Tell us about a goal or dream you achieved that is NOT weight-loss related. Big, little, huge in the lives of others, or huge within your life--it doesn't matter.

For extra credit, think about how what you learned in achieving that and apply it to your health goals.

1. I published a collection of short stories in 2006. It took me 5 years to write, but I am still proud of it; the work was good. I may yet write another book - who knows?

2. I finally got my B.A. It boiled down to several 15-minute work sessions, one after the other. For once I didn't drop out at the last minute.

Lesson learned?
*Nothing gets done by just thinking about it.
*Most things take time.
*Time can be 15 minutes today rather than an hour tomorrow.

Tell us about a goal or dream you achieved that is NOT weight-loss related. Big, little, huge in the lives of others, or huge within your life--it doesn't matter.
Moving from a house next to drug dealers to a nicer house (with nice neighbors ).

For extra credit, think about how what you learned in achieving that and apply it to your health goals.
Having a goal or a dream or a plan is great… but if you/me/we/anybody don’t actually DO anything… well, it isn’t going to happen.

With weight loss, I used to confuse my PLAN or GOAL to lose weight, with the actual DOING of losing weight.

If I only planned to move… or had the goal to move… or dreamed of moving… I’d be STILL be sitting typing with a drug deal going on right outside of my window right over the computer… literally.

Before we could move, it took $30,000 worth of termite, dry rot and other repairs to get house in shape to sell. Took a gazzilion phone calls… and working with roofers, and termite guy, and dry rot guy, and sheet rot guy, and realtor guy and loan broker guys, and this guy and that guy… and it was one day or one hour at a time… one phone call… one discussion… one check written… EVERY SINGLE DAY.

And it took almost exactly a year… of day in and day out… fixing the problems in the this room, and that room. And it was hard. And I got some support from my family… but it was mostly me who dealt with all these “guys” (Termite/dryrot guy was at my house nearly every single day for two months… rebuilding the bathroom, doing demolition on a dilapidated carport, etc, etc… and NEVER saw my dh once. However, dh was at work making $$$ to pay termite guy…)

Lesson learned… plans and dreams and goals are wonderful things… but takes lots of DOING and it is NOT fun. It is very stressful. And you get up and don’t feel like doing it. It is time consuming. And you may get support… but nobody is doing it for you.

But the payoff is worth it.

When I was growing up my primary goal was to be a stay at home mommie . Since dh died 2 months before dd was born I realized that was never gonna happen --- but it did!! .

Dd started drawing her daddy's soc. sec. as soon as she was born but I could not draw widow's benefits because my job paid too much for me to qualify so when dd was in middle school I quit my job and we lived on soc. sec. (her's & mine) for two years. I had always made it a point to get to know her teachers but those two years I got to be really good friends with her teachers and I volunteered at the school a lot. Plus, I was there when she got home from school every day.

While it was never a "goal or dream" of mine to have a college degree (since I had always planned to be a wife & mother) I went back to school in 2002 and earned an Associates Degree in Business Administration. I graduated in 2004, the same year dd graduated from college . I must admit though that I went back to school out of boredom not from any desire to further my education. I did not leave the house at all during 2000 (after my transplant) except to go to the clinic & see the doctor and I was not allowed to have visitors. 2001 was a little better. I could get out some but not in big crowds so my activities were limited that year also. By the time 2002 rolled around I had a raging case of cabin fever so I signed up for night school just to get out of the house 2 nights a week. I never expected that I would actually be good at it!!

i have always had this pull toward the Native American life. i really cannot explain where it might come from because i was not exposed to it at all. but from the time i read Crazy Horse's biography at age 8, i yearned for the feeling of the wind blowing in my hair, wide open spaces and the outdoors. i went to the Native American museum in Phoenix and wept as I saw the photos of the Native children who were forced to cut their hair and adopt "christian" names in place of their birth names. i would fantasize about spontaneously leaving my real life, and going to live on a reservation for a period of time.

i am not saying that the plight of others does not touch me, but for some reason, the plight of the Native americans tugs at my heart in a way that is uncomparable.

the other big dream i have is to be mentored by the Dalai Lama. Spend a few months in India with his holiness.

Cool assignment!

If I have to pick one, it would probably be working my tail off as a kid to get in to college.

Since I was really little, I had always wanted to go to a specific ivy league school despite the fact that as I got older, my parents tried to bribe me with cars, money and trips to stay closer to home.

First off, getting in proved to me that I was actually was pretty smart (I always felt sub-par to my classmates). Secondly, it proved that I could live and flourish far from home without be ridden by parental guilt. Thirdly, it's where I met my dh : )

Most importantly though, having that education opened up so many doors and possibilities after graduation. I was easily accepted to grad schools and subsequently found jobs also quite easily. I would not have gotten into hospice work without that educational experience as early as I did.

As far as how this applies to my health goals, I think the biggest lesson is to trust myself.

When I was in high school, I read "Lonesome Dove." I loved it. I wanted to see Montana and the Great West. So when my grandmother offered a trip to anywhere as a graduate-from-college gift, I said I wanted to see Montana...and that's what we did!

I took notes while I was there and when I got back, began sending my resume to places where I thought I could get a job. And...I did. I was hired as a swim coach in a very small town in eastern Montana. After graduation, I packed what I needed in my car and drove from Texas to Montana. I found an apartment, took care of myself, and did a really good job. My reputation from that job landed me a better one in a bigger city.

Looking back, it was one of the best choices I ever made. I learned that I'm okay on my own and that I can take care of myself. I still love the mountains and wide-open land, and my chest aches and tears come to my eyes when I watch things like a PBS special on Lewis & Clark (whose path a friend & I traveled part of while I was in Montana).

For my weight loss, I think I would like to remember that while support is good, MY choices and MY decisions are what matter the most.