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Well dear readers, it is 5:37 a.m. and I am awake. It helps that I have to be at work at 7:00. I am putting my money where my mouth is when it comes to rising early and thought it might be time to check in on my intentions and see how I am doing on my goals and intentions thus far.

Intentions- Less tv. More Books.

Well it was a rocky start, but I am happy to say in the last week, I have not watched television for three days running though Netflix has been beckoning to me with promises of British television and other entertaining fare. I have finished one book, started two more, and read a periodical.

Less talk. More Action-  Well I was awake at 5 a.m. and am actively working on my writing albeit bleary-eyed.

More face to face visits with coffee and tea. Less Facebook.

As of Saturday and Sunday, I had two face to face visits with friends and have three or four more planned. I have actively avoided posting on Facebook but am still scrolling for updates, must work on this.

More SLEEP. Well, I am up to six and a half hours of sleep a night and gaining on that eight hour mark.

I might add, my husband and I are adopting a lifestyle change to eat a paleo diet. Surprisingly, abstaining from the  restricted items on this is not as bad as I thought. Something I am discovering, is that it is only hard if you make it hard. It is only difficult if you say it is difficult. Are you detecting a theme, here?

As we say goodbye to 2012, and we move into the new year.. My, my where did the time go?  I am mindful of the different things we all do to work towards a goal. The recent Olympics serve a an excellent template for how to go for “GOLD” in your life. The time that is devoted to one simple goal, “Gold” made me realize that while obstacles may seem insurmountable, they aren’t. I find that in going for the “Gold” in your own life you can use that as a way to keep in mind the important components of that.

 G- for Good.. “Perfect is the enemy of the good”-Voltaire Sometimes you find that while you strive to be perfect, you will fail every time, but good is often enough of a move forward.

O- Be Open to Obstacles. They often help clarify something you didn’t know or expect and can be guideposts to the next step in what you want to accomplish.

L- Listen. Listen. Listen. We have one mouth and two ears, you should bear this in mind and listen twice as much as you speak. Something someone else says or does could be the key to your forward motion.

D- Dedication. Focus on your goal, ask others for help, and if necessary, rededicate yourself after a setback. Think about how you can “Go for the Gold” in your own life, work, and relationships.

Three years ago, I joined a gym. I went but not regularly and never saw a drastic weight loss.

I continued eating chocolate, fatty foods, and drinking soda because I rationalized, “I go to the gym”. It will all work out in the wash. Not so much..

Right around Thanksgiving, I gave up soda, and considering its complimentary at my workplace this is a real testament of willpower. Surprisingly enough, I don’t miss it at all.

In early December, I took a hard look at my track record. Exercise but no change in diet. Now I have a slightly better diet but no regular exercise. Obviously something has to change. Since I made that decision, its become a lot easier to avoid tempting foods, so it truly is a mind over matter situation.

As of January 1st, my husband and I will be starting a paleo regime. I am careful to call it a regime and not a diet, as my intention is a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix. In addition, I will be working with a personal trainer. I am confident that the simultaneous acts of better nutrition and better exercise regimen will result in a healthier body and weight loss. Originally my goal was to lose 50 pounds but I realize that would be selling myself short. My goal is longer life. I have lots of things to do on this planet and would hate for one too many chocolate bars to cut my life short.

I gave a homeless person 5.00 today. I don’t tell you this to brag about myself, because 5.00 isn’t really that much. Now, I don’t know if he is really homeless but he seemed to be in need and was grateful. I normally do not do that, justifying to myself, I work hard for my money why should I just give someone else that hard-earned cash? Then I stop and think, what if that were me, standing outside in the cold and rain and I had fallen down on my luck (doesn’t really take much) a job loss, a health issue. There really is a thin line between us all as humans. We all hurt, we all suffer, we all love, and we all laugh some more than others.

Yes, you and I work hard for our money but that doesn’t mean we should be miserly with it. I think about that around this time of year and I am ashamed to say this is the first Christmas that I am not thinking hard about “What am I going to get?” , I have been thinking more and more, I have everything I need. What can I do or say to give something back?

I recently joined an online group whose sole purpose is to help other achieve their fantastical, chimerical, wonderful, amazing out of this world goals that they haven’t been able to do thus far or are on the road to the goal but need a push, as they have hit a plateau. I think that two heads are better than one and four heads are better than two and so on, So I am super jazzed to start this process. It is scary but it is also so exciting to know there are so many other people out there with goals and dreams that are too scary to say out loud for fear of ridicule or comments from the peanut gallery. The way I see it, your dream lives as long as you give it life, and to give it life, you have to give it breath and to give it breath is to give it words. An example:

I want to write things that inspire people to live the life they truly want to live.

I want to lose 50 pounds.

I want to find something to do once a day that intimidates me.

What is scaring you and more importantly what plan do you have for feeling the fear, but doing it anyway? I believe in you!