Last weekend my daughter competed in a gymnastics meet where she placed in the top 5 at each of the events and ended up second overall in her age group. As we were driving to lunch after the meet, we were discussing how well she did, and I asked her what she thought helped her to do so well. After thinking about it a minute she told me that she tried to only think about the event she was competing in at the moment, rather than thinking about the next event or an event she had just done. My first thought was how insightful she was and then my second thought was “ouch” because I need to apply this type of thinking in my own life. It is often that I neglect to enjoy and learn the lessons from the moment I’m in and rather I find myself worrying about the future, or thinking about how much better things will be when “this thing happens”, or fretting over the past.
This same type of thinking can apply to the process of losing weight. It can be hard to stay in the moment because we often become so focused on losing those ten pounds or thinking how we will feel when we can fit into our favorite pair of jeans that we do not pause and stay in moment. However, when we allow ourselves to stay in the moment it can actually help our weight loss goals. First, by staying in the moment, we can focus on what we can do right now to lose weight rather than focusing on how long it may take us to lose the weight. When we shift our focus to how long it will take, we can find ourselves being discouraged and frustrated which could lead to giving up on thinking we could ever lose the weight. But if we focus on right now, the process seems much more doable.
Second, by staying in the moment, we can become aware of our actions that may be sabotaging our weight loss or helping us succeed in losing weight. It can be easy to miss something that can hinder you or help you if you are continually looking ahead. You will hear me say this all the time, but we cannot change what we are not aware of.
So, I am going to take my daughter’s advice, and practice staying in the moment. What about you?