Honesty. If there is one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it is that being honest with oneself is absolutely necessary and absolutely hard. Like all habits, it gets easier with practice and attention, but it doesn’t get easy. I had a pedicure on Labor Day, and the stylist and I ended up in a deep conversation, alone in the spa room of the salon. On the topic of weight loss (with which we have both struggled), she asked me, “Has it been hard to keep the weight off?”

My honest answer was, “Not really.” And that took me by surprise. Behind that answer, though, was another truth waiting for me to pay attention to it. The truth that while I’ve been SAYING I have another 40 pounds to lose, and I’ve been ACTING like I want to lose it, I have actually been in a holding pattern. I haven’t really been working at it.

So this week, I’m taking time to pause and think about where I am and what I want with regard to my weight. Taking some time to get honest with myself. I’ll let you know what I come up with!