I just finished watching The Biggest Loser on telly. Its pretty amazing, they've been in there for 5 weeks, and one guy lost 70 pounds (approx 30 kgs). That's .... amazing. Yes, they have personal trainers, they have people monitoring their food, etc. But... THEY do the work, THEY put in the effort, and THEY reap the rewards. The format of the show annoys me a little, but lets not get into that. The point I am trying to make here is this:
These are ordinary people. Doing extraordinary things. It filled me with such hope, and such inspiration to push myself further. Nothing is impossible really - I bet these people felt for the longest time that they will be obese for the rest of their lives. They all weighed more than 100kgs, some even more than 150kgs when they started the journey on the show. When you have to overcome such a huge mountain, its easy to get discouraged and think its impossible. It made me feel like my weight loss was chicken feet compared to what they were going through - I had Marie France to help me trim away the weight! Then again, I also had the determination and ambition to reach for my dreams, and luckily, I have been blessed enough to be where I am now.
I think we can all improve ourselves in any area of our lives if we really want to. I'm not just talking about physically here. I have come to believe that anyone who is of the mentality "I'm just like that." or, "I am XX years old now, you can't expect me to change my ways" is just taking the easy way out. Its not as hard as it seems, though old habits are tough to break. I guess what we can all learn from The Biggest Loser is that change just boils down to:
HOW MUCH YOU REALLY WANT IT.
I look back on the past year, and am amazed at how much I've changed as a person. Often we need a catalyst for this, and I learnt this lesson from someone very close to my heart. If you really want to change something in your life, the first and most important thing is:
1. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF.
You are responsible for your own actions. Emotions are another issue - but how you handle your self, how you react to them, and how you decide you want to be - is all your own CHOICE. (Unless you have a medical condition of course, but that's another issue). You have to be honest with yourself, and realise this before you can change any flaw you have within yourself. Yes, if you're lazy, hot tempered, unkind, etc, its time to face up to it. Don't play victim and go, "I had issues growing up", or "Its not my fault, he/she/they make me this way". Yes some people have it harder than others, but at the end of the day, YOU ACTED THE WAY YOU DID and THAT'S WHY YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE.
2. WRITE DOWN THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO ACHIEVE/BE.
Want to lose weight? Write it down. You want to be more liked by your peers? Write it. Want to be rich? Or want to get along better with your parents. Whatever you want in life to be better, write it down. Then follow that with what you need to do to achieve that. NO EXCUSES like writing what is stopping you, because as of now, only thing stopping you from change, is yourself. For example:
a) I want to lose weight. ----> need to eat better: exercise more .
b) I want to improve my personality/character ----> This one is a little more tricky as you need to look within yourself and your flaws. Here's where the honesty bit comes in. For example, if your girlfriend has told you time and time again that you're unreasonable, there could be some truth in this. Look at yourself how you'd look at someone else. If there is anything there that is holding you back, write it on your list. Follow this with why you want the change - to be a better person, to make the world a better place, to satisfy your narcissism, remember whatever it is BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF.
3. CHANGE!
You can't expect results immediately. Remember that this is not a 'temporary' thing, and that you're changing your LIFE. This is who you are, you are improving yourself, and you want to be better. Take baby steps. If you're someone who has massive road-rage, the next time something bad on the road happens don't just snap, but remind yourself the reasons why you want to change that about yourself. Even if you forget, and succumb to being a swearing angry person behind the wheel, make it a point to look at that later, remind yourself why acting that way upsets you and the people around you, and why you'd like to change.
As to how you change, just tell yourself that nothing will be achieved from succumbing to your weaknesses. The contrary infact tends to be the case - situations are often worsened. So focus on what would be best for you in the long-term to achieve your goal(s). The more you think in this manner, the easier it gets.
I know it seems to be the case that things are easier said than done - and that is often true. But nothing will change otherwise, and whilst it may be *easier* per se to stay the same, life definitely wont be better. So as I said. It all boils down to, How Much You Want It.
All in a day's work on a Sunday Afternoon... 
