Okay, I’m coming clean. I overindulged during the holidays and not just with food. I overindulged with spending, with giving (and receiving), with socializing and with time off. When I look back over the last two weeks, I’m not sure I did anything in moderation. And, although I could talk about all the shoulds I violated, I actually see a silver lining in this.

I am sooooo happy it is January 5th. I’m back in the saddle again and ready to take on a new life. I’m ready to conquer any new frontier and already have some new personal commitments. I’ve joined a 45 day Real Food Challenge, promised to only dine-out once a week, and committed to use lists to organize myself. Right now, the past weeks’ overindulging is making it easy to stay focused.

But, the big question is – how do I keep the focus when I’m no longer sick and tired of my previous behavior. In a few weeks when I’m full of pride for being such a ‘”good” girl, will I fall back into overindulgence? Absolutely, if I think it’s about being good.

Overindulging isn’t about being a bad girl—it’s about being human. Like it not, we are not perfect beings and if we expect to be perfect, we’ll be sorely disappointed. The key is to see both sides of the coin as neither good nor bad, whether it’s overspending and penny pinching or luxurious dining and common leftovers or disorganization and a tidy structured life. If we don’t see these as just part of what is, we’ll be fighting for that perfection that will always be out of our reach—and the cycle of bad and good will continue.

So, as a human, I’m going to strive to be that detached observer. And, when I overindulge, I’ll say, “isn’t that interesting”. And when I live frugally, I’ll say “isn’t that interesting”. Because the truth is, when you come right down to it—isn’t life interesting?

Always learning or as some say AFGO!

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