A few years ago I made an effort to improve my golf game. Upon a visit to the local golf store I asked the sales clerk for some advice on how I could improve my golf swing. He suggested several books and a video tape that featured the legendary golf instructor, Harvey Penick.

Mr. Penick had trained countless golfers at all levels and without a doubt had forgotten more about the game of golf than most of us will ever know.

I can remember arriving back at home and watching that video once, twice maybe even three times before heading out to the driving range and applying what I had learned from the teaching great. I have to admit that using the techniques that Mr. Penick taught helped me at the range and even when I actually played.

Several months went by before I was able to return to the course to play another round of golf. To my surprise not only were all of Mr. Penick's teachings far from my mind I also realized that my golf game was right back to where it was before I watched the video in the first place.

I went back home and watched the tape again and on my next visit to the golf course, my game had improved a bit.

As I continued to watch the video and reading articles and books on the proper golf swing, I realized that there are many intricacies to what the pros make look simple.

How you hold the club, lining up correctly, the position of your feet, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows and wrists. Oh and let's not forget the club speed, keeping your eye on the ball, the direction of the wind, the speed of the wind and whether or not anybody who isn't in your group is watching you. Talk about pressure. In fact, when you consider all of the subtleties (most of which have gone unmentioned) that go into a golf swing, you might find yourself wanting to laugh, or maybe even cry.

How does this relate to weight loss, you ask? Well what I eventually found out about golf is that it is just like anything else that you are trying to improve on; the more you practice, the more success you will have. Sounds simple doesn't it?

The old saying of "practice makes perfect" really should be "repetition makes excellence".

When you get into the habit of consistently practicing good eating habits such as consuming sensible portion sizes and becoming active you are creating repetition and repetition makes excellence.

If you feel that you are not at the point of excellence where your weight loss efforts are concerned, you should know that excellence comes with repetition and repetition comes with making a decision, and a decision is made on the hope that it will work for you.

You are just a hope away from being excellent.