Goodbye 2011 Self...Hello Beautiful 2012 YOU.

Blogging is an oddly “big brother” type of deal. When someone visits my page, they get counted. When someone searches Google for something and ends up smack dab on my page, I get a note about how they got there. I like to think of it as a request box.  It gives me an idea of what people need to hear about. And if I’ve got some insight, I let it loose. I’m sorry for that. Kind of. But hey, they asked for it.

So when I mentioned to my sister that a lot of people over the New Year were searching for “saying goodbye to someone you love”, which I’ve written about before, she had a totally different take on it. Im a die hard romantic, so to me, every goodbye to a loved one is some overly dramatic, Mr. Darcy type of goodbye. The British novel goodbyes, specifically Austen, are the best. It’s always raining and there’s a beautiful dress being worn.  But my sister offered up a new perspective. She suggested saying goodbye to the 2011 “you”?  Huh, you might ask? I’ll explain.  But first I will explain that this is Mr. Darcy. And Mr Darcy Part Two, as in remake.  Pick your favorite.





Who made a Resolution this year? You? I did. But just one, and it didn’t have anything to do with my body, as they have been proven losers over the last, say, ten years. I decided writing an entire BOOK was easier than resolving work on me. Yikes.

So for those of you looking to shed last years “you”…what does that look like? Is it shedding some weight, a lot of weight or that last ten pounds? Is it becoming a different person in one way or another? Perhaps being more authentic (my favorite)? Or maybe it's that you’re resolved to trying something new this year. Say…zip lining? If it is zip lining, would you write a blog about it for me? Thanks. I don’t have the guts to do it myself.

Most people who do make resolutions make it as a step to becoming the person they want to be. I have a different outlook. I look at it as becoming the person you were always MEANT to be. That’s a big difference. I say this because one is optional (wanting to become) and one is expected and written in stone (MEANT to be). Perhaps the “you” that you were meant to be is one who would tell their mother in law that they find her disrespectful, unkind and overbearing, and afterwards will forge a strong bond with the woman they dared to stand up to. Or the “meant to be” you is 30 pounds thinner. Or perhaps she is one who dreams of writing a book one day (cough, cough). Or maybe the next you just wants to shake off some of what you did when you were younger and move on. The good news? This is all absolutely attainable.  The bad news? You need to be able to see the existing you for who you REALLY are.

That’s a scary proposition, I know. But trust me when I say that the “you” that you are now is an integral part of who you are. Whether you like her/him now or not, that person is important. And I am of the belief that once you decide who you will be and actually draw yourself a picture or take a snapshot in your mind, the path will become clear. People stress out so much about the path itself that they never take a second to look at the person they plan on becoming. What if you get there and decide that person is an ass? Then what? You start another path? No thanks. I’d rather decide who I am before I start that trek up Mount Everest, thank you very much.



My sister mentioned that some people may not be able/willing to shed their weight, their past, their preconceived notions due to what she and I refer to as a “woobie” I’ve mentioned the dreaded woobie before. It always has to do with leaving something behind as far as I can tell.  But it is, after all things, shaking off the old. Bringing in the new. What good has that old woobie done for you? It’s probably got holes you can fit your arm through by now, and an odd smell you can’t identify. Let it go. Ooh..I've used this picture before...not good. Means I've written about woobies A LOT!



Because, to steal an Oprah line, this is what I know. I know that the you that you envision is gorgeous. That person is gutsy, that person is sparkly and that person is authentic.

Your 2012 YOU is BEAUTIFUL!