Become a Work in Progress

I have decided to become a work in progress. When I give myself permission to be a work in progress, I give myself room to recover from mistakes and slip-ups.  If I can give myself permission to make mistakes and recover, then I have the room and grace I need to pick myself up and move forward. The point of living a healthy life is never perfection. We are all human. Part of being human is living with a balance of mistakes and victories. Going into this holiday season, it is EXTREMELY important that everyone realizes that they are not perfect. It becomes about making choices. Choices to skip the second drink so that you can eat "Aunt Ina's famous pie," choosing to get out and exercise an extra day during the week, and most importantly, to make the holidays about the people you are with and not just the food. I am half Italian, I know the importance and tradition that food can take during the holidays. But I sometimes think we forget that those foods are attached to memories surrounding people during the holidays. I was reminded of this by a wonderful leader at Weight Watchers named Louise. She told an amazingly heart felt story about her family's thanksgiving growing up. At the end of the day, she remembered the people that made her feel special, and not food. So let's start the New Year's resolutions early. Let's challenge ourselves to become works in progress, to expect movement forward and not perfection, and to actually make the holidays about our family and friends and not food.