Q: Hey Mark, if I lose weight I will be happier. Right?
A: That’s an interesting question.
The underlining assumption of this question is; when I get ‘there’, my life will be complete or when I win ‘my’ gold medal, I will be happy.
It makes you forget about the journey and focus solely on the outcome. But as a trainer and coach one thing I know for sure is that I work with people, not machines.
Being solely focused on the outcome does not bring happiness. You have probably heard it a thousand times, but it’s about the journey not the destination. One would be wise to be happy and grateful for what they have whilst working towards what they want.
The way it works is actually very simple; Gratitude opens up the heart, when your heart is open you become inspired, when you’re inspired you become energized and enthusiastic, when you are energized and enthusiastic no one can stop you from working towards your goals. Actually your success is simply a matter of time. However lets compare that with the opposite…
When you’re ungrateful your heart closes, when your heart closes, you become suspicious and skeptical. When you are suspicious and skeptical, you doubt if anything will actually ever work. Doubt de-energizes you, as you doubt every thing you do towards your goal. You think ‘what’s the point’ it won’t work anyway.
To answer your question directly, losing weight does not bring lasting happiness. Ultimately it’s a journey to teach you something about yourself. Or, perhaps you simply need to craft yourself a new identity about who you are in this world and how you act in relation to your health and fitness.
Searching for that which is unattainable is the source of many suffering. In other words, don’t compare yourself to others. Instead, adopt the attitude of gratitude.
By Mark Ottobre
Owner and Director, Enterprise Fitness
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