Regret and fear steal a lot of energy. One of my regrets in life is that I allowed myself to become obese, that I have spent inordinate amounts of mental and emotional energy thinking about, worrying about, stressing about, being embarrassed about - being obese. At times, I fear I will never truly be free of compulsive eating, of the extra weight that burdens my joints and my heart and lungs and the rest of my precious, one and only, body. While I still carry more weight than my body needs, I have left enough excess weight behind to no longer be obese. I often feel strong, I feel a measure of confidence and comfort in my body. Most people who have made a signifcant change in their life - be it sobriety, or quitting smoking, or losing a signicant amount of weight - can cite a moment when they made a soul-felt decision to change. Any lasting change, however, tends to come down to hundreds of little choices and decisions, every single day. The quest to change, particularly to lose weight and gain fitness, can seem very complicated. This plan, or that? This book says this, this book says that. Should I listen to this "expert" or that one? Should I pay for the plan that promises quick results, or the one that says it will be easy? The more things we "try" means the more chances we have to feel like failures. I was just commenting to a fellow Sparkler that it was only when I stopped searching, stopped trying as it were, and began doing, that I was able to inch my way out of obesity. I still make choices, every day, that I regret. Just last night I overate at dinner and immediately regretted that heavy, over-full, stuffed feeling that I know too well. But, what was done was done so I drank a glass of water, went about the business of the evening, and went to bed early so I could get up, rested, for my exercise date this morning. When it all feels overwhelming and when my list of failures reads as an epic tale and my head starts to spin with all the different messages about what it takes, I need to take a deep breath, say a quick prayer, and remind myself - right here, right now, right choice. The right choice may be to post a blog to SP, it may be to drink a glass of water, it may be to stand up and put on my shoes and head out the door for a walk or a run. It could be to make my bed or do the dishes or make a phone call I have been putting off. Maybe the right choice is to relax for awhile with a good book, or take a nap, or turn my attentions to someone who needs me. I just need to put together more good choices than poor choices to keep heading in a healthy direction. So, dear Sparkler, what right choices will you make today? Life only comes at us a moment at a time, we don't need to handle the entire day at once. We don't have a rewind button so we don't need to go back in time to undo our poor choices. We just need to make the right choice right here, right now. Right?