Turn that frown upside down

"It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it's successful outcome."
-William James

They say attitude is everything - and I think there may be some solid truth to that. Especially when taking on a task as seemingly mountainous as losing 100 pounds. Let's face it - that's no small potatoes. As a matter of fact, it's the equivalent of 10 large bags of potatoes, if you want to get technical. That's a huge amount of chub and blub we're talking about. You have a bad attitude going in to try to shed something as significant as that, and you may as well call it quits before you even begin. It's kind of ironic because let's face it, no one is HAPPY about having to lose 100 pounds - so the question is: How does one get the right attitude about tackling such a big, difficult task???

 

I wrote yesterday about the past and how easy it is to sometimes let the ghosts of days gone by control future actions. The attitude is that since failure was such a prevalent part of the past, it's bound to be a significant part the future, too. That way of thinking is NOT the attitude needed to begin this journey - so I am banishing it from my thoughts completely. POOF - gone!

In all honesty, I feel rather optimistic about climbing this mountain, even if it is the biggest thing I have ever had to do, to this date. In fact, I find this much more difficult than switching careers mid-life, and trust me when I say how crazy-ass hard I thought that would be - especially in the beginning when I ventured back to school after being out of the academic loop for the last 15 years. And yet, I did it (or, am doing it anyway). And what's more is I am excelling at it! I have never had that kind of determination in my life, but I hope to find it again, as I tackle this next life challenge to getting myself healthy.

My attitude truly is everything in terms of how successful I am at losing the weight this time. Staying positive, and hopeful, and determined, even when things are not all sunshine, rainbows and chirping birds, is going to be key in making this work. Not feeling as though the instant I slip up that the world is ending so why give a shit, will be crucial to navigating these often temptation-infested waters. I feel so positive now - I wish I could bottle up this feeling and open it and chug it with wild abandon when those days or weeks do come when the results are not what I want or expect them to be.  I know this will be challenging - especially when the negativity pill seems much easier to swallow at times.

So - I asked the question of how to get and keep the cheerful attitude when ticking off pounds 1 through 100? I think it starts with support.  I just sent my new blog link to a few close friends and family that have seen the ups and downs of my weight loss attempts and have been supportive through each and every battle I have had with the scale. There are some who walk in similar shoes and I think understand this struggle more deeply than others, and then there are some who might not have had to deal with this first hand, but are still very supportive and believe in me nonetheless. I have humbly asked them to share this ride with me, and support me through the good, the bad and the ugly. With their encouragement and those of others perhaps in the blogging community, I can get through this and not feel alone.

My dear and wonderful husband is also a huge source of support. He is by far the strongest pillar of strength I have and I know he has my back on this 1000%.  But without the right attitude coming from this girl (pointing two thumbs right at me), I don't stand a chance. Being positive is a choice. Just like eating the right foods, in the right portions, and getting in exercise, it is something I will choose to embrace each day. And that is how I will make these 100 pounds history for good.