Fall in love with the process and the results will follow. -- Bradley Whitford
Unless I've fallen in love with the process, I don't see long-lasting results. What does this mean? Anything you want to do, be, or have, you need to find a process to get you there that you love.
I wanted better mental health and increased fitness. For years I forced myself to do workouts I didn't enjoy to get there. I would eventually stop and I thought that I had a willpower problem. Then I found workouts that I love. I walk and yoga daily. This has helped me manage stress, anxiety, depression, and complex PTSD. Instead of looking at my goal, I look at the process and make sure I love it.
How do you do this? You can do what you love every day, for at least 5 minutes. This works with everything. Does this mean that there are times I don't want to get on my yoga mat, clean my house, eat right, etc? Yes, there are those times. Now I know how to defeat those times. By dedicating myself to doing whatever activity, for at least 5 minutes, I will get results. Something is better than nothing. And honestly, STARTING is the hardest part for me. Once I get into it, anything can happen. For example, I enjoy drawing and want to improve at it. I give myself 5 minutes to work on it. At the end of the 5 minutes, if I'm not having fun, I stop.
Word of caution: Focus on what you can do that you love, not what you can't do and wish you could. For instance, if you loved hiking in the mountains of Tibet, but you live in the USA, then don't waste your time by deciding that hiking in Tibet is the only daily workout you could ever love. You are sabotaging yourself. Instead, what is similar that could try and enjoy?
Try it out! Tell me how it goes or if you want to brainstorm ideas. You can email me or comment here.
Love, the self-care Pixie *I learned this from Atomic Habits - Brilliant book!
