The Best Advice I can Give

My wife wrote a piece about advice for new people taking up this path of healthier living so I thought I would add my own two cents (because I can never keep my mouth shut now can I).

If I were to give advice to anyone who wants to start this path of weight loss, getting healthier it would be first to orient your mind.

I know what people who read my posts are thinking. Here we go again Munkee is doing his usual mystical wissy woo nonsense. I agree on one level but its the most important thing you can do.

Its about self analysis, reflection and understanding your reasons. You have to have a mission statement that is by you, and for you. Something that you can call upon when you are feeling dark about your current position. I don't know really the best way to explain how to come up with this sort of thought process other than to really relate my starting point.

It started one day where I got angry at myself, really uncontrollably angry at myself while looking in the mirror. I saw the reflection of a now grown up hurt little boy looking back at me, carried physically in my face, and on my body. It may sound awful and hurtful but I spent a long time that day essentially cursing myself out, about how I allowed myself to get where I was, about what bothered me about it, everything I thought was wrong. As a guy I am subject to my nonsensical male ego. The thing about most guys is we like to tell ourselves lies. It makes us more comfortable to look in the mirror and no matter the reflection have a thought of "hey there sexy.. looking good".

That day, although unpleasant, was one of the first moments of true honesty with myself and my physical form. It was very brutal, I was angry with how it had become. At the same time it was one of those watershed moments where I realized I had the power to change it starting right then, in that moment.

It began with that honest brutal assessment. Then like the true problem solver that I tend to be I started to rebuild a new outlook, I was going to regain my youthful appearance, rebuild the strength in my body, and it was right there in that second. I realized it begins, sustains, and ends with me. No one can force me to change but me. Although people may suggest, it will always be a case of me making the difference.

So what first began as a brutal moment of anger evolved and morphed into power. A fire rose in my heart and I knew that it would never cease. It was right there that I looked in the mirror and said "I am the change, I have the means, Lets Go!" and often I find myself repeating those words when I feel tired or discouraged. Those days where I don't feel like strapping on the wrist/ankle weights and giving it my all, I simply take a deep breath and remember my personal motto.

I am the change, I have the means, Lets Go!

find your powerful reminder motto, and your own honest reasons for embarking on this path. That is the best advice I can give.