Motivation!

Everyone deals with weight gain and obesity differently. Some people ignore their weight, pretending that it isn't as bad as it really is. Some people make excuses for their excess weight. Some people may acknowledge their weight and simply resign themselves to a fat fate. I always held out hope that at some point, I would summon the will to do what needed to be done to get in shape. I just needed some motivation. SERIOUS motivation. I had two big motivations placed before me, one positive and one negative. In 2019 my nephew by marriage announced that his wedding would be in Hawaii and I was asked to officiate. I had never been to Hawaii, so I was excited at the opportunity and determined not to be fat for that milestone family event. I had more than a year's worth of notice, so I had no excuse not to get it done in time. Well, the pandemic struck and turned our

plans upside down, but the wedding still took place, just on a hillside in California instead of a beach on Maui. I had a specific goal, to be fit and trim by a specific date for a specific event and there was enough time for that goal to be realistic. That was my happy, positive motivation to lose the weight. Now a word about the negative motivation. In June of 2019 I had a former business associate visiting from out of town. He was quite a few years my senior, and a very small man. One day when walking from my office to a nearby convenience store he looked at me and said, "you move pretty quickly for a large man." Well, that sentence was about as welcome as a skunk at a garden party. Between my positive motivation for Hawaii and that negative motivation of being called "a large man,' I was more than ready to tackle my weight!