Every person is different: their goals, their bodies, their health requirements, their tastes, their lives, etc, etc, etc. Comparing ourselves to others does not do us any favors-nor does it help the other person we are comparing ourselves to! Let's learn to take stock of our situation and figure out where we want to go from here...independent of where others are and where others think we should go. This is a good philosophy for every aspect of our lives including our weight loss goals!
This has been a huge challenge for me...one that I share with many people on oh, so many fronts. It seems that we never feel we are smart enough, talented enough, funny enough, rich enough, pretty enough, and of course not nearly thin enough.
This "not enough" feeling...no matter what the feeling is about...is a feeling of lack...of not measuring up. How do we get this sort of feeling? By comparing ourselves to someone else who we BELIEVE is better or "more than" we are.
The truth is we have no way of really knowing what that other person has going on in their lives. As it turns out almost everyone has a feeling of being less than-about SOMETHING in their lives. Even many supermodels, people who are paid lots of money because of their looks, believe they are not beautiful enough. Gee whiz, if they aren't beautiful enough, what hope do we mere mortals have?
We are born knowing we are beautiful, that we are enough...babies radiate that and as adults we feel and see it in them. But somewhere along the path of growing up, we got the message that we weren't enough...this isn't about blaming anyone for giving us that message...it is just about acknowledging that somehow we internalized the message. If we want to regain our health then we have to change that message-no matter how it got there in the first place-and we don't change the message by looking outside ourselves...we must look inside...we must change our mindset to achieve weight loss.
If your goal is to be a healthier person in 2010, then it is important that you keep that intention and take steps to achieve it...and the first and most important steps are in your mind, not in finding the right diet, pill, or exercise routine.
In our competitive society it is common for people to attach a number to that success...losing "x" pounds, reaching a goal weight "Z", even reaching that weight faster than anyone else. This is looking outside yourself to judge your success.
Instead of buying into that notion, focus on YOU. Why do you want to be healthier? What does being healthier look like for you? What will this enable you to do? How will you feel? Develop a mental picture of what you will look like healthier...not what some chart says you should weigh...and see yourself doing the things that are important to you. See yourself living your life, enjoying the people in your life, the activities that you enjoy.
Now as you move forward, judge your progress based on YOU...not someone else. Celebrate when you feel your energy is higher, when you notice you can do something you couldn't before, when something is easier, when clothes are looser. These are all indications that you are moving in the right direction...and you and ONLY YOU can accurately judge that and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with anyone else!
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