Relax and enjoy the ride

Sally Bonkrude
GCN Columnist

  It’s a New Year, time to reflect, re-adjust and begin anew.  So, how about those goals for the New Year?  Let’s get started.  First, it’s important to be realistic in goal planning.  Many of you may have set a goal to lose weight and are planning to be fit and trim in a manner of weeks.  This is admirable, but is it realistic?  Goal planning is about creating an action plan and keeping focused on where those goals and plans are going to take you. As you take steps toward your goals, you need to remember that you will be constantly shifting and adjusting your course, yet always mindful of the goals.   The action steps are just that, the daily steps taken toward the goal. For example, you may be clearing out the cupboards and refrigerator of all sweets and processed foods and replacing them with whole, unprocessed healthy alternatives, as an action step toward the goal of a healthier you.

  When writing your goal, always state the goal in a positive and present tense format.  Do not put goals in the future tense. For a losing weight goal, I may say, “ I am enjoying eating fresh, healthy, unprocessed foods. I love the way my body feels as it embraces these foods and I feel fit and trimmer. My kitchen is a delight with fresh fruits and vegetables and the smells of whole grain breads cooking in my oven.  My body is healthy and I am achieving my ideal weight of ???.  It’s easy to achieve my goals.”  So many times we set ourselves up for failure by thinking we have to work on something like losing weight.  Let’s say, your mindset is, “I’m going on a diet today and will lose 5 pounds this week.”  If, during the week, you step off the “diet path” you may begin to condemn yourself and your inability to discipline yourself.  Then, if you lose only 2 pounds or even gain 2, you may be feeling like a failure, ready to give up and go back to your usual eating lifestyle.  Also, you may be feeling like you’re depriving yourself of everything you love to eat and it just doesn’t seem fair.  In this way, the goals are negative, the messages being, “I will discipline myself.  I will go without comfort foods.  I will struggle every day in pursuit of thinness.”  With this mindset, you will be giving yourself 20 lashes, be miserable, feel deprived and struggle through the days.  Change the mindset.  What you are doing by creating positive goals, in the present tense, is providing a positive message to play and replay in your head, and a road map to getting where you want to go, even if you do happen to miss a turn, or occasionally go down a side road.  You are still on track, by visualizing your healthy body and extra energy.  You’re still on track, even with a small chocolate cake detour.  You don’t even have to believe that it’s possible to lose the weight, just keep taking those positive daily actions toward achieving your goal.  Visualize your goal coming true.  Use all your senses as you image how you feel having achieved your goal.

  There can be a time lag between manifesting your new goal and it becoming a reality in your life.  It’s important to let go of your desire to, in this case, “be thin” and relax in the knowledge that those positive daily actions are at work for you.   Bask in the glory of eating good foods, exercising and let go of the major weight loss deadline.  Flow through life enjoying food in new ways.  Remember you’re NOT DIETING, you’re living and taking care of your body.  Experience the sights, smells and textures of food that nurture your every cell.  It is possible to lose weight and enjoy every minute. LET IT HAPPEN.

  When writing goals, you may want to think about supporting goals.  In the example I’m using of losing weight, it may be important to release stress and slow down to support your new eating lifestyle.  So, support goals may be, “I enjoy swimming and hiking every week.  It’s beautiful getting up early to watch the sunrise and be ready for my swim or hike.  My body feels firm, fit and ready for action.  In addition, I daily look at my schedule and plan time to relax and just be in the moment.”

  I chose to use the example of weight loss because obesity seems to be in the news all the time, growing by leaps and bounds in our fast paced, stress filled, fast food eating culture.  But, whatever your goal for the New Year, be realistic, positive, action oriented and then relax and enjoy the ride.  It’ll happen.