The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Marksissons and is narrated by Brock Armstrong.

It doesn't have to be this way. Let's begin today with an exercise. You might know it's not something I normally do here,

but I think today is the perfect time to try something unexpected. Humor the process, if you will.

It leads somewhere I think is important for the challenge, or any serious change.

Repeat after me. It doesn't have to be this way. Repeat after me.

It doesn't have to be this way.

It doesn't have to be this way.

It doesn't have to be this way.

There's no magic here, no ruby slippers or manifestation miracles.

That said, it's time to make this challenge personal. I find that

major life changes tend to work better that way. The power of an effective mantra rises out of our

growing identification with it. Right out of the gate, all of us can identify with this statement.

The mantra gets at a critical question. What is this challenge about for you? What have you decided

you're done with? This can by no means be an exhaustive list, but let's go through some examples.

Maybe you know already.

Maybe you're crystal clear on what you're ready to kick to the curb regarding the state of your health and what it isn't offering you.

Maybe you have some basic goals but want to get clearer.

Whatever the case, see what comes to you. It doesn't

have to be this way. It doesn't have to be that you will continue to steadily gain several pounds

every year. It doesn't have to be that you live without the physical vitality you used to enjoy. It doesn't have to be that

somehow your well-being and self-investment comes last in a day. It doesn't have to be that your

cravings or food issues undo your good intentions. It doesn't have to be that you commute an hour each direction for work every day.

...