Day 6 Obstacles

Say you are climbing Mount Everest. This would be a big goal and it would require a lot of planning and preparation. You have a very specific goal in mind - get to the top. With such a huge goal you would be really surprised if you hiked straight to the top without any expected and unexpected obstacles. I am not a mountain climber but I would imagine there would be terrain changes, extreme weather, injuries, equipment failures and many other things I can't even begin to imagine.

And really, if we were watching this mountain climbing journey in a movie, the obstacles, challenges and how the climber overcame them would be what made the movie interesting, what made us cheer for them. What if at the first difficulty, instead of finding a solution, the climber turned around and went home?

We have a big goal too. Maybe it's not Mount Everest. But it might feel like it if you have been battling weight loss, dieting, food issues and body image for ten, fifteen, or twenty plus years.

There are things that happen that can derail your weight loss. That can stop you and they will if you let them. It's as if you turn around and go home after all that planning, you give up your dream. Something happens and it allows you an excuse. So who had a better excuse the overweight man who has a minor injury so gives up going to the gym or the mountain climber who has frost bite? The mother who didn't get enough sleep because of small children or the mother on a mountain away from her family sleeping in zero degrees? And who is more likely to actually reach their goal? I would put my money on the mountain climber. Not because the person losing weight can't do it, but because of the kind of commitment it takes to even get on a mountain. What kind of commitment do you have towards your goal? I wrote about goals yesterday if you want to take a look at that.

Drive, commitment, focus, believing in yourself: these are the things that will bring you through, over, around or under obstacles. Think of obstacles that way, as something you need to find a solution to - not a reason to quit. Maybe you slipped down the mountain a little. Maybe you screwed up. Maybe you quit before. Get back up. Try again. Get back up - you are worth it and your goal is worth achieving!