Do you know who you are,
what you believe, and
why you believe it?

Here I am speaking about every type of individual personal belief
that we have about life and the world in general,
including all of our beliefs about food, exercise, dieting, body image, and health.
I am not talking specifically about religious or political beliefs.

Are you aware? 
Do you look around and choose a path for yourself,
or do you just blindly follow the path laid out for you by others?

People who know who they are,
and why they believe what they believe,
tend not to find other people’s beliefs to be threatening.
They have no need to reject the opinions and beliefs
of others without considering them. 

 People who generally reject the input of others,
and refuse to even consider or entertain a new idea,
tend to lack confidence in their own beliefs.

We need to see our own personal beliefs.
Then we must choose whether to keep that belief
and to make it our own,
or to discard it as not conforming with who we want to be.

This process can help us resolve conflicting beliefs
which are sometimes a source of stress in our lives.
Each belief we choose to keep
can become our own, and part of who we are,
not just part of projecting an image, a social facade.

While we are considering whether or not to chose to keep a belief,
we need to examine it, and look to find out the details.
What is involved in the belief?
What type of circumstances does it applies to?
And, WHY do we believe it.

Once we understand which beliefs are a part of us
and which are merely part of our image,
we can choose to reject that image.
When we have enough knowledge of ourselves,
we no longer need the affirmations of others in order to feel worthy.

 Our self-worth will be balanced, not too high nor too low. 
It will be enough to be who we are, and
allow others to be who they are,
and draw shared enjoyment where we can.

It is impossible to examine one’s own beliefs without becoming aware. 
 Being Aware means knowing, understanding, and accepting
that each of us has the power to control who we are
and how we respond to any situation.

It means accepting responsibility for our own actions
Every one of them.

Knowing that we are who we choose to be
is an Awareness that will bring us toward Peace and Serenity.

Sometime in the early morning when I am writing here,
I feel enthusiastic about an issue and words pour forth.

Other mornings...like today..
it is a struggle to feel the tiniest bit of optimism
about any subject at all...especially all the matters
that surround the issue of dieting and weight-control.

I believe this is typical and universal, rather than individual,
and that it is true of almost all of us. 

 Our individual choice is the behavior that we choose
for ourselves during the times when we feel less than positive.
That behavior choice can make us feel better, or worse.

This is the time when the positive Habits that we've established over time
can be extremely helpful to get and to keep us on track toward our ultimate goals.

So today I begin my day by sitting at my computer.
updating my graphs and tracking information;,
entering my weight and the breakfast I plan to eat;
reading a few new posts at forums I regularly follow;
and writing this article....
...which although not particularly inspiring or informative...
is nonetheless authentic.

The definition of Greed is an excessive desire
for more of something than is needed.
so clearly, Greed is a major issue in my life.

Greed seems to be one of my personality traits,
because it manifests itself in most of the areas in my life.

I am not a minimalist.
Rather than less, I want more.
I like my things. I like being surrounded by them.
What some people call clutter, I find delightful
Space, to me, is an empty place to put something.

I want more food than my body needs,
and I want my food to be delicious, attractive,
entertaining, and comforting, as well as nutritious.

This particular Greed for food is a long-term problem of mine,
because while I don't want to be fat,
at the same time,
I also want to eat a large variety of foods;
I want to eat as frequently as possible;
and my preference is to eat as much as my body will hold
...rather than just what my body will use.

I am also Greedy for experiences and activities and knowledge.
New experiences and activities are welcome,
but I want to add the new ones without limiting those I already enjoy.
This, also, creates an obvious problem.

  Even this website is an example of this.
There are so many things I want to say here.
There are so many recipes I want to share.
There are so many "words of wisdom" I want to video.

Now, making these videos at YouTube
has evolved into me also becoming a video "YouTube Grandma".
While only in it's third week this is generating a great deal of interest
which is resulting in additional input of personal time and work.
I'm not willing to eliminate anything....(there's that Greed again}
so right now, it's all just one-day-at-a-time.

Still, Life is Good.
..and perhaps....Greed for more of it is okay.
Greed is simply another one of my many imperfections.
One to be Acknowledged, Accepted, and Lived with.

Another personal Life Example shared, here at DietHobby.

On Fridays, I'm posting my Ask Grandma weekly video for YouTube,
if you are interested, it is posted HERE under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.

To fall on your face means
 to fail or make a mistake in an embarrasing way.

The ony things in this world we can keep
are our thoughts and our actions.
Sometimes, to take action,
what we need is a change in our thoughts.
It can help to look at things in a new way.
Remember, when we fall short of our goals, it's okay.
No amount of personal mistakes will cause us to fall off the earth,
and no matter how stupid we look, we will still survive.

We are human.
We want approval for our actions.
We want shiny things, money, fame, a lean body, good health.

 But these rewards are not guaranteed,
AND they do not have the importance we give them.
Because none of them will ultimately hold off death,
not even good health.
Failing teaches us to accept ourselves more deeply.
When we fail, we can pick ourselves up again.

Realizing that we will always ultimately fail can free us.
It can make us free of the need to prove our ability;
free of the need to earn and hold on to rewards from others;
and free from everyone's definition of success but our own.

 i agree with Thomas Miller, who said:

"If you have one true friend, you have more than your share."

There are acquaintences, and there are friends.
These are not the same thing.

  What is friendship?

A friend is someone who you like, respect, and trust;
and who likes, respects and trusts you;
doesn’t always understand you;
but accepts and likes you as you are;
even as you grow and change.

A friend allows you the space to change, grow, make decisions, and even make mistakes;
listens to you and shares with you, both the good times and the bad times;
respects your need for confidentiality so you can tell them anything;
lets you freely express your feelings and emotions without judging, teasing, or criticizing.

A friend gives you good advice when you want and ask for it;
assists you in taking action that will help you feel better;
and works with you in difficult situations to figure out what to do next;
accepts your self-defined limitations and helps you to remove them.

A friend lets you help them when they need it.
You want to be with them,
but you aren’t obsessed about being with them.
A friend doesn’t ever take advantage of you.

Friendship is a continuing source of bonding, releasing, and creating
in yourself and with the other person. There is an emotional bond.
A good friend or supporter may or may not be your age or the same sex as you;
come from the same educational, cultural, or religious background;
or share interests that are similar to yours.

Friendships also have different depths;
some are closer to the heart, some more superficial
--but, whether they are real, true friends or merely acquaintances --
 all of these friend-type-relationships can be useful and good.

 How do you make friends? 
As Dale Carnegie said:

 "You can make more friends in two months
by becoming interested in other people, 
than you can in two years
by trying to get other people interested in you."