Do you ever get the feeling that you’re almost there? That you are on the write track and if you just go a little further you will arrive, only to be disappointed that you never really arrived anywhere? No? Just me?
I’ve been working out at this functional training gym for about 6 months now and have seen some interesting things happen with my body. 1.) I’ve gained some pretty cool muscle tone. 2.) I’ve definitely leveled up in the strength and endurance department. 3.) I find myself more motivated to do lots of things and have lots of energy. 4.) I feel sexier (my back is looking pretty damn good guys). But I still have this self doubt that despite all the AWESOME things that I have gained from going, I have also gained some weight. (dunh dunh dunh) Gaining weight for a woman is usually synonymous with losing confidence.
When I started at this gym I already knew the primary goal was mental health and physical health. I’m not going to lie, of course I want to look good too, but I knew if my primary goal was to lose x amount of pounds that just didn’t have enough staying power for me. I mean, what happens when you reach your goal? Do you stop going? And what happens when you fail to reach your goal? Do you quit because you feel like a failure and dislike feeling like a failure?
You see, I don’t believe there is any point in life where you just arrive. Where everything is exactly as you wanted it, dreamed it, planned it out, and now you can retire. Good job! The truth is we are always in process. We will never “arrive”. What would that even look like?
Now this isn’t to say you can’t set and achieve goals. One of my favorite things in life is when I tell myself I’m going to do something and I do it. And who doesn’t love checking things off of lists? It feels good to accomplish things, especially when they’ve challenged us. It is an incredible feeling to see positive changes in your life when you look back over the last however many years you are looking back through. Have you learned? Have you grown? Have you been challenged? Of course you have! Unless you have kept yourself under a rock, you can’t really avoid these things.
What happens when you climb to the top of your mountain though? What happens when you’ve reached your goal? What happens if you don’t quite make it and you haven’t quite reached your goal? Well, the sun is going to keep on rising day after day, come successes or failures. If you’ve already had some success chase after some more. Maybe chase after something different, something more challenging or something completely out of your comfort zone! If you’ve had failures, well, your life isn’t over, is it? In fact, you are probably ridiculously young and have tons of time. If that goal wasn’t right for you make a new one, or if you need to tweak your goal to make it more achievable do it!
“You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ~Louise Hay
There’s no rush, and there’s really no destination. Life is a journey and there are only stops along the way. Look at where you’re at and look for the good. If you are feeling down about your body size, it’s time to love yourself for where you are at! No joke. Go to the gym, workout, eat healthy if that is what you want, but don’t wait to love yourself until you have “arrived” at that perfect weight.
This goes for anything! Not happy with where your business is at? Well, you have a business, so congrats! You are doing better than most of the population. (Not that you should compare yourself, that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms to discuss.) Find the beauty in where you are at and move from there with the frame of love and gratitude.
Don’t let the time investment scare you off either. Time is going to pass either way! The key to success in anything is really just consistency. I promise. I’m really just talking to myself anyway.
Maybe the point I am trying to make isn’t that you will never arrive, but that you are already there. In every moment, you have so much to be grateful for, so far you’ve come to be proud of, and so far to go that you can look forward to! There is no end game, there is only life and how you are living it.
The privilege of lifetime is to become who you truly are. ~ Carl Jung
