Hi All, It's that time of year again when we put ridiculous expectations on ourselves. The message is you're not good enough as is. Well I say "FUCK THAT"! When are we ok, just as we are, when is good enough good enough.... Well your good enough when you start to love yourself exactly as you are, right now in this very moment. Not when your thinner, fitter, more organized, funnier, quieter, smarter, less goofy, better dressed or what ever negative self talk is screaming in your ear and preventing you from living a fuller life. Is your goal is to wear a bikini to the beach.... Well this is how you do, put on a damn bikini and go to the beach.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying don't have goals, dreams, visions. I am a huge dreamer, you can't achieve anything without the dream first. You want to be fit, strong and healthy, HELL YES, you should. But not at the cost that you stop living NOW. Don't give up and throw in the towel, but love yourself now too. Because if you don't I promise you you wont when you hit the "Goal" either. You will still be striving for some new goal, never being content. You will never feel like you have arrived. I know this to be a fact.

How do I know this.... Well I am turning 50!!!! (on Valentine's Day). And I have picked up a tiny amount of wisdom (believe it or not). Remember when you were in High School, or in your 20's or whenever and you thought you were fat and worried about your appearance... Then you looked back at photo's from that time period and realized you actually looked amazing, you wish you could look that amazing now. So what I am saying is you (we) wasted all that time worrying and not truly enjoying our lives. I can bet you anything the same thing is true for the future. In 5+ years when you look back at you RIGHT NOW, you will be shocked at how amazing you were. So stop hating yourself right now and enjoy this moment before you look back and wish you had. And if you are 20 something right now, rock that shit, celebrate your youth, be free, be adventurous, live in the moment. You are beautiful, we all are!! I don't care if you are 20 or 82 you are amazing just how you are, so start living and loving yourself.

I am personally excited to become 50 next month, as we age, we become more of who we were meant to be. I feel more comfortable in my own skin now than I ever have (and there is more of it). I intend to be healthy, eat real food, and exercise so I can keep on exploring this glorious world of ours. But when I want to eat cake, I am gonna eat the damn cake and enjoy every last bite (and with wine).

Here's to 2018 live large, be free and explore your world in other words, Seize the Day!!

By: Christy Barnes