Finish line? Goals? Who me?

Each morning, Jane Powell's Meditations for Women arrive in my e-mail. Some are OK -- others, like today's, hit home. It asks the question: Are you in a race with no finish line?

I talk a good game, telling myself, and anyone who wants to listen, how much I want to lose weight. But do I really? In the back of my mind I do. What I haven't done is to set realistic goals, which is what today's meditation is about.

Weight Watchers is all about setting goals, and instead of telling you how much you need to lose, they set your first goal at 5 percent of your body weight. That's usually two weeks worth of weight loss on the Biggest Loser. It would take me at least double that to reach my 5 percent goal, but it certainly would be a start.

The meditation stresses the importance of goal setting, and then celebrating when you reach that goal. That alone gives your self-esteem and confidence a boost, simply because it proves that you are capable of reaching a goal.

But the meditation also stresses some important steps to take when setting a goal:
1. Determine what is important to you.
2. Resolve to pursue your goals with passion and persistence.

It's the passion and persistence I have been sorely lacking. Today, as I am driving to and from work, I am going to try to find ways to ignite passion and persistence.

And I have set a new goal: 5 pounds. That's not a lot, but with the way I have been eating recently, it is a ton of weight. And when I lose 5 pounds, I am going to treat myself to a massage, something I haven't had in about two years.

It really is important for me, and the way I view myself, to shed some serious weight. And if I wait until our season of events is over, it will be the fall before I lose weight.

But first, I have to step on the scale this morning at Weight Watchers, my weekly dose of reality. I pray next Wednesday will be different, that passion and persistence have been ignited, if for no other reason than my aching muscles can certainly use some deep kneading.

And that 5 pounds would translate into 25 pounds less pressure that's being forced on my knees and hips. Maybe, just maybe, if I concentrate on my aching knees, that will ignite passion and persistence. It's a thought....