It is August first, a brand new month. Beginnings are so powerful! I love beginnings because every morning, every new week, the beginning of a new month or year fills me with a sense of opportunity..a start over.

So, in that spirit I will admit that I have gained a solid ten pounds. Obviously, ten pounds didn’t just plop onto my midsection overnight but instead creeped up in small increments.  Truthfully, I  tried to ignore it between Tuesday and Sunday nights ( my diets start on Monday morning). My journals are filled with Monday morning entries stating “This is it!”  “You can lose it!” “Today’s the day!” etc. Still, the scale creeped upwards.

I could spend my time bashing myself with nasty recriminations about not sticking to a program, not keeping keeping my weight off, having to start over again (I have a history of losing and gaining weight).

 Instead, this morning I am filled with awe in recognizing the power of choice.

Today can be just another day or the beginning of a brand new me. I decide. Instead of recriminations about gaining weight, I can recognize that my daily small choices  resulted in the ten pound weight gain. The gift of recognizing my responsibility is that I can choose differently to get more  preferable results.

Here’s the message I want to relay today:

1. The past matters but only because it will tell you how you got to where you are.  You can choose to allow the past to bog down your future with negative emotions or you can choose to learn from it and use that knowledge to empower you.  It’s all up to you.

2. You are responsible for your choices.  You may have had a crappy childhood, but as an adult you are responsible for your choices. Perhaps you’ve had a challenging year, you are responsible for your reactions. You can play the victim pretending that bad stuff just happens to you (you’re fat because you’re stressed, you drink because your kids suck, you can’t make friends because you live in a pissant town) or you can take charge.  This is also your choice. How wonderful is that! 

3. Every small choice matters.  Every onion ring, every time I watched an “Office” rerun instead of exercising. all added up to a ten pound weight gain. Isn’t that wonderful! Now I know that every small choice will get me closer to my ten pound weight loss!  Fantastic!

4. The power of choice applies to everything. Weight, relationships, addictions, attitude, spirituality, finances and whether today will be a good day …ultimately you choose.

Today, August 1, 2012 is a new beginning to a healthier lifestyle and positive choices for me. Thanks God for the power of choice and giving me a brand-new-start-over-day!