Title: Learning to Love the Journey
What does it mean to “enjoy the journey”?
Think about it; you’re about to embark on a weight loss “journey,” you have a goal, and an idea or expectation of how you will get there. We may even feel a bit eager to simply get there already. That’s when we tend to dwell on what it takes to achieve our goal, which can be overwhelming and suck the joy out of the journey.
There you are, standing on your green grassy hill, looking out at the valley, forest, and mountain that lay ahead of you, before you can reach the mountaintop. You take the first few steps down the hill and fall, rolling down into the hot, barren, valley. Truck your ass through the scorching heat of the valley and into the forest where you find shade. With some relief, you continue, but in order to keep going you must trudge through the dark swamp and into prickly bushes, and though the path clears sometimes, you are scared, confused and lost, unsure if you are going in the right direction.
When you reach the end of the forest you see the mountain in front of you, standing tall and you wonder if you’ve got anything more to give to get to that glorious place of where you want to be. But you want it so bad, so you go. You hike up that steep mountain with unstable rocks, stumbling along the way, risking a big fall backward with each step.
But you do it, you reach the top. And while reflecting back over your journey, down the mountain, through the forest, across the valley, you realize that it took several months to get to this point, and while you accomplished so much you didn’t once stop to enjoy the journey. It is the experiences throughout the journey that made you this strong individual standing on this peak and it’s all just a painful blur now.
So many of us are rushing through the journey, or looking for short cuts, to get to the end faster. Yet, the journey or process is the most important part. Sure, it’s hard, uncomfortable and scary, but it’s the inevitable part of becoming who we want to become, so why not learn to love this process and find value in it?
So, what does it mean to love the journey? What do we need to do?
Do you need to slow down and be more present?
Do you need to stop rushing from one task to the next?
Do you need to be more grateful for challenging times?
Do you need to focus on all that is going right rather than dwell on what’s going wrong?
Do you need to focus on what’s actually happening while your suffering?
Let’s take a deeper look.
You were brave and courageous to take the first few steps down from your pretty green hill. Sure, you fell and rolled down into the valley, rather than graciously stepping onto new territory, and now you’ve got some cuts and bruises to show that you were brave. The scorching heat blistered you up, but you didn’t fall victim to it, you discovered how to create shade from your support bag and take breaks from the heat so that you could keep going. Sure, it slowed your progress down a bit, but you were self-reliant and listened to your survival skills.
You finally reached the forest and thought it’d provide some relief – SHADE! However, it was full of prickers tearing at your burnt, blistery skin. Good thing you came prepared with a support bag full of cloths to wrap your wounds in and protect you from the prickers. Remember all the times you thought about turning back and didn’t? The mental and emotional strength used to push through changes you. Then you reached that mountain and worked hard to climb that last peak.
The challenges are different for everyone. Learning to understand the bigger picture of what’s happening in the process of getting to where we want to be is wildly important and vital to learning to enjoy the journey. What are you revealing about yourself? We are wrapped in fear of the unknown but what about relying on that survival bag (your friends, family and inner compass)?
The moment you choose to trust the process and find gratitude in the challenges, you will learn how the same experience can give you a totally different feeling – a feeling of enjoyment.
I invite you to go on a journey with me. A 12-week journey to evolve into awesomeness and reach a healthier, stronger, happier you. Click here to learn more about my 12 Week Evolve Into Awesomeness Full Body Transformation. I hope you’ll challenge yourself and take this journey with me.
– Alexis