Wake up! "...now it is high time to awake out of sleep...” ~Romans 13:11

I have realized that a lot of the time, I am in a place mentally where I am not entirely awake and aware of what I am doing. I'm sure most of you can relate on some level. The relevant example here would be that I wake up in the morning and promise to take care of my body, and then sometime in the afternoon, I find myself eating cookies or pizza or chocolate or whatever. At these times, I have done something contrary to what I wanted for myself. Why did I change my mind? Well, I didn't change my mind. I just wasn't thinking at all, usually. I forgot my goal, or my promise to myself. How could I forget? It was just this morning! Well, I think what happens with me is that I am not really awake--not completely aware of what I am doing, not fully conscious. I'm acting without thinking--I'm distracted. So one of the things I am working on is really being awake. This takes quite a bit of effort. I think it is SO important to have daily personal reflection time, preferably in the morning. This is something I've worked to make a habit over the past few months. On an ideal day, I plan my day, pray, read scriptures or other inspiring literature for a bit (as long as I can get away with), write in my journal, and exercise. You'll notice I said that would be an ideal day. But making my self care a priority is essential to becoming my best self. It's one in the same, really. And the way I spend each day makes up who I am in the future. I am becoming myself every day, so I need to be awake and aware of who I am becoming, all the time. This is one of the goals I am striving for right now. Time to wake up!

My "before" video! YIKES!

Why am I doing this?

A very wise man named Elder Richard G. Scott once said, "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." I believe this to be absolutely true. This is my success story. I am in the process of becoming someone. I think this is true for everyone. And I am really excited about this idea. I am at a place in my life where I want to not just move in a direction of making progress personally, but I want to run in the direction of that person I am becoming. Who am I becoming, you ask? The answer to this question is different for everyone, of course. I am becoming my best self. That's a very vague answer, and honestly, it has to be, because I believe that my best self is an evolving person. My overall goal is to be my best self on a daily basis. That sounds like a success story to me! My concrete goals are numerous, but in the interest of full disclosure, and as far as this blog is concerned, there are only two: to lose 100 pounds and to become a Regional Vice President with Arbonne. In the interest of keeping this short, I will share the timeline and the details in subsequent posts. This blog is one of the scariest things I have ever done. I am choosing to take my personal life into a very public forum. Why? Well, there are lots of reasons. I hope I can express them in a way that makes sense. But why make it public? One reason is to be accountable to others. If you know I am doing this, it helps me remember that I am doing it. Another reason is for support. I am blessed in my life to be surrounded by people who love me and care about my welfare. There is no question in my mind that my friends will support me. And that gives me strength to do hard things. A third reason is belief. I am embarking on a process that I know works. I believe in it. Actually, I'm not really at the beginning of my journey. I'm just at the beginning of the public part. I know that I will be successful. How do I know? Because I know the people that are surrounding me. They, YOU, won't let me fail. One thing I know to be absolutely true is that you can't fail at something unless you quit trying to succeed. And that is something that I will never do. So, thank you for taking this journey with me. I have so much to be grateful for, and you are one of those things. Let's go!