“You have an event coming up and you don't know if you'll make good choices. Here's how to see the future.”

That wedding, office get-together, family reunion or birthday barbeque sounds like fun, but the food choices will likely be things you shouldn't eat...and there'll be way too much of it. What to do? Look into the future. Really. Actually think about what will happen: how will the food be presented (buffet style, served at the table, a waiter walking around with hors d'oeuvres), what will they serve, what will they serve that you can eat, what should you absolutely avoid? The more insight you have the better. Now imagine how you will react. Envision yourself only taking what you've pre-determined is okay. "See" yourself walking past the no-no items, saying "No thanks" to seconds being offered, and leaving bowls of food untouched. Make sure to see your expression - you, smiling, happy. How do you feel? Empowered, in control, confident...with no regrets. By visualizing the outcome you want, you will be far more likely to have a reality to match.

“You are trying to eat right, but you feel cheated. Here's how to get even.”

If it seems like you have to give up every food you love in order to get healthy, you may need an attitude adjustment. First, a little test: who do you think is happier: someone who won the lottery one year ago, or someone who became a paraplegic one year ago? Of course, if we had to choose one of those, we'd all choose to win the lottery. But, the fact is both groups are the same as far as how happy they are one year after those major events. It's a fact that people can learn to be happy with pretty much anything. The option to pick happiness over wallowing in misery is up to each. You can look at your new food choices, workout schedule, and healthy lifestyle choices as a great thing just as easily as deciding it sucks. Once you make the choice for embracing it, you'll be surprised at how much easier it is.

“You have such a long row to hoe to get to your goal. Here's how to be a great farmer.”

You want to lose a large amount of weight, or start a project that will take you months if not years to complete. How do you keep motivated to have the results you want when your projected time frame is over? Someone very smart once said, "We make plans and God laughs." Who knows what will come your way a year from now, a month from now, next week, or even tomorrow. Today is what is important. Not for what it will bring you in the future, but how it makes you feel today: empowered, inspired, confident that tomorrow you'll be able to continue the pattern. Start with today and prove to yourself all that can happen in that small field of time.

“You lost track of "you" sometime ago. It's time to send out a search party.”

When you're young it's all about you. The world revolves around you. Then you grow up, have kids, a spouse and suddenly "you" is someone you used to know but currently have no idea of her whereabouts. It's time to find her! Find some quiet time: a weekend, a day, a couple of hours, or lock yourself in the bathroom for a long shower. Find some quiet to figure out what it is YOU want out of life. Listen to God, listen to your inner being, and figure out what YOU needs. Okay, that was the easy part. Now DO whatever it is you figured out. It may take awhile not only to hear that voice inside you, but to move toward doing to truly release the YOU that's inside. The key is to do it. Len Schlesinger, author of Action Trumps Everything says, "Don't worry about what you want to do, worry about what you want to do next. Do one thing and then figure out what the next thing is. One-step at a time you'll discover where YOU are.