Say Good by to the Summer You and Hello to the Fall You

It's time to turn the page on the calendar and to take a look back at the past three months and notice what happened.  Vacations, time away from routine and schedules, carefree attitudes, farmers' markets, flesh-baring clothing, bare feet in the grass, long, hot days...  Maybe it was the best three months of the year for you?  Maybe as you reflect on your life since Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day, you feel ready to usher in a new season?  Either way, we can all benefit from perspective, free of judgment or criticism, about where we were, how far we've come and where we'd like to go.

As sure as the sun rises every day and sets every night, there is an energy that comes with "something new."  When we start something new, there is an inherent hope that it will go well.  We have high expectations and plans for ourselves to do just that.  Unfortunately, not all fresh starts are good ones. There are plenty of false starts followed by readjustments and reality checks that come along too. The trick is to focus on the positivity that comes from making a change for the better.  The trick is to use the benefit of experience to redirect efforts in the right direction.  The trick is to be aware that change--no matter how much we want it--doesn't equal easy.  The trick is to keep going and keep redirecting until we get to that place we'd really like to be.

If the past three months were not your favorite regarding weight loss, weight maintenance or self improvement, the time is now to take stock and focus/refocus and commit/recommit to making a fresh start.  Learning from experience, gaining valuable perspective and channeling that wisdom into action--starting now--is the focus.

I read a book more than twenty years ago by John Kabatt Zinn, titled "Wherever You Go, There You Are."  How true.  No matter what, we come back to ourselves, our heart's desire, our passion for a better, healthier, longer, fitter, slimmer, more balanced, less stressful life.  It is always calling to us, because we want it so much.  It is always important to us because nothing less will satisfy.  Stay grounded in the present moment and take action.  Take a healthy step forward to finding the healthier, fitter, slimmer, more balanced, less stressful YOU.