I must say....

[Guest guest]

I must say after attending our south end support group and meeting a

bunch of different bandsters, I recieved a wonderful gift. That is

the gift to open my mind and see each persons journey as individual.

I tend to think everyone is going at it the same way, however I

realized that is not so. I TRULY enjoy talking to all diferent

bandsters and hearing thier journey, good bad, indifferent whether

they follow the rules don't follow the rules, only follow them

sometimes, take more than a year to reach goal whatever. I know where

I was emotionally before I was banded and I was sitting there trying

to imagine where some of these people must have been having to

overcome way more than I.To me YOU ARE ALL success stories, no matter

where you are at and how you got there. No matter if you eat

chocolate, fast food, stick totally to the plan or whatever.The gift

lies in that you are honest.Thank You for your honesty, that is what

really helps people out. Your journeys have been succesful because of

YOU and the rules that work for you, your charm lies in your

individuality and your willingness to admit things and your gift is

in your sharing. What a breath of fresh air. Thank you for having the

guts to think outside the box. That's power.Thank you for giving real

feedback and not just the standard answer. After a while that gets

old, its like a song they keep playing over and over again on the

radio and you are so sick of it that after a while you don't even

hear it anymore.I know who was at our

table and you know who was at our table, I admire everyone of you,

where you have been, where you have come from and where you are

going.

You are all very succesful in my eyes. Dina

[Guest guest]

> I must say after attending our south end support group and meeting

a

> bunch of different bandsters, I recieved a wonderful gift. That is

> the gift to open my mind and see each persons journey as

individual.

> I tend to think everyone is going at it the same way, however I

> realized that is not so. - Dina

THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I was beginning to tire of the preachy, rote

responses and incredibly high expectations and sometimes

condescension often touted on this board. They tend to overcrowd

the support sometimes. In fact, I almost stopped using this board

and went back to the WW board where the tone is always positive, not

preachy. So THANK YOU for bringing it back to a place I want to be.

[Guest guest]

You are Welcome....

This has been quite a learning experience for me. I actually am

one of those peope who shoot right from the hip, say it like it is,

don't enable peoples bad behavior and have no time for it. I actually

enjoy people who are the same way and usually only surround myself

with those type. However I have had the opportunity to be banded with

2 people close to me and in that I realized that ther are so many

variables.One of my friends is excatly like me and the other is

completely different. You must thank her because it was through her

that I was able to take a step back and see that there are some

people who need a different approach. Normally I would just roll my

eyes, say whatever and move on. The question I had to ask myself was

this.Do I want to help this person succeed with experiences I have

learned from in my own life or do I want to just let her figure it

out on her own. Here was my answer. Had it not been for people in my

life at times that said things that were so profound and helped ME

move forward from things I have had to deal with I would not be where

I am today. I am often viewed as a very strong person, I have not

always been that way. I have endured many things and overcome many

things that life has thrown my way, and it has been with a little

help from things people have said to me. So if I can take 5 minutes

to help someone out whether i agree with them or not, I am giving

back what someone has given to me in the past.Anyone who knows me

will tell you this is HUGE for me, and I thank my friend for making

me look at everyones journey as different. The fact that they have

taken a step to get banded and overcome this problem in itself is

admirable to me.So if you have something that helped you pass it on

that's all it takes. I understand the forward approach, as I am the

same way but whenever I see people calling each other names and

belittling others on the boards I think its no longer effective.

Thanks to all bandsters straight forward or not, there is SOMETHING

to be learned from each one of you.

> THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I was beginning to tire of the preachy, rote

> responses and incredibly high expectations and sometimes

> condescension often touted on this board. They tend to overcrowd

> the support sometimes. In fact, I almost stopped using this board

> and went back to the WW board where the tone is always positive,

not

> preachy. So THANK YOU for bringing it back to a place I want to be.

[Guest guest]

---

Hey Dina- Thanks for the compliment. One foot at a time.joanne

In , " seirramlis " <seirramlis@y...>

wrote:

>

> > I must say after attending our south end support group and

meeting

> a

> > bunch of different bandsters, I recieved a wonderful gift. That

is

> > the gift to open my mind and see each persons journey as

> individual.

> > I tend to think everyone is going at it the same way, however I

> > realized that is not so. - Dina

>

> THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I was beginning to tire of the preachy, rote

> responses and incredibly high expectations and sometimes

> condescension often touted on this board. They tend to overcrowd

> the support sometimes. In fact, I almost stopped using this board

> and went back to the WW board where the tone is always positive,

not

> preachy. So THANK YOU for bringing it back to a place I want to be.