Loving the Process

“…if you want to change, you can’t just be in love with the end result, you have to fall in love with the process too.”

 

This is a quote I discovered on another weight loss blog  yesterday. I had an instantaneous lightbulb flash above my head upon reading it. Even though I have my moments of doubt and frustration, I still LOVE this process. I love that I’m continually evolving, constantly learning (and sharing what I’ve learned with others) and regularly challenging myself in new and different ways. I love realizing that my clothes are getting to big or that I can do something physical that I couldn’t do before. This week, I loved falling back in love with vegetables, trying new recipes and sharing information on enjoying veggies and fitting them into one’s diet.

 

I think that this process is more rewarding than the end goal. Sure, at goal I’ll be my ideal size and will be able to say “Hey! I’ve lost X pounds” but for me it’s this constant evolution that I adore. I actually worry sometimes that getting to goal will be limiting for me–after all, if I spend my life (work, relationships, weight loss) with the idea of continuing to be better, do better and evolve, what will goal bring me? It will be much more challenging to set new goals and stick with it. In a way, I’m fortunate that I’ve been stuck in a rut with the scale lately. It’s teaching me to NOT be motivated by the scale, which will ultimately be helpful once I’m in maintenance mode.

 

This concept of loving the process of achieving a goal is something that I talk about with my students ALL the time. They’re so worried about graduating, achieving a specific grade point average and collecting experiences that they can document on a resume that they forget to appreciate the learning process and celebrate the little achievements and accomplishments they have along the way.

 

So this is my encouragement for all of you today. Think about ways that you appreciate the weight loss process. If you don’t enjoy it, consider ways of recognizing and celebrating your accomplishments along the way. Please feel free to share!