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29 février 212 Principle #5 - PERSEVERANCE!Hey gang! Well, this is a little later than normal b/c Ray let me SLEEP IN this morning ... it felt GREAT! He's such a SWEETIE!! We have MORE SNOW falling, but the kids all went off to school, so not too many "rugrats" at home today!
 Today's 212 Principle is PERSEVERANCE & it's one I've been WAITING to blog about all week! The video states that: "Perseverance is not a long race: it is many short races, one after another." ~ Walter Elliot. I just think this is the PERFECT way to think about our journey to better health! I know I've equated this challenge to running a MARATHON & NOT a sprint, but let's face it ... a marathon is pretty darn DAUNTING at this juncture in my life, whether it be real or figurative!!
 Thinking about this journey, though, as a series of "short races" is EXACTLY how we continue to move forward! We can do ANYTHING for a small period of time (when we have that 212 belief & attitude!), so if we just "string together" a lot of those little efforts, they will all come together to create a successful journey!
I happen to be a very DETERMINED person (when I finally set my mind to something!), so I really understand this principle. A few years ago, I stumbled into selling Discovery Toys (being an educator & mom of 4 at the time, I LOVED the products & wanted them ALL!!!). Anyway, it started out as just a "hobby" until I found out that I could earn a trip to HAWAII for my husband & I. Well, knowing we would NEVER have an opportunity like that again, I JUMPED at the chance! I had NEVER done any type of "direct selling" before & I had LOTS to learn, but I was DETERMINED to make it happen for us! I had 4 children aged 5 & under & a husband who was out of the house MOST of the fall "toy season" coaching football, but I was going to make it NO MATTER WHAT! I worked w/my director in Jan. of that year (you had a year to earn the trip) to set up a "plan" to make it happen & then I worked that plan EVERY MONTH! Some months, I fell WAAAY short (I had just joined the business in late Dec., so not a lot of time to really get my feet "wet"!); however, I TOTALLY BELIEVED I was going to make it happen & I just adjusted my plan & made changes whenever necessary. The interesting thing is that during this time, my family & friends closest to me really weren't very supportive (except for Ray!) ... they said I was "working too hard," "Never going to make it," "should just quit & go back to being a mom," etc. (as if I wasn't home w/them all day every day! I did my "business" at night when Ray was home, so they were NEVER w/o a parent at home!). I had to block out ALL distractions & negativity & I did that by reading POSITIVE books, surrounding myself w/positive people & plastering my goals & incentives all OVER my house!! I had picutres of Hawaii, coconut candles, lotion & bath soap, I had a Hawaii "picture frame" sitting on my desk, waiting for a picture of Ray & I to be plastered in it ... whatever I could do to INSURE that I would be there! Well, Dec. came & I of course, got pneumonia that year. I had about $3000 left to sell & I was NOT deterrred (other consultants who had come that far just gave up ... I couldn't IMAGINE getting that far & quitting!). I had NO IDEA how I would do it, I just KNEW I would! I ended up doing a "Toys For Tots drive" that enabled me to sell over $1800 in toys AND donate them to a local drive in our area! The rest of the toys I sold during the normal "before Christmas rush" & we earned our HAWAII trip!
 It was truly one of the most EXHILARATING experiences in my life! I had just started in the company & earned a HUGE trip the FIRST year. It was NEVER easy, but I had a goal, a plan & I worked it EVERY DAY!! PERSEVERANCE truly paid off! Ray & I experienced a week in Hawaii TOTALLY PAID FOR, something we would have NEVER had the chance to do otherwise. It was absolutely wonderful! The next year, the trip was to Vienna, Austria! Although I was only a little "short" of earning that trip, our 5th baby was born during what would have been that trip, so it was for the best! The following year, I earned Ray & I a trip to Cabo San Lucas, another AMAZING vacation for the two of us!  Again, it was NEVER easy, but I had the 212 BELIEF, ATTITUDE, FOCUS & PERSEVERANCE that it WOULD happen & it did!!WHY am I sharing this story??? Becasue I totally see this weight-loss journey as one of THOSE challenges! I have made the DECISION to change my lifestyle & I am DETERMINED to make it happen. I have created a PLAN to follow & I am doing whatever I need to do to make it happen! Some days, I have some SERIOUS adjustments to make, but in the end, I am GOING TO SUCCEED!! Perseverance pays off BIG TIME, if you just set your sites on winning each of those "little races"!! NO ONE thought I'd earn those trips w/all the kids we had (& WERE having at the time!) & all the work that had to be done. A lot of people think I'm "crazy" for trying to lose 60 lbs. "You don't need to" (they say) or "come out to dinner w/me, you can start tomorrow" or "honey, why kill yourself working so hard ... you look just fine" (little does my mom know that I am actually "killing myself" by NOT doing this!!!). There are ALWAYS those around us who DOUBT our abilities to succeed & it is our job to NEGATE those voices by persevering through the TOUGH times!!
Today, I challenge you to take a "LEAP" of faith & know that you WILL finish this marathon SUCCESSFULLY because you will PERSEVERE to the END!! You will do this by WRITING DOWN your smaller "GOALS" & posting them wherever you will see them EVERY day! Make yourself a "coloring chart" to color in each pound you lose (sorry, goes back to my kindergarten teaching "roots!" I LOVE to color & I LIKE feeling the satisfaction of coloring in those bars EACH WEEK!). Paste some motivating quotes around your house. Plan a small reward for each small goal "achieved" (I have a whole "system" of rewards for every 5 lbs. ... 10 lb. losses are celebrated w/each child as a "GOOD-BYE" to the pounds I gained while pregnant w/him or her. My first 10 lb. celebration was w/my oldest son & we went bowling & enjoyed a wonderful day together, just the two of us! I'm only 2 lbs. away from my 20 lb. celebration w/my next son, who wants to go to the batting cages. At the "in-between" 5 lb. marks, I have little "personal or couple rewards" like spending an afternoon reading, or going to a movie w/Ray, or donating 2 "oversized" outfits & buying a NEW one that fits!). All of this REALLY HELPS me stay on track & makes it FUN! The kids have a BLAST watching me color in blocks & seeing when their "10 lb. date" is coming (not to mention ... adds a little pressure on me to "keep going" so someone doesn't get "short-changed" of their special date!)!
 Whatever you choose to do to insure you win your little "races" I URGE you to keep your eye on the "PRIZE" at the end! That is the ONLY WAY you can persevere through the TOUGH STUFF & come out a STRONGER, HEALTHIER person who will live a longer & stronger life for yourself AND your family!!
Remember, as the famous quote says, "It's not how many times you fall that matters, it's how many time you get back up!”
Take care, everyone & until next time .... drink some water, move a little & SMILE!
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