It’s Been Two Years Since I Started My Journey!

September 2 marks two years since I started my journey to become healthier by eating clean, exercising and clearing my mind. It hasn’t been easy, especially towards the beginning part of my journey – but it has been well worth the dedication and determination to move forward.

Yes, I am still human! Yes, I still have those days I want to be lazy and put off going to the gym, running or even walking after lunch till the next day – but I push through and ask for strength from Heavenly Father to make it through what I know I should be doing daily! The last few weeks have been hard for me and I could easily say I am way too busy at work as there is no time! I do find myself needing to pick myself up and kick myself out the door! It’s dedication! I know what I need to do to reach my goals so I just do it!

Let me break it down for you – it’s like riding a bike or walking up a steep hill! Starting the climb, it’s easy at first but soon becomes harder. Time moves on, you continue to climb, there will be a point you want to give up as it is too hard, you look up to see you’re not even close but yet you are already tired and just cannot find the strength seeing how far you still need to go!

What I’ve learned over the last two years is the following:

1. When making a huge goal you need to first start planning how you will achieve this goal. Looking for a quick way to achieve this goal is only going to hurt yourself in the long run as you will not get all the benefits or learning experience needed when you do finally reach your goal. Sometimes even looking at your goal you will tell yourself it’s impossible so you may even give up without starting out to achieve this goal!
2. Now you’ve made your goal you need to make smaller goals. Making these smaller goals will help you move closer to the main goal.
3. There will be times you will glance up and see the main goal then get the feeling of quitting as it still so far off in the distance it is at this point you need to make even smaller goals to reach the other goals which will then lead to the main goal.

So, let’s make a goal for riding or walking up a steep hill:

1. When starting out on your climb you look far off into the distance and you can barely see the top of the hill or if you want to call it a mini mountain that is fine too! This is our main goal we want to achieve.
2. Now we need to make smaller goals to achieve this main goal of reaching the top! The way I personally do this while riding my bike or walking was I simple looked down the road and would find a tree and tell myself I just need to reach that tree first! Seems simple enough right?
3. At first it seems simple enough till you get curious at how far you’ve gone and glance up only to find you’ve made it only a few dozen feet and there are still thousands of feet left to go (like I said, it is a huge hill)! Now you want to give up and stop because you are already tired and getting even more tired looking at the end goal. What do you do now?

What I’ve learned these last two years is the following. When we make a goal we first need to write this goal down so we will have this goal in our sights. After making this main goal we then need to break it down into smaller goals. Even after making these smaller goals we need to plan yet even smaller obtainable goals. How do we do this? For example, in riding or walking up the hill – we first see the top of the hill, the main goal is set. Now we need to break this down into different parts, different lengths. Now to make it more achievable by breaking it up into even smaller lengths. Sometimes for me to reach the top when I’ve been biking or walking for many miles and I am tired I make a goal to move one foot in front of the other! Goal reached! Now let’s move the other foot forward, then the other foot and so forth. Meanwhile we know what our main goal is as we are thinking about it! I continue to keep my head down ‘to see the smaller goal’ as I move forward! Yes, even moving your foot forward will become hard and sometimes seem very hard. I would like to compare these times as hard trials! We only need to continue moving forward finding the strength from others around us and of course from within! It may seem it is taking quite a long time to reach this goal! As time moves forward and as you move forward before you know it all the sudden you find it is getting easier to climb the hill! You look up to see why! You are now only feet away from the top so it is getting easier as the hill is not so steep at this point. Once you reach the top going down the hill is simple and quick then before you know it is time to climb yet another hill. This is why I like to compare this to trials! Such as trials, they are hard and seem to last forever without an end in sight! As you move through this trial, calling upon strength from others (including Heavenly Father) before you know it the trials will become easier. Just like riding a bike, once you’re at the top of the hill the trial is over and then the next minute your flying down the hill till you come to the next large hill or trial!

Even today, after doing this for two years I still come across those days I need to make smaller goals and just get them achieved. In the end it is well worth it! But is it the end?

I would like to thank you all for all the help and support you’ve given me over the last two years! As I continue to move forward I’ve set many more goals to keep myself moving forward on this journey of living a wholesome healthy life, in all areas of life!

Till next time take a look at your goals and then make micro goals which will then lead to your main goal. Tell others about your goal! Ask for help when needed! You can do this! Anything is possible!

I love you all! Please know you can always reach out to me if you need any help!