Find Your Support System��������������������������������������������������

make the life changes required of you as you move down this path� After this, you’ll need a sturdy support system�

Find Your Support System

Human beings are social creatures, but we’ve done a pretty good job of convincing ourselves that asking for help or support is a sign of weakness� It’s not! It is a sign of profound strength� Imagine the mental resilience that it takes to say, “I’m not in a good place right now and I need a hand�” The wproblem is that, as we begin getting comfortable with the idea of asking a friend or family member for help, we don’t always know how to ask for support� People mean well and they really do want to help – well, most of them, anyway� They just don’t know how to go about assisting you in your time of emotional need�

As much as asking for help is important, finding the right people to ask is equally crucial� Your ideal support system should:

• Have time for you� • Support your desire to become healthier� • Hold you accountable when you fall off the wagon� • Be your personal cheering squad when you achieve your milestones� • Inspire you to do better� • Speak openly and honestly with you about their concerns�

The chances that you already have people like this in your life are high� If you can’t identify them, you might just be looking in the wrong places or toward the wrong people in your life�

Now that you have the basics covered and know what your journey might entail, we can move on to making it concrete�

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Making it Concrete: Get it on Paper

Whew! That was a lot of information to take in� If you felt a little overwhelmed and had to take a break before moving on to this chapter, we don’t blame you� Remember, this is a supportive, judgment-free zone� We’re here for you!

You might have been told to get your goals down on paper before, but you likely weren’t given a valid reason why� We’re adults, for Pete’s sake� We all want to know why we have to do something before we do it and that is perfectly natural� So, here’s the reason why you’ll want to get your goals and strategies down on paper�

Think of your brain as being like a small supercomputer because that’s exactly what it is� The problem with supercomputers is that they take up a whole lot of energy to run� Moreover, your supercomputer doesn’t ever get a true shutdown period� Even when we’re asleep, our brains are still running in the background to keep us alive and maintain normal bodily functions�

Scientific mumbo-jumbo aside, your brain needs a break� You’ll become irritable if you’re constantly having to remember what goal you’re supposed to be working toward or how you’re supposed to be achieving it� The more irritable you become, the less likely you are to stick to the plan� You trick yourself into thinking that you’re