As I struggle to spend another ten minutes on the treadmill, I'm reminded of how useless that last cigarette I had was. Or maybe if I had missed the last round of injections last night, I could have gone to lift weights after this. At least I'm in the gym and you have to clap yourself in baby steps, right? Looking at my life a year ago and I have to say that studying anthropology vocabulary or writing essays on the possible origins of World War I were not activities I was motivated to participate in. After seeing my friends start to realize their dreams, I understand that action is the only cause of change. In every aspect of my life the ideas have never been realized and that is strictly my fault. Soon I plan to finish my degree, adopt a healthier lifestyle and start my career in Chicago. Achieving a healthier lifestyle is one of those “easier said than done” tricks. It's a complete domino effect with one mistake causing slight panic about the next steps. It's about adapting learned behavior and making the decision not to go out and socialize with my friends because I have to go to school or a task to finish was challenging at first. The reward of getting high grades and seeing the first rays of the morning quickly changed my philosophy about it. For the first time in a long time I was setting goals and achieving them. This inspired my diet to change. Making breakfast no longer seemed like a daunting task, which introduced some fresh produce into my eating habits. Transforming yourself, however, requires more than a few eggs and apples. When I was younger I was very active with sports but over time it all slipped away; "walking server", as I like to call him, and lift...... middle of paper... get it done already. Lately I have been listening to the wiser voices of reason and now I realize that rushing will accomplish nothing. Dedication and tenacity in me and focus on my current goals instead of a single-minded obsession with distant ones. I'm just getting started with this new way of thinking and I can't wait to see where it takes me! The convergence of these very general but positive ways of thinking and living has done nothing but great things in my existence. I also eliminated unpleasant and immoral people from my life, I took up gardening, and the money I saved allowed me to take more vacations. Sure there will be setbacks and dominoes will fall, but instead of giving up I'm now starting to gain the backbone to say, "It's worth caring about myself enough to get up and go." I'm excited to see where my adventures take me.