I wondered what I was going to share with you, all of this week.  Food, portions, supplements, exercise, water, personal accountability.  It all matters, that’s for sure.  My opinion is that it all begins with personal accountability which has so many pieces to it.  It is being accountable that has us being mindful of our food choices, our portion sizes, our water, exercise and supplements; however - personal accountability has a deeper meaning and impact in my life.  Personal accountability means that I have to know, acknowledge, and share the fact that I must take care of ME FIRST.  I have to value myself and my health; love myself enough to make changes in my day to day life that may impact others as they benefit me.

Others may not like that I go to the gym every morning and am not available to take them here or there, watch their children, or be on that conference call.  My gym time is sacred to me.  It is when I not only wake up my metabolism, but I set the tone for my day.  Let’s take today for example.  I had a terrible night; sleep was not in the cards.  I managed a total of about 1 ½ hours from 3 am to 4:30 am.  How do I feel you ask?  Well at 4:30 I just wanted to cry, to go back to sleep and not have to face the day sleep deprived and achy and crabby.  Instead I went through my normal morning routine and took my tired body to the gym and did the best I could there.  I got in 35 minutes on the elliptical- and, much to my surprise it was NOT my slowest time ever.  I also did strength training for 60 minutes.  It was hard, but it cleared some of the cobwebs out of my head, woke me up a bit, and has allowed me to be semi-coherent all day, instead of being a basket case.

Am I at my prime today?  Probably not.  I AM however being the best that I can be today and I can ask no more than that of myself.  You see I have learned to love and respect myself and with that has come my knowledge that if I start the day in the gym I can get more accomplished than if I start the day doing for others.

I LOVE doing for others, I am a nurturing soul and giving back to my friends and family and this community has been a life force for me since my surgery in 2004.  If I can do even 1 human kindness each day I am happy.  I must however make that 2 human kindnesses each day because the first one must be to myself.  I start in the gym and continue it with proper food and hydration throughout the day.  Some days I am called upon by family, some days by friends, some days by the community, and some days just by myself.

Whatever the call is, however long the day might be, however stressful the requests, I can approach them with the clarity of a person who knows her strengths and weaknesses, who knows where she is in time at this moment, and who knows where she wants to be and who she wants to be as the years continue to progress.

This process is a constant evolution, and this journey of transformation the past 12+ years has certainly been a roller coaster.  Some days I just know who I don’t want to be, as I continue to discover the new, improved version of who I do want to be.

Confusing?  You betcha, but nobody ever said life was easy, or that the path was always clear.

I invite all of you to join WLS Success Matters, in our next Weekend Retreat, and spend some time working just on YOU.  Self discovery is a powerful ally in life.  Here’s the link, Spring or Fall Into YOU Weekend.

Show yourself some LOVE.  Wake up and WIN with us as you create the roadmap for the next stops on your journey to health.