The second goal I set for myself was also to live a healthier lifestyle, and this goal is to reduce soda intake.  I know I will never be able to give it up completely, but I can choose, and have chosen, to drink less.  And at some point, the goal will become to maintain a "less" amount.


This is one goal I struggle with.  I love soda.  I love drinking soda.  I love everything about it.  I love the happy little pop of the can.  I love the sparkly color.  I love the sugary sweetness of it.  I love taking a bite of something spicy or salty and then a sip of cool, sweet soda.  I love the caffeine buzz.  Giving it up completely would be like giving up a really good friend.


Overall, though, I think I am drinking less.  I am buying less of it, (which has the nice side benefit of helping me to be more fiscally responsible!) but maintaining this goal really is a daily battle.  There are days when the siren's call of the Mountain Dew is just too hard to resist.  These are the times when I have to remember to forgive myself, and remember that these are goals so I become healthier and happier overall, and I am accomplishing that, even when I do get off track every so often.


One thing I have found as I have been working on this project is that it has been better for me to avoid a numbers goal - like no more than x number of cans of soda, or I will fit into a size whatever by whatever date.  I can foresee goals like that becoming too restrictive, or to find myself not making progress toward a deadline, and then I can see myself getting discouraged and giving up.  What has worked for me is to envision a ultimate picture of where I want to be, and create harmonious paths to follow to get there.  Generally following these paths will get me to that place.  All of my paths are nice and wide, with nice little scenic turn-offs, so I can get sidetracked or meander a little bit, explore, and enjoy the journey, but still get to where I need to go.

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