...jUsT sAy "NO!" tO YOUR kRyPtoNiTe...

Even the strongest men (and women) have weaknesses. It can be a person or a tangible object or even a feeling. For Sampson, it was Delila and for Superman it was kryptonite. We've all seen it or experienced it. We can be going along...strong and steady...and then we are thrown off course by something that we can't seem to resist or conquer.

I have a few of these...probably one in each category. I had a friend that was so much fun to be with. I loved her and laughed more with her than I probably ever have. I never had many girlfriends so she made me feel accepted and "normal". There was just one thing. She wasn't good for me. I felt myself sliding backwards...becoming more childlike...and veering off the path from my goals. It became more important to hang by the pool and go out and have fun than it was to workout or be as responsible as I knew I should be. We are no longer friends. There's a part of me that still loves and misses her, but a part of me that has felt relieved since the day she abandoned our friendship because I no longer have to listen to the angel on one shoulder fight with the devil on the other. The demise of our friendship eliminated the inner struggle.I faced yet another this morning and I'm proud to say that for this moment...I've won the battle. I love sugar. Sugar tastes so good to me. Sugar makes me happy. If it's sweet, chances are I'll like it! I woke up this morning CRAVING donuts. I hopped up excited to wake my kids up and take them for a treat because we don't eat donuts very often. I convinced myself that it was going to be for THEM...but I know deep down...it was for ME. I wanted that quick fix...that good feeling. The problem is that then I would feel guilty all day and ask myself WHY endlessly. Sugar is probably my biggest kryptonite when it comes to my fitness. Sugar cookies arrive and I go from being strong to being weak...a person that makes excuses and comforts myself with rationalizations. I don't always conquer this, but today...now...I'm eating eggs and bacon instead and the feeling of power is so much better than the few moments of enjoyment as I eat a donut.Most of the time, I can treat the kryptonite in my life like a drug. I can avoid it. I don't keep ice cream in my house because I will eat it and I can avoid the people that bring me down. Unfortunately, there is one thing that I can't avoid or leave at the store...me. I can try and run from myself and my fears, but the moment I turn around, the doubt and insecurity is still right there. So if I can't out run it, what can I do?I'm no where near perfect. I don't always make the best choice. I eat sugar more than I should, and sometimes I allow myself to become consumed with self doubt and fear...BUT I wake up every day and I try to do better than the day before. Everyone has their own personal weaknesses and their own way of dealing with them. I'm no expert, but here are the things I do to try and be better today than I was yesterday.I try to be proactive. Rather than avoid people that bring me down, I'm learning to surround myself with people that love me and inspire me and make me want to be better. When I have more people like this in my life, I have less room for the people that weaken me and it's also more glaringly obvious that they are not good for me.

I try to think ahead and have an alternative when it comes to food. If I have healthy snacks and fruit available at my house, it makes it a little easier to not go outside of my house to buy and eat a candy bar. I try to make it so that if I want sweets, I have to make a concerted effort to leave and get them. Today, I had eggs and bacon here at home, but I would've had to drive to get donuts. THAT is what saved me.As for the way I think and feel...it's 3 fold. When I avoid bad influences (1) and resist bad food (2), I feel a sense of power and pride. The last part (3) is through positive words and pictures. I have a huge collection of quotes and inspirational pictures that I look at everyday. I have pictures all over my room of happy times...pictures of me with people I love...pictures that remind me of good things. I also have a whole section of my mirror in my bathroom that I have covered in quotes that I see and read EVERY day. I swear I would have post it notes covering everything in my room if I could.What works for me may not work for you, but the concept is the same. Instead of giving up or accepting less than you know you should...instead of focusing on the negativity of it...DO SOMETHING. Everyone that reads this has their own personal weaknesses and each of us has to learn how to deal with that in the way that is most effective for ourselves. I'll never be able to completely eliminate the people and things that are my kryptonite. I can't control how others see me or treat me or try and influence me. I can't eliminate sugar from the planet, and I'll never be free of doubt. It will never be easy, but attempting to be great never is. I have to make a choice every day...every hour...sometimes every few minutes...to say "NO!" to the things that keep me from being great. Because the one thing I can control...is me...and you...can control you.