The alarm goes off and through the thin slit between your eyelids, a sliver of white daylight gets in, signaling another day has begun.

With your sore, aching body, you buckle up your lead boots, strap on your sack of anger and resentment, and trudge laboriously into your day. You’re weak, exhausted, and burdened with pain before the day even starts.

This is what it feels like to carry around anger, resentment, and emotional pain day after day. You have no energy left for things that might bring you joy or happiness. In fact, if asked, you may not even remember the last time you had a truly great day.

All you keep seeing in your mind’s eye is replay after replay of the person you’re angry at, the person who wronged you.

This may be a difficult thing to hear but the only person being hurt carrying this emotional baggage around is you. According to a study performed at the Harvard School of Public Health, those scoring highest on an anger scale were three times more likely to develop heart disease over several years than those scoring lowest.

And here’s another other thing you might not want to hear – each day you hold on to that emotional pain and resentment, you give the person who wronged you control over your life. Each and every day drains away more and more of your own personal power.

There is a way out of this soul-depleting cycle — it’s forgiveness.

You probably don’t want to hear that word either. But that one word carries the most incredible power of healing and growth.

If you’re like many people in a state of emotional suffering, you may confuse forgiveness with excusing the wounding behavior, or simply forgetting about it, condoning it, or reconciling with the hurtful person.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean any of those things.

Forgiveness is having the courage to let go of the negative emotions you have about the person who hurt you. Researchers on forgiveness believe you are in control of your behavior and have the ability to make a personal choice to forgive or not.

Choosing to forgive is YOU having personal control over your own life — instead of giving that control over to the person who hurt you.

This does not mean the offending person is unaccountable for their actions. The goal of forgiveness is to take you from the place of victim to the place of improved health and greater personal power.

You’re probably saying to yourself, “Yes, I’d love to let go of the heavy load I’m carrying around, but forgiving is easier said than done.” You’re absolutely right – forgiveness is probably one of the most difficult things to practice.

Here are seven steps you can follow to help you in your process of forgiving and lead you into reclaiming your life. (You can find more steps at The Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance, a non-profit, tax-exempt educational foundation dedicated to evoking the healing power of forgiveness worldwide.)

1. In order to start the process of forgiveness, you must first acknowledge your anger, fear, resentment, and grief. Your feelings are justified and should not be minimized.

2. Recognize that to dwell on your negative feelings will do serious damage your physical and emotional health.

3. Understand that forgiveness does not condone the behavior that has brought you pain nor does it allow you to be abused.

4. Accept that you are responsible for your own feelings and it is up to you to heal your pain.

5. Make a choice to release the anger, sadness, grief, and fear your feeling by seeking appropriate professional help.

6. Make the decision to forgive the person who harmed you.

7. Remember you are forgiving the other person in order to free yourself from unnecessary pain and suffering — not the other way around.

Practicing these steps can help you reduce anger, hurt, depression and stress and lead you on the path toward physical and emotional strength and well-being.

Remember forgiveness is for you –- for your health, overall wellness, and quality of life. It’s not for the offending person.

You, and only you, can make the choice to take off the lead boots, un-strap the heavy sack filled with anger, resentment, and pain and start living your life free of the past.

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How do you see your body 10 years from today? How will you feel? Will you be physically and mentally able to enjoy time with your loved ones?

You’re aware of the importance of a healthful diet including lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. You’ve heard it stressed before about getting regular, vigorous exercise. And sure, you may be eating better and exercising a little more. But are you really doing all you can?

There are plenty of reasons to get fit. Yet, maintaining motivation for weight loss over a long period of time can be very hard. Knowing the facts will boost your weight loss motivation every day. Remember these 5 weight loss motivation tips:

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #1 - Live Longer

The truth is revealed. Fit people live longer. This is great news, especially if you’re having a hard time shedding every ounce of your unwanted weight. It’s a sedentary lifestyle that hurts you the most.

Whether you’re fit, not that fit, or obese, start with even small changes. Just by adding healthier food choices and more exercise to your goals, you can save your life.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #2 - Maintain A Sharper Mind

Physical activity may be the key to keeping your brain young. In fact, how mentally sharp you remain in old age is linked to your fitness level.

In the Scottish Mental Survey of 1932, 460 men and women were given mental and physical tests at age 11, then 79. Those with the highest fitness scores were more likely to score similarly on the mental skills test at both ages. So, the more fit they were in old age, the more mentally sharp they remained.

Fitness is an important part of your mental growth at any age.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #3 - Fight Depression

Ever wondered why depression is considered a medical issue? There’s more to it than just feelings of deep sadness. Depression results from an imbalance in brain chemicals that carry signals between nerve cells. This makes you feel sad.

Physicians also realize the link between depression and obesity. If you have one, you’re more likely to have the other.

The best way to fight those “sad” chemicals is by staying active. When you work out, feel-good chemicals are released in your brain. These include endorphins and serotonin.

Getting fit is a great way to chase away the blues naturally.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #4 - Relieve Stress

Stress is your body’s natural response to tough situations. When you feel stressed, your body produces chemicals that prepare you to fight or run.

A little stress is necessary. But if you never allow your body to get rid of those chemicals, stress can cause harm over long periods of time.

Your body responds to stress by slowing down digestion, releasing sugars and fats into your blood stream to provide fuel, releasing chemicals to help your blood clot, raising your heart beat, perspiring, increasing your breathing, and tensing your muscles.

Working out is one of the best ways to help your body relax and recover from that adrenaline rush.

Weight Loss Motivation Tip #5 - Boost Energy

If you bought a new car, and the seller told you to use only premium gas to keep it functioning properly for years to come, would you do it? Most people would.

How come you don’t treat your body this way?

Food and exercise are your body’s fuel. Your doctor will tell you to get fit to avoid future problems. If you’re taking your health for granted today, and praying you’ll be fine tomorrow, your body may be running on unleaded fuel.

You could soon find yourself struggling to do even basic tasks, like picking up your grandchildren or walking up a flight of stairs.

Start reaching for the premium fuel! Yes, there is a higher cost. But the cost is even higher when you consider how well you’ll be able to function years from now.

Living a long, healthy life with your loved ones is priceless. They’re worth it. You’re definitely worth it!

These are 5 life-changing reasons to get fit.

Are you sitting in your easy chair just thinking about it? Remember, fitness is a life-long commitment. But it doesn’t have to be hard.

Consider adding some weight loss motivation books and tapes to your personal library to fuel your determination. Change your thinking, and accomplish your goals.

Motivation and weight loss can work hand-in-hand to save a life - Yours!

Weight loss motivation quote:
“Instead of giving myself reasons why I can’t, I give myself reasons why I can.” - Author Unknown

Get the results you want today. Discover where to find sites for weight loss motivation. Grab more free weight loss motivation tips. Click here now.

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What if a trusted friend were to tell you about an investment where you could not possibly go wrong…what would be your reaction? And what if there was a virtual mountain of credible information that supported the investment claims…wouldn’t you be inclined to take advantage of the opportunity and not miss out on the rewards? Although the answer to these questions seems apparent, when it comes to investing in our health and quality of life we often choose to ignore what obviously works. Take for example, exercise…

Physical fitness may be the ultimate investment opportunity. Think of it this way. If you are willing to make the commitment (investment), you will feel and look healthier, have an abundance of energy, be more self-confident, more productive and discover a more joyous and fulfilling life. These are rewards that money cannot buy and the substance of high quality living. And, the investment of exercise becomes even more attractive when you consider that there is absolutely no down-side risk. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. How much better can it get? How many times can you remember ever having a better offer? The honest answer is probably never, and yet many of us fail to act on this extraordinary opportunity. We simply choose to procrastinate or ignore the proven benefits of exercise!

Here are a few reasons that sometimes inhibit our willingness to “step out” and make a change or take a chance:

- Sometimes our vision gets clouded. We lose tract of what is really important. Forget about the less important activities that tend to clutter our daily routine and focus on exactly what needs to be accomplished to reach your goal.

- Looking at the “big” picture can seem overwhelming. And the bigger the task, the more overwhelming it can seem. Break the task apart into smaller pieces. If you want to lose 50 pounds try losing 10 pounds and repeat the process five times! Need to start an exercise program? Begin with short, simple exercises and then slowly expand your routine. Don’t exercise too hard when first starting-out or you will become stiff, tired, disillusioned and soon quit.

- Have you ever not wanted to start something for fear of failure? Take the first step, acknowledge the fear and the next step will come easier. Once fears are acknowledged, they usually quiet down.

- Sometimes we start to think that a task is unpleasant or boring. Just like any other activity, this can also be true for exercise. There are days when we just plain lack the enthusiasm and motivation to continue. It’s part of human nature. On days like these focus on ‘why’ you are doing it. Think about all the people you care about and who may need and rely on you. What would happen if you became ill or disabled and was unable to work for a period of time, or worse, if you were out of the picture completely. How would things change? If something happened tomorrow, how would your family or business manage without you? What do you want your life to be like in the future? There are many tasks or chores we do, that we may not like, but are necessary to live a happen and productive life. Focus on the bigger picture.

- Indecision can be defeating, but doing “anything” is better than doing nothing. There are no wrong choices and very few choices that can’t be undone or done again. Can’t decide on a particular exercise program or routine? Pick a few exercises and start with something simple. If you don’t like it, go on to the next exercise.

- When you lack the confidence to start something new, take a deep breath and try to figure out why. Are you hesitating because you really lack the skill or is it just imagined? If it’s real, try to find out where to gain the skills you need or find someone with the right skills who can help. In the case of exercise, finding a qualified personal fitness trainer can sometimes do the trick, but be wary…some PFT’s are overzealous and tend to start newcomers on programs that are too strenuous.

- Life just seems too busy to find time for some activities. Large, uninterrupted chunks of time are very hard to come by. And if we’re honest, when they do come, we’d rather do something totally pleasurable! Exercise has to become part of your routine. It can’t be an option. Make it a high priority just the same as your career, and other areas of interest. You will be surprised at how easy exercise becomes when approached this way!

- Have you ever subconsciously (or otherwise) invited distractions so that you have a “good” reason not to get something done? Sometimes it’s the simple things like answering the phone or sitting down to watch that “one” TV program, that distract us. When you find yourself doing this, take control of the situation and make a conscious decision to do what you are avoiding.

To reap the benefits of exercise, or any other health related endeavor, you must agree to become a willing participant. This will require due diligence on your part. And remember, as you embark on your mission you are investing in something near and dear to your own heart…your life and a future of healthy living.

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