“You don’t have to be good at starting over. You just have to be good at letting go!” This is a quote by Pete Billingsley I found earlier this week and it spoke to me in so many ways. I believe starting over can be difficult for several reasons, but truly, it’s the difficulty in letting go of our inadequacies and failures, that gives starting over such a bleak outlook for many of us. Everyone has failed at something in life, there is no exclusivity to that, but what separates those who eventually succeed from those who continue to fail, is the ability to learn from their mistakes and let go of the past failure. This ability enables them to start over, a little bit wiser, more hopeful, focused, and determined to succeed. You don’t have to be good at starting over, but if you let go of the fear of past failures, the next time you start over, you can be successful at accomplishing your goals.

I would encourage anyone struggling with fitness goals: weight loss, healthier life style, making better food choices etc. to add this quote to their arsenal of motivation and inspiration. Every time you have to start over because you fell off and were not able to reach your goals, there are seeds of defeat and self-doubt that are planted into your subconscious mind. It’s those seeds that can make the starting over difficult because if you fail at something often enough, at some point, your spirit gives up and you begin to only go through the motions, with the expectations of failing again. Eventually you acquiesce to the seeds of doubt and you tell yourself, this is how you’re supposed to be, and you give up. Our minds are powerful things. Rene Descartes said, “Cogito ergo sum.” or “I think therefore I am” and even though this philosophical proposition was stated as proof of one’s existence, supported by the argument, “thinking of one’s own existence proves that “I”  exist to do the thinking.” I believe you can go a step further and state that, however you see yourself, or believe yourself to be, that is what you become. If this is plausible, then seeing yourself as a failure, sets you up for failure. This is why it is so very important to clear out all of the failed attempts and negativity, just let them go, so that you can start fresh and accomplish your goals. Keeping in mind, everything is a process that starts with our own outlook.