Starting Over

       I just get in shape, and I injure my leg.
       I just get on a roll eating appropriately 
                      and it's Thanksgiving.                                                                                                              
Don't lose heart, just get up tomorrow and start over.
    After all: life is just a series of 'starting-over'!

 This is my premise and if you buy into it - read on! Quite often, change is about forming new, positive habits. A habit can become ingrained into your life by performing that action for three to five consecutive days. Once the habit is incorporated into your life, missing a day or two, at most, is not a guilt problem. We can miss up to two days guilt-free before we need to be overly concerned, to refocus and to get back on track. For example, if we exercise vigorously, it can be a good idea to miss a day or two after several intense workouts to give the body a chance to recover. It does not mean that we are starting over. It is not until we miss the third day that we are starting a new habit that may not be positive. Missing a day or two on purpose or because of illness is no big deal, as long as we get back at it for the next three to five days. We need to give ourselves permission to stop pushing ourselves, to go off our diet for a day, to accomplish little for a day, to miss a workout or two because we just don't feel like it, and we need for it to be guilt-free. Don't beat yourself up. All that is necessary to alleviate the guilt is to get up tomorrow and start over. It is true that:

    Life is just a series of "starting-over(s)"