What's your resolution?

Well..........The time of year has come where many of us like to get it started off right by setting ourselves up for failure.        Yep,..........That's right,...........I didn't studder when I said that....I said that we just love setting ourselves up for failure!!         Hold on now!!        There is a solution.

Most of us don't even have a clue that we are doing this ungodly act.       We do it in our subconscious, and never realize that we are doing it, until we reap the rewards of failure.       I know in my life when I achieve this moment of greatness that I throw a pity-party for one, and smother my failure in a rich chocolate desert in the name of greater success!!          Can anybody relate to this?

I don't really believe making a resolution for the new year is wrong.     I don't believe that it is ever wrong to set goals for our life.      Most of us,......Especially me,........Need to set more goals, all the year long that will improve the quality of our lives in the long run.      However,....I do believe the way that we set most of these goals is dead wrong, and most of the time cause more damage than good.

Let's look at a few that have been on the top of my list in the past, and explore the way that I set myself up for failure.          Maybe some of you will be able to relate in some way.

I guess since I have been on the heavy side for most of my life then the goal of losing weight should have been high on my list.      I don't think that I ever had much real intention of achieving this goal, because there was always one,..... last totally fattening meal.       I had to sit down, and usually in front of the television, and gorge myself on some really fat loaded, tasty food!!      I have lost some serious weight in my life, and this is not a proper `way to start it off.        It is setting myself up for total, and complete failure.

The way to properly loose weight, and keep it off is to do a lifestyle change.       You have to change your habits.        Not only what you eat, but when you eat.       You have to replace some of those wicked eating habits with something positive.       The good thing is you get to choose what you are replacing those bad habits with, and choose wisely.        You must remember that you are changing your life style for the better, so choose something that you will enjoy, and keep enjoying.

Be realistic in your goal setting.     Never start a plan with some ridiculous number in mind.       You must remember that the goal is not to loose weight.      The goal is to change your life style, and one of the benefits of changing your life style is loosing weight.       Doesn't that make it sound much better?         Can you see the way that you look at something will change the way that you put the effort into it with the goal of success in mind?

Let's tackle a big one now......OK?                 Honestly,.....They are all big ones......Just some of those are a bit tougher than others.            Some of these I don't personally believe should be handled at the same time as others for instance smoking.         Wow!!          That is a lung full in itself!!

I really can't suggest any certain way to handle this demonic act.       I can only tell you the way that I got delivered from the really bad habit!!         I smoked 33 years of my life, and I know first hand the power that it has over a person.         Once again I would suggest that you are setting a goal to change your life style, and not simply laying down the tobacco.

I made a good effort a few times in my life to quit smoking, but I always started back.      Six months was the longest that I made it.         However, I thought that was quite the accomplishment, because of the power that is taken over the life of a smoker.

Now,.....If you are one of those cowboys that still claim that you can quit anytime that you choose.       I want to commend you, and free you from reading this any further.        The only folks that should even be reading this are those that have failed countless times to stop, and realize the power that it has over their lives.      The know that there is something to this that requires much more effort to stop than it did to start.  

Let's go back to the start of this nasty habit.       It wasn't real easy to smoke to begin with.      At least not for me.      It took some real effort for me to go against what my body wanted for myself.     My body rebelled every time that I inhaled smoke into my lungs.        I couldn't do it without hacking, and coughing.        I almost thew my guts up a couple times, because my body knew that substance had no place inside of it.                                     Can anybody relate to this?

…............To be continued