Saved By a Belle

"Wait! Did you really just say that?" That was my first thought when I suddenly realized that I wasn't being looked at as the fat guy. Others often see changes in us that we can't see for ourselves. In my mind I was still the ogre, not worthy of a second glance from such a beauty. 

I'd made it over the Smokey Mountains and across the Great Plains only to find yet more mountains in my path. Progress was slow and motivation subsiding. The urge to settle was great. My original purpose of ensuring I didn't die young and miss out on tomorrow had been met. What I needed -- and now had -- was a reason to climb for a better today.

Find your reason, it doesn't have to be a big thing. Long-term goals are great, but the short-term ones are what keep you from settling for the first comfortable resting spot along the way. It helps if that goal is more than just a number. Numbers are too easy to give up on. How do you want to feel? What do you want to look like? What do you want to be able to do? Numbers aren't important; it's how achieving your goal makes you feel that counts. Imagine your destination and keep going until you get there.

You can do it!