Perspective Is Everything

Happy 2026, everyone! Although it’s only been eight days since my New Year’s Eve post, it feels like it’s been a month already. I’m not sure if that’s a good omen or a bad one… but focusing on the positive, I’m choosing to believe it’s a good sign. Instead of the year flying by in the blink of an eye like 2025 did, maybe 2026 will move at a pace that lets us actually savor it.

Speaking of good versus bad omens, let me tell you how my new year began.

I walked through the door right at midnight and was greeted by Penny, welcoming in the new year. I got to sleep in, waking up around 10:00 a.m., and—feeling ambitious—decided it was time to take down the Hanukkah and Christmas decorations. And that’s when the omens started showing up…

The first casualty was an ornament. You know the kind—the “Who’s the prettiest queen?” ornament with a mirror in the center. Naturally, it wasn’t the ornament itself that broke, just the little mirror inside. Seven years of bad luck, right?

I didn’t let it deter me and finished packing up the tree and the rest of the ornaments without incident. Feeling accomplished, I moved on to the garland over the windows. Garland number one came down easily. Garland number two, however, decided to take out three beer glasses sitting on the nearby shelf. I managed to catch two. The third—the engraved Guinness glass with my name on it—did not survive.

From there, things escalated. Forgoing the step ladder, I migrated from chair to table to another chair, carefully trying to avoid stepping on broken glass. Despite my best efforts, I still managed to step on a tiny shard. Barefoot. Of course.

While hobbling to the kitchen to remove the glass and apply a Band-Aid, the pinky toe on my uncut foot slammed directly into the corner of the counter—because why not?

At that point, I decided I had officially paid my dues to 2026. All negative energy has been cleared, and the rest of the year is bound to go smoothly. That’s how it works, right?

How we define a moment, a day, or even an entire year comes down to perspective. The way we choose to view a situation—positively or negatively—often determines the outcome. The same is true with Program.

We can look at each weigh-in through a positive or negative lens, but regardless of what the scale says, our mindset will shape the week that follows. Now that the bulk of the holidays are behind us, we get to decide how this year unfolds. We can return to basics and recommit to the behavior modification techniques of Thin’s In—or we can ignore them.

Remember the old saying that it takes 21 days to form a habit? While that theory has since been debunked (research shows it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days), one truth still holds: it only takes one day to break a habit.

Interestingly, Program gives us its own unofficial timeline. The elective list—those little perks like wine or birthday cake—is recommended only after completing five weeks, or about 35 days. That time allows us to solidify the core habits first.

From weighing and measuring to HALT, give yourself the grace and time needed to re-establish these practices. No matter how the holidays went, now is the time to reset, think positively, and focus on consistency. Consistency is the key—not just to creating good habits, but to keeping them.

This week’s loss: 0 pounds

Total loss so far: 48 pounds