HeatMarie

The potentially last “nice” day of the year will not be wasted. And neither will the progress I have made. Even though there is so much more to accomplish; I will forever be proud of how far I have come. I might not be exactly where I want to be but it’s close; so close, I can see the end in sight.

A year and a half ago I set out to make some of the biggest changes in my life. All I wanted was to be happy. To do that, I needed to focus on me. So that is what I have done. Some may have called it selfish. But is being selfish really a bad thing? No, it’s not. There is nothing wrong with being selfish; there is nothing wrong with caring about yourself. If you cannot achieve your own happiness how can those around you? Why should we expect or allow others to make us happy? Think of this for a moment, you know more about yourself than anyone. You know your thoughts, your likes, your dreams. You know everything there is to know. Take that and run with it. Run to find your happy place.

At one point in my life I barely recognized who I was. I was not a good person. I felt myself letting go of everything and in that tiring process I was becoming a bitter, sad, and lonely person. It didn’t matter the people who stood around me, there was no happiness. I was sitting around waiting and expecting for someone else to give me what I needed. I didn’t know at first exactly what it was, but I knew I needed something. The person I was becoming was not the person I wanted to be.

There was the me inside my head that wanted to dance and not care who was watching. I wanted that. I wanted to be that person, so I took that image of me and I ran with it, never looking back.

Then one day it happened. I found myself dancing with a cat in the middle of a living room. And there, I was happy. Now, what made me happy was that I was building confidence and appreciation for who I was by making small changes in both my body and my mind. Now this is the secret that everyone should know. The smallest steps in the right direction will amount to the biggest change.

One of the hardest things to do throughout a journey is to stay motivated. I hear people ask if they should take before and after pictures when they begin a weight loss journey, I always say yes. But don’t stop there. Take as many pictures as you can along the way. Do this so you will never forget where you started and so that you can remember all the hard work you have put in.

In no way have done things fast when it comes to losing weight. I tried that before and it didn’t work for me. This time I didn’t want to change my body. I wanted to change how I felt both mentally and physically and I wanted to do so on a long-term basis. Frankly, I love food to much to give it all up. It didn’t make sense for me to say I would never eat a slice of pizza again. That wouldn’t make me happy. So I set out to find something that would. What I found is that I can still be a foodie if I do so in moderation.

In the end there is no simple, easy, fast fix to change who you are. It all takes time, effort and dedication. Regardless of the happiness you are seeking, do so remembering that you might not wake-up tomorrow a brand new person. But in time, if you stay true to what you really desire, one day you will realize that you are everything you always wanted.