Attitude

When I was a toddler, I was a little hard headed. Independent. And I new exactly what I wanted. Big surprise, right? Well, my family refers to it as "Missy-do". My family nickname is Missy so when I would want to do something on my own, I would tell them, "Missy-do", so I could do it (at 3). Whether that be feeding myself, dressing myself... whatever. I wanted to do it myself! Not a lot has changed since then, people will tell you. Its kind of funny that my one and a half year old niece now is suffering from a case of "Missy-do" according to my sister. She eats what she wants to eat, she thinks the silverware rack in the dishwasher is her purse and will grab it, blow kisses and yell "day" (have a nice day). I have a feeling this one is going to be a little hard headed. 

As I mentioned before, I am getting over the tail end of this illness that caused many different symptoms, including a loss of motor skills, vision and being able to walk. It was very difficult for me to accept help from other people since the "Missy-do" in me wanted to tell everyone to eff off and to let me do everything on my own. Well, I finally succumbed and accepted the help. I'm glad I did, because many people offered their help and came to my aid. 

Well, its been three months now since the onset of this illness and I'm starting to go on walks, bike rides, and able to grocery shop on my own. Even if I'm exhausted, tired, worn out and hurt, I go for a walk. I know I need to. I need to keep moving to keep my muscles from atrophy. I could easily stay home and sulk and let life keep living around me. You know what stops me from doing that? My attitude. 

I get up in the morning and make sure that I'm stable (I've been suffering from vertigo the last few days). Then, I put some ice in my Camelbak, a liter of water, get my ipod and take off.  Music is such a motivator for me. I have a bunch of upbeat, rock, shake your ass music loaded. I put it on random and just walk. Today, I got tired halfway through. But, I told myself to just listen to the music, keep walking because the only one that can do this for me is me. And, I made it all two and a half miles. 

Thats a startling revelation for anyone that wants to lose weight. You can make excuses. You can let obstacles get in your way. You can come up with a number of reasons why you can't lose weight. You got off work too late, your kids need to be fed, traffic sucks, Optimus Prime stopped traffic and had a giant robot deathmatch on the route you normally go. You know, the normal stuff. You can make all the excuses you want, but life is going to keep going around you. The only one that can make changes to your life is you, and it starts with your attitude. 

I know I can lose this last 15 lbs before Dave's brothers' wedding in October, I KNOW I can. The way I can do it is day by day, step by step. 

If you want to tell yourself you can't do something, you wont. If you tell yourself you can, you really never know what you will accomplish. For me, the "missy-do" is what is in me that keeps my drive, keeps me going and makes me pull myself up by my bootstraps. 

What's your drive? What makes you strive to meet your goal?