about it first.  Can’t take any sort of action until you get clear where you want to go.  You can’t just say “I gotta drop some weight by the holidays” – you have to come up with a clear and concise plan of action to get it done.  That might mean sitting down with a pen and paper and mapping out a schedule … then setting up a menu … then making out a shopping list (and actually SHOPPING) … then prepare yourself for the obstacles that might come in your way (geesh!  I just got invited to a night out with the girls, I can’t say no to that, they might think blah blah blah) … the following through with your plan no matter what comes your way.

Those steps bring happiness – those things produce results that bring a feeling of accomplishment that motivate you to do it again.

My 5 gratefuls:

1. Can you even believe it?  3rd day of blogging!  YIPPEE!!!
2. Enjoying a wonderful morning doing volunteer work with friends and family – weather was BEAUTIFUL!!!
3. Baby girl is finally her old self again!
4. Actually pulled out my crochet stuff – THIS WAS HUGE – and did a little bit this evening!!!
5. TOOK A NAP!!!  ::giggle::