The New Hardest Thing I've Ever Done

In 2011, I got in shape deliberately for the first time in my life. It was the hardest thing I have ever done; through restricting my diet, going to yoga, and running, I lost about 30 lbs and am physically and emotionally so much better off than I was this time last year. I'm five weeks away from my first half-marathon race.

So, in 2012 it's time to up the stakes, and kick my most persistent bad habit. I bite my nails compulsively, and have pretty much since infancy, according to my mom. I bite them to the quick and beyond. My cuticles are pretty much always a bloody, raw, mess. My pinkie nail beds are permanently scarred; my middle finger has a mound of scar tissue which forces the nail to grow crooked. All of my nails are as thin and delicate as onion skins, and the only thing I could ever do is cover them with acrylics. I have tried all the tricks to quit--rubber bands, pepper oils, lemon juice--and they've never worked before. Years ago, I came to believe I just didn't have the willpower to stop.

Kicking this will be the hardest thing I have ever done, and it's my new goal for the year.