Enjoy the Journey
Most weeks, I find that people think they have to be ‘obsessed' about food to be successful. Or, they back away from proper eating habits, because they are intimidated by the prospect of having to be careful about food choices for the rest of their lives. To me, thinking about proper portions and food choices is simply a part of life. Similarly exercise is something I do, because I know it is important to health, and it relaxes me. More stress arises when we're aware that our choices are poor and our health suffers.
To consciously create our life takes work, discipline and will power. It is a full-time job requiring single-mindedness and total dedication all the way. It is not something that you work on today and lay aside tomorrow. You may encounter many ups and downs on your way to success, yet never let the downs discourage you. Do not reject them. Learn to love the downs as much as you love the ups.
Part of doing this is training the mind to be positive. To believe, really believe you can do it. It may take more time than you wanted, but you will do it! Train your mind to always be positive and look for the best in everyone and everything. Do not live in a rush-filled life that you forget to take delight in. Live with your eyes really open. See and enjoy all the beauty that is around you-the grandeur of the sky, the songs of the birds, and so on.
Go for a walk and let nature absorb your stress. Listen to some music you enjoy and let your soul absorb the relaxing tones. We tend to allow the busyness of our lives create chronic stress and lack of enjoyment. There are many things around us to enjoy and take away the stress, and we must make use of them.
Believe there is no such thing as failure only lessons. WE must view every failure as a lesson and extract the best out of every situation. Simply put, ask yourself "why did I just eat all that food when I wasn't hungry?” "What can I learn from this, and how can I prevent it next time”. Don't spend anytime criticizing yourself; just see if you can learn something from these situations. That way we stop beating ourselves up and our daily search for health becomes easier.
Try not to blame others. Accept full responsibility. Successful people do not blame other people and circumstances, but accept that they must find their own solution.
On a daily basis, we must find ways to calm our stressed selves. Whether that is exercise, music, books or something else, we must find methods to calm ourselves. Similarly to take away the "I failed” self talk, look at every situation as simply a learning one. What did you learn from that experience (whether you perceive it good or bad), and what can you do in the future to improve upon it.
Learn to enjoy the journey, because it is constant. The daily rewards are huge.
You can do it, just never give up trying!
Dr. Doug