Weight loss endeavors have generally been very goal oriented. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Goals can be good. Except when they are not.
I feel like sometimes we launch into goals without really considering if they align well with our vision. When I say vision, I mean what we value, and what we want to experience in our minds, bodies and spirits.
When we set out to lose weight, what do we envision for ourselves? We want to see ourselves at a goal weight because we want to be happier, more active, healthier, more confident, right?
We don’t envision being at a goal weight where our body is worn by over-exercising, or stressing ourselves through strict regimens, or feeling mentally spent. However, sometimes they way we set goals leads us to end up in those places, instead of the states we desire.
Why?
Because, perhaps we didn’t fully align our goals with our vision. Did we consider those desired states when we created our goals and plans? Or did we just launch in to accomplishment mode with blinders on, not seeing how the experience would be to get there, and how we might feel afterwards?
If I wanted to spend more time painting because I enjoyed creating my version of the world, find it meditative, and like taking the time to create something of beauty or wonder, then I don’t want to set a goal to finish 10 paintings a day. Because that goal, while it would be successful in getting me more time painting, would not actually help me meet my vision of why I wanted to paint and what I hoped I would get from it. It, in fact, may even do the opposite, making the time painting stressful, rushed, and result in a product that is not my best work.
The goals we set should be designed with those desired states as part of the path. Remembering that the pursuit is the happiness. Happiness is not an endpoint. And in the case of weight loss, remembering that the true goal is those desired states, and that by focusing on those, we can create weight loss as a side effect.
If you think about the Biggest Loser, we know that most of them had amazing weight loss, and were able to get to those goal weights. But, do you want to work out all day like they did? No, not unless one of your goals is to be a professional athlete. And not to mention, it wasn’t a sustainable regimen.
Are the goals you set in pursuit of weight loss in support of the states you want to experience? What will the pursuit of those goals create in your body, mind and spirit?
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