's Message for Saturday January 26, 2008

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's Daily Message SaturdayJanuary 26, 2008CONSISTENT

We all form patterns in our lives at a very early age. I have to tell you, my father was very strict when it came to my brother and I being consistent about certain things we did everyday.

For instance, we would pray before each and every one of our meals. No matter if we were having a fast dinner before going out to a movie or if we were having a more formal dinner with guests at our home, we always said grace. And if one of our invited guests just happened to be named Grace, well, she`d be the one to have to say grace!

Another thing I had to be consistent about was brushing my teeth...three times a day. I`m talking once in the morning, once after school and, of course, every night right after dinner.

My father also always made sure that, no matter where we were going, we were going to be there on time. He was a real clock-watcher and I`m sure that`s how I learned to always be on time.

The consistency didn`t stop there. I had to make my bed and fold my pajamas every morning. And right after getting home from school, not only did my teeth get their second daily brushing but I had to go straight to my desk at home and do my homework.

Knowing me, you should not be surprised to know that when I was a kid, I used to rebel against all of these consistencies. But today, I`m really very happy that my father helped establish this lifestyle pattern for me.

Now, the only thing I wasn`t consistent about when I was younger was staying on a weight-loss program. I would go on-and-off and just not stick with any program to lose weight. I might be on a weight-loss plan for two days then off it for two weeks!

Yes, I should have been more consistent but I`ll admit...I wasn`t! As I grew older, I gained, lost and regained the same pounds, over and over again. (Have you been-there, done-that?) But, thankfully, one day I figured it out. If you want to look and feel good everyday, then you have to take good care of yourself...everyday! And you`ve gotta be consistent about it, too.

Eating healthy and exercising must be part of your daily lifestyle, just like brushing your teeth and making your bed.

I remember how Monday was always so important to me. But I had to reach the point where Tuesday, Wednesday and the rest of the days of the week were important to me, too.

I`ll share one of my little secrets with you. I bought a calendar to hang on my bathroom wall. It was going to become a tool I used to help me stay consistent. Everyday, I`d write in one of the little squares for that day that I had eaten healthy and exercised. And after I`d penned in the good news for the day I`d just completed, I`d draw a little heart in that square to remind myself that I loved me!

And by the end of the month, I had stayed so consistent...I`d finished a whole month of eating right and exercising everyday. Time to flip to the next month now and do it all over again!

See, you can`t waste one single day not taking good care of yourself. Every time you finish another healthy day, you get a beautiful, perfect little white pearl. And as you keep doing well, from day to day, you keep getting additional pearls. And soon, you`ll have a beautiful pearl necklace to drape around the neck of the brand new you.

Be consistent today!

Love,

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