Friday, September 28, 2007

Anniversaries...

"Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that." - Michael Leunig

My dearest Brenda,

11 years ago today you and I became husband and wife. It's been a strange and wonderful trip. We have had our share of good times and bad times over the years. I am thankful each day for you. I am thankful for finding someone that was able to look past the exterior and see into my heart.

Both of us have matured and our love for eachother has grown exponentially, founded in our faith in Jesus Christ.

I know this may sound odd, but sometimes secular musicians get some sentiments right in their music. I heard this lyric and it reminded me so much of us:

"Trust I seek and I find in you,
Each day for us something new,
Open minds for a different view,
And nothing else matters..."

I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that I don't want to experience any of it without you.

I can't offer you much in the way of gifts this year for our anniversary, but what I can offer is my undying love and the culmination of my efforts to live a healthier lifestyle.

Today is the day that I chose to release my book to the world. A book that without your love, support, & encouragement would never have been written. I dedicate it to you and my prayer is that others would be touched and inspired through it.

Thank you for loving me no matter what...

Matty
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
"Dead Man Walking: A Weight Loss Story" e-Book is now available!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Pity...

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." - M. Kathleen Casey


Ever been in a pity spiral? I can tell you that it can be a scary place. Sometimes you feel good about the "woe is me", but then you find it creeps into every fiber of your being. That's when the depression starts, thoughts of failure cloud over your mind. Sometimes it gets so intense that the only way out (at least the only way you can see through the cloud) is suicide.

I've been down that road a few times, and let me tell you - it is not a fun place to be. We all get down on ourselves, thinking that we aren't good enough or living up to our true potential. Sure we can trip up and fall into the pity pool and wallow in it for a bit. But we need to climb out as soon as possible, otherwise that pity pool will turn into a spiral and it will get harder and harder to get out.

When you feel like you've failed or given up, remind yourself that you are human - and that humans make mistakes. Think of the positive things that you have accomplished. Set new goals for a new day. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that this is a minor set-back, the race is not over. The journey has just begun...

"It's not easy taking my problems one at a time when they refuse to get in line." - Ashleigh Brilliant

Friday, September 14, 2007

Defeat...

"No one ever excused his way to success." - Dave Del Dotto


I was thinking about this the past couple of days. I guess it has become a theme this week, my audio podcast & video show also deal with this topic. Those thoughts that tend to creep into our minds, telling us that we are worthless or try to get us off task really can be pursuasive. I fought like hell this week with thoughts of sleeping in and not jogging or exercising, thoughts of defeat because I was unable to get out to walk before work because of traffic. Worries about personal & family problems, that voice telling me to just splurge and eat to make myself feel better.

If anything it would make things worse. Sometimes we fall into that self-defeat pit and quickly need to get out of it. The longer we wallow in it, the harder it is to see daylight and hope. We start believing these thoughts and that only pulls us down deeper.

If you get a negative thought, you need to replace it right away with a positive one. Have a bad experience? Train yourself to look for a positive in that negative. Life is a learning experience...


"Pessimism is an excuse for not trying and a guarantee to a personal failure." - Bill Clinton


Matty
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
A free sample chapter of my new book is available for download!

Friday, September 07, 2007

Contentment

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." - Mohandas K. Gandhi


This week's episode of "The Fattening of America" deals with contentment. This is a really tough issue to deal with in today's society. I often find myself wishing and dreaming for a new car, new house, new video game hardware and the like. I know deep down that none of that stuff will satisfy me. We tend to compensate for poor self-image by acquiring things to make us look more important or to garner some feeling of envy from others.

Contentment is something that I struggle with daily. I need to keep telling myself that I need to be content with who I am first. I need to come to grips with my strengths, weaknesses, talents, & skills and tell myself that I am valuable.

Be content with WHO you are but never WHERE you are... There's a difference...


"You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy." - Eric Hoffer


Matty
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
A sample chapter of my book is available for download!