This I know for sure...

Sometimes you hear or read a piece of wisdom and you think how sensible it sounds. You decide you're going to incorporate it into your life to help you lose weight, quit smoking, or something else you want to change or improve on. You might even start out following that piece of advice but soon you're back to those old, familiar habits, the advice forgotten or ignored. I know I'm more than guilty of doing this.

A week or so ago, my nephew stopped by for a visit. He competes in amateur boxing and is in training for a fight coming up in March. After he outlined the diet he's following (no dairy, no bread, no sugar, basically nothing other than plain poached chicken breasts, plain tuna, egg whites, steamed vegetables, and fruit) and how many hours he's in the gym per week, I said I was impressed. There would be no way I could give up dairy (I eat a lot of greek yogurt) or bread. I love bread. (Not the sandwich kind you buy from the grocery store, but the good bakery type.)

He laughed and said it's hard and that he dreams about doughnuts and is craving pizza. I praised his willpower. He pointed to his head and said, "It's not just what's in here, the whole mind over matter or willpower thing." He moved his hand to his chest and pointed to his heart. "It's what's in here. How badly do I want it? How badly do I want to win my match?"

His words resonated with me in a way that similar words never had before. Now when I find myself getting sidetracked from my writing, I ask myself how badly do I want to be able to write full time. It has made me get my butt in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard every single time.