Finding Joy in the Process

The process of working towards a goal is just that… a process. It often takes longer than we like, or expect. Furthermore, the small amount of time you actually get to celebrate your achievement can sometimes even feel like a letdown. Regardless, it is still super exciting to reach a milestone. However, we often miss out on many opportunities to celebrate the small achievements that happen during the process of building to that bigger goal.

Example:

Let’s say you have a goal to squat 400 lbs. Chances are the time it’s going to take to get there will be longer than you may like or think it should take. That doesn’t mean it’s the wrong goal; it just means you will need to do a lot of work to get there. Also, the more time it takes to reach a goal, the more opportunities for frustration will arise. If your perspective was solely on that one moment of being able to squat 400 lbs, and that’s how you defined success, you may miss the chance to acknowledge the small achievements along the way. The actual work to reaching your goal will inevitably have its ups and downs, but if we are just constantly comparing ourselves to that end goal, our ups will be minimized and our downs will be magnified.

It’s going to take practice!

To enable yourself to find joy in the process, you need to have a perspective shift. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Sadly, it usually isn’t as easy as it sounds. A change in perspective takes practice and consistency. Think about how many times throughout the day, you have the chance to practice this perspective shift! Start to look for any opportunity to celebrate the small things throughout the day. This doesn’t have to be solely confined to the gym setting, either. Start to look for moments in all facets of life. The more practice you get with this, the more it will begin to become second nature, and the less you will need to think of it for it to take hold.

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

If you have a hard time finding joy in the small things in my life outside the gym, it likely won’t happen just because you enter those gym doors. Think about how this quote might enable you to create connections between multiple disciplines and how they can influence each other. Then, get practicing!

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