Things to Remember Every Day

• I have the right to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect at all times.
• I have the right to make my own decisions about the course of my life.
• I have to right to have dreams-and to work toward making these dreams come true.
• I have the right to feel good about myself as a person.
• I have the right to choose who will be my friends, whom I will spend time with, and whom I will confide in.
• I have the right to make mistakes.
• I have the right to change my mind.
• I have the right to be happy.
• I have the right to ask for what I want.
• I have the right to follow my own values and standards.
• I have the right to express all of my feelings, both positive and negative.
• I have the right to say no.
• I have the right to determine my own priorities.
• I have the right not to be responsible for others' behavior, actions, feelings, or problems.
• I have the right to my own needs for personal space and time.
• I have the right to be in a non abusive environment.
• I have the right to change and grow.
• I have the right to have my needs and wants respected by others.
• I have the right to be uniquely myself.

I Wouldn't Try To Be So Perfect

The following was written years ago by an 85 year old man who learned he was dying......

If I had my life to live over again, I'd try to make more mistakes next time. I wouldn't try to be so perfect. We all have perfection fetishes. What difference does it make if you let people know you are imperfect? They can identify with you then. Nobody can identify with perfection.

I would relax more. I'd limber up. I'd be sillier than I've ever been on this trip. In fact, I know very few things that I would take so seriously. I'd be crazier. I'd be less hygienic. I'd take more chances. I'd watch more sunsets. I'd go more places I've never seen. I'd eat more ice cream and fewer beans. I'd have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I was one of those people who lived sensibly and sanely hour after hour and day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had it all do all over again, I'd have more of those moments. In fact, I'd try to have nothing but beautiful moments moment by moment by moment. In case you didn't know it, that's the stuff that life is made of--only moments. Don't miss the now. I've been one of those people who never went anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a gargle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had it to do all over again, I'd travel lighter next time.

If I had it to do all over again, I'd start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I'd ride more merry-go-rounds, I'd watch more sunrises, and I'd play with more children. If I had to do it all over again...but you see, I don't.

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Okay, random and completely un-inspirational comment about the above....Why on earth would he live less hygienically? Maybe I am just having an OCD day because I agree with everything but that little comment!

You are all amazing!

Five Short Chapters

Chapter 1. I walk down a street and there's a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. It takes forever to get out. It's my fault.

Chapter 2. I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It still takes a long time to get out. It's not my fault.

Chapter 3. I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It's becoming a habit. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

Chapter 4. I walk down the same street and see the deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter 5. I walk down a different street.
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It can get really exhausting falling into holes and always having to climb out. I think many of us get so stuck in the familiarity that we get a false sense of comfort in walking down the same street. It's time to take a huge step and at least check out the other street. If your not ready to walk down it, at least go take a look and see the great things that it could bring! We are worth it!

Hope

When you need some help
To get through the day;
When you need a whole lot less
To concern you,
and a whole lot more
To smile about.....

It really is going to be okay.
You're going to make it
Through this day.
Even if it's one step at a time.

Sometimes you just have to be
Patient and brave and strong.
If you don't know how, just
Make it up as you go along,
And hold on to your hope as though
It were a path to follow
Or a song to sing.

Because if you have hope,
You have everything.

-Collin McCarty

24 Things to Always Remember and One Thing to Never Forget

Your presence is a present to the world.
You're unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be what you want it to be.
Take the days just one at a time.

Count your blessings, not your troubles.
You'll make it through whatever comes along.
Within you are so many answers.
Understand, have courage, be strong.

Don't put limits on yourself.
So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
Reach for your peak, your goal, your prize.

Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.
Don't take things too seriously.
Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

Remember that a little love goes a long way.
Remember that a lot.....goes forever.
Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
Life's treasures are people....together.

Realize that it's never too late.
Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Have health and hope and happiness.
Take the time to wish upon a star.

And don't ever forget.......
for even a moment........
how very special you are!

-Colin McCarty

You Are Worthy

Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.

It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.

Only you know what is best for you.

Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.

Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor the future.

By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Do not give up when you still have something to give.

Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

It is a fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Do not be afraid to encounter risks.

It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.

The quickest way to receive love is to give love;

The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly;

In addition, the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Do not dismiss your dreams.

To be without dreams is to be without hope;

To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

The 5 Truths

While reading Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway I came across 5 truths that were listed.

1. The fear will never go away as long as I continue to grow.
2. The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it.
3. The only way to feel better about myself is to go out.....and do it.
4. Not only am I going to experience fear whenever I'm on unfamiliar territory, but so is everyone else.
5. Pushing through fear is less frightening than living with the underlying fear that comes from a feeling of helplessness.

As repetitive as I feel some of those are, I think that they are very true. Without going out and facing our fears head on we are living such a miserable and often lonely life.

Right now I am facing many of my fears by letting go of my eating disorder. Many times I wonder why I am doing it. I feel so scared, so out of control. If I look at it logically I remember that with time the fear will disappear and I will be able to live the life that I want so badly. If we commit to facing our fears, eventually they will subside. We will be able to have what we have longed for.

Quotes

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

-Thomas Alva Edison

Nobody trips over big rocks or mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.

-Unknown

I often wonder whether or not I would be "recovered" if I had not given up so many times in the past. I think that it is very important to remember that the next time we feel like giving up, we may be closer than we think. So often we get discouraged because of the set backs that we encounter even though they are a natural part of recovery. Let's accept our mistakes, learn from them and cross that mountain.