With a figurative side shuffle and Jackie gleasons words ringing in my head….”And away we go!!!!!”

Good lord I must be nuts to put a good chunk of my…well lets call them…idiosyncrasies right out there in the open for all to see, chuckle at, and gape carp-mouthed. For those who know me, you know I’m a wee bit OCD with a touch of masochism thrown in just for giggles and grins. For the folks who don’t know me – I’d just almost rather stand on the doctors scale with 10 roles of quarters in each pocket than stand nekkid with flaws exposed.

With that said, I’ve got “stuff” to work on – stuff that once I start getting under control will, hopefully, lead to a happier, less stressful, healthier life. The more life I live, the more I realize that we cause ourselves undue heartache and stress with unhealthy behaviors and knee jerk emotional reactions to situations we face. We start these behaviors when we are younger because maybe they worked for a time. But now, these behaviors or habits have become so ingrained they are second nature to us. I’m no different.

I’ve never been shy to ask for help from friends, counselors, pastors, when I have hit an emotional wall or a behavioral roadblock. I’ve worked through lots that life has thrown at me, but even though the issues themselves may have been resolved, I still have some things that trip me up. And I gotta tell you, I’m tired of skinning my knees.

My writing partner, Barb, and I started talking about, reading about, and discussing for hours what makes people unhappy and stressed; happy and relaxed; better adjusted and healthier emotionally. Since we’ve been close friends for 20+ years, we know each others personalities and how we respond to life’s situations. The more we talked, the more we wanted to work on our issues, and why not invite everybody we know, or follows middleSage.com, to come along on the journey for themselves.

We’ve always told our kids that you should live your life out loud. So when Barb and I came up with “The Behavior Exchange Challenge”, the only option I had was to live the learning and challenges out loud. My husband will be participating, and we will be each others accountability partner. But I expect everybody who reads my behavior resolutions sheet (which is attached, AND you will also be able to review it on middleSage.com) to be able to call bullshit if I slack or rationalize my behaviors if I waffle.

I’m not anticipating perfection, but by July 31st, I anticipate I will be well on my way to exchanging unhealthy behaviors for healthier behaviors.

This morning, you will find this introduction/story and my Behavior Resolution sheet, followed by Barb’s story and resolution sheet this afternoon. Tomorrow (Tuesday) will begin our journaling on middleSage.com to share our challenges and accomplishments.

Since you, too are encouraged to participate, we would love to hear from you. If you’re not comfortable putting your stuff out there for everybody, then by all means private message or email us – it will stay confidential.

If you haven’t yet taken “The Behavior Exchange Challenge” Poll to help you determine what you may need to work on, take a few minutes….it’s worth your while. Besides, it’s completely ANONYMOUS and no one but you will know how you’ve answered. It WILL give you an idea of how you compare with other folks taking the poll.

Whew! OK…I’m done. For today. Please take a look at MY resolutions sheet and what I have to work on…know you’re not alone in this!

With all that said…”AWAY WE GO!!!!!”

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