Dear Jeremy,

Let’s talk for a minute, okay?

2012 has the potential to be the best year of your life. We need to make sure that happens.

I’ve basically been the equivalent of your grown-up imaginary friend since you first learned about the muse from literature in 6th grade. For whatever reason, you’ve always visualized me as a small blue dragon named Mason rather than the gorgeous women that most muses throughout literature have been, but whatever. That’s neither here nor there.

So, do you kind of feel like you are going through the motions?

A little bit? Yeah, I thought so.

How long have you been in the 370s? Several months. Longer than you can really remember for sure, right?

You are less than thirty pounds from your highest. At one point, you were almost 150 pound from your highest.

I’m not saying this to beat you up.

I’m saying this to remind you that you’ve already done it once, and you can do it again.

Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it’s scary. Yes, it is going to take a while.

But so freaking what? What else are you going to do? If you don’t lose this weight in 2012, you’ll start 2013 the same way, still overweight.

2013 is coming whether you lose weight or not.

And if you want to stay obese, that is totally fine. It won’t make you a bad person at all.

Just decide:

Would you rather have a year of eating too much food, spending literally hundreds (maybe thousands) on fast food that will cause an endorphin release that only lasts until the guilt kicks in, and sitting around on the couch watching tv, finishing up 2012 in the 370s? Or 390s? Or the 430s?

Or would you rather have a year of working out daily, eating clean, tasty food, indulging OCCASIONALLY, and finishing up 2012 weighing significantly less?

It doesn’t even freaking matter what significantly less IS! It can be twelve pounds. It can be one hundred and twenty pounds. Whatever. Be healthy.

So, that’s your choice.

Be obese.

Be healthy.

Either is fine. Just own it.

Are you really going to choose to be healthy, or are you just saying that because you find it shameful to select the obese option?

Here’s the thing, dude. I know you. Extremely well. (Remember the whole imaginary friend part? Yeah, I KNOW YOU.)

And because I know you, I know that you will say what is the socially, therapeutically correct answer to avoid the confrontation right now.

Actions speak louder than words.

I believe you can do it. Heck, I know you can do it.

I’m just not 100% sure you will do it. Being honest. It’s called tough love.

Right now, I’m going to take you at your word. You believe you can do this. You believe you want to do this.

Don’t worry about setbacks. They happen to everyone. If they happen, just keep going. And keep going immediately. Going to sleep is not a magical reset button. If you mess up at six p.m., then from 6:01 ‘til you go to sleep is still the potential to be awesome.

I’m going to keep checking in on you.

We’ll tackle this beast. 2012 is our year.

I’m not wishing you luck. You don’t need luck.

You got this.

Regards,
Mason

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• An Open Letter from my Muse to Myself #3