#7. Come out of seclusion

from SparkPeople Top 10 Strategies for Success..Use these ideas to meet your goals- by Mike Kramer
Has anyone ever achieved anything of real value all alone?  Probably not many.  Most receive some form of help from other people.  Support, information, a sense of shared experience, encouragement, advice, and well-timed pep talk are all invaluable as you set off on your adventure.

For me this should be #1 and it is probably the hardest thing for me to do and to maintain.  Altho if you ask my family they will tell you that I'm always busy.  I've kept busy with my Thus friends, even gone skydiving with my AOC friends . ...but through all that I HAVE secluded a part of me from everything..

I have basically given up on alot of things that made me happy and confident about myself.. my outdoor/hiking group (I've gone from doing something every month to only 2 trips this past year)..using the excuse that I've gotten too old and slow to keep up with all those young people...this is more Malarkey...I had to give up my gym (due to money cutbacks) and have lost contact with some really good friends I made there (not all). I gave up my own blog (using the excuse that I was tired of hearing me moan & groan about how unfair life was being to me) and reading other blogs. I gave up my support group at eDiets..tried SparkPeople but told myself that there wasn't a group that I fit in with and I didn't need it.  I've had times in the past 3 years that I tried to come out of seclusion only to go back to hiding after a few days/weeks..Mostly I've found myself escaping by reading books and going on FB to play games (I can spend a whole day playing Mafia Wars) Why did I let myself get to this point?

As I look back I can see what I did to myself..trying to isolate myself so I wouldn't have to admit that I have a problem...And my problem is that I don't/didn't want to admit to myself that I failed in keeping this weight off..that by secluding myself I gave myself permission to go back to not caring about myself enough to take care of ME..
I need to keep telling myself that I'm NOT all about the Weight..that I am a Person of Worth no matter how I look on the outside...I know that I feel better about myself when I look good but going into seclusion wasn't all about how I looked..I lost confidence in myself..I started to convince myself that I couldn't do the things I enjoyed/wanted..I was/am still afraid of failing so it's so much easier not to try. It is so much easier to NOT come here and examine why I do the things I do.

So coming out of seclusion at step at a time for me means getting my confidence back and not being afraid of admitting that I can fail..but always about getting back into the game and doing my best..

I am so lucky that I DO Not have to do this alone..I have some really great friends and family who are all supportive WHEN I let them.  The tools I need are right here. All I have to do is reach out and use them