So, I used to do this thing called the “100 Days Challenge,” which was based off of the stuff you found in the book “The Secret.” I’m not going to get all into the meaning of “The Secret” and the stuff that people talk about (controversy) over it. Honestly, I’ve never read the book, and I probably never will because it’s not my style of reading material. But the challenge I was involved in (that was based on this book) was really interesting, and some of it I do believe works.

From the group, I understood the basis of the book was not “wish for something and you get it,” as I see a TON of people reporting it to be. That’s a misconception – at least from the experiences I was involved in. The basic idea – again, for this group – was that yes, you wish for something. But you don’t sit back and wait passively for it to come to you. You make it happen for yourself. And by stating that “wish,” and proceeding to open yourself up to watch for the situations and opportunities that present themselves so you can actively play a part in making that wish come true, it will.

It was based on the idea that there are no coincidences, and sort of “the butterfly effect,” that every decision you make and every action you take sets out a ripple in the world that affects everyone and everything in it – which is something I already do believe happens. I think the “wish making” (otherwise known as “setting your intentions”) is sort of a psychological thing, you telling yourself in an authoritative manner that this is what you want, and by God, you’re gonna get it. The action of making that intention tangible sort of tells your brain that this isn’t some random thought in your head, or a dream that will never come true, and it sort of steels your nerve to make it happen for yourself.

I just wanted to give you that little bit of back-story there, so you understand I’m not just “wishing” for stuff and waiting for it to happen. I’m more of the “wish in one hand, shit in the other and see which one fills up faster” camp.

I did pretty well on the challenge, when I participated. Not as well as I’d wanted to, but I did all right. Unexpected things did happen, and made me believe that when you set your mind to it, and open your eyes to watch for those opportunities, things do happen. You make your own luck. It was fun to try it in a short span of time and actually see it occur.

So. Here I am. I am not advocating “The Secret,” (again, I’ve never read it, and don’t care to) I just wanted you to know the basis of what I’m about to share with you.

I’m going to do the challenge again.

I’m not doing it with the group I was involved with before. The ladies that run the group are…. well they’re nice ladies. Very enthusiastic. But I’ll put it this way: I’m NOT a morning person. I have my days (and no, not just when I’m PMSing) where I’d like to tear someone’s head off. It’s kind of annoying to hear the soothing voices of the Holy Trinity there tell me that I’m pissed because it’s my fault I let someone piss me off. Whatever. Some days I must cave into non-happy moods, and wallow in my failures. That’s called life. And I am NOT an over-sensitive-to-others kind of person, either. I believe in the Golden Rule. Some people don’t. The people that don’t tend to not get me. The people that do do. Those are called friends. If you’re not my friend, I really don’t care what you think.

“The people that mind don’t matter, and the people that matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss

So, I’m not joining in with that group of people again. But I will be doing this for myself.

Now I’ve tried to start this 100 Days Challenge on my own before, and I usually fail at it – typically I’m good for the first week or so and then next thing you know the whole 100 Days has blown by and I’m sitting there like “Crap. I missed it.” But I’m going to give it another shot. I am not going to promise myself that I will post something every single day. I already know I can’t make that (and my life isn’t that interesting anyway). But I can challenge myself to post something once per week. Surely something interesting will happen once a week, right?

But the main goal of this challenge, for me…. my “wish” if you will… is to continue on with a goal I’ve already set myself on, but have not fully realized my potential in attaining it: weight loss.

My doctor is happy with my progress (Have you ever seen a middle-aged doctor with a salt-and-pepper beard cheer? Yeah. I have. You can’t unsee that shit.) but he could be happier. I’m losing, but I’m losing v e r y s l o w l y. He thinks I can do better. I have another appointment in about 2 months (at the end of June), and I know he’d like to see around 20 pounds gone. Not necessarily exactly 20, but somewhere in that range. I’d like to surprise him with some semblance of success – because thus far, I’ve been coming to him every 3 months with around a 6-8 pound loss.

So, if I begin my challenge today, April 26, 2010, it will end on August 4, 2010 – with my checkup just after day 50, so halfway in. So maybe I can lose about 15 pounds by then – and roughly 30 by the time the challenge ends. That would be cool. That would put me at just barely 20 pounds over what I weighed on my wedding day, and only 35 pounds away from my goal.

Yes, I just did that annoying math for all of you to see LOL

Another goal I have is in regards to my business. I took a sabbatical this year to focus on the direction I want to go in for my business, and I haven’t done squat yet. All good intentions on the road to hell. So I want to focus more on my direction for that, so i can start the new year in full swing, and down the path I want to take.

So there we have it. Today is my Day 1. Let’s just see how this goes!