August 20. “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” (Zig Ziglar)

Lately all of my thoughts about achieving goals have revolved around my journey toward better health. That isn’t to say that I don’t have other goals in life, because I do. That particular area has just been where a lot of my effort, goal setting, and achievement have been taking place. It seems particularly apt to today’s quote to think in terms of my journey.

When I started my journey toward better health, I specifically didn’t refer to it as a weight loss program. To me losing weight, while important, was really a means to an end. The end, in this case, being that I would become a healthier person in general. As the pounds have been disappearing, and the scale telling the tale of success, I have indeed seen myself becoming more healthy.

Some of the signs of being more healthy are obvious. I am no longer diabetic, and my BMI says that I am now obese and not “morbidly” obese. When I walk long distances, or go for hikes over hills and valleys, I no longer wheeze as I once did. I sleep better and have more energy in my day. And the list goes on.

But there are also more subtle signs as well. Just last night I was thinking about my mental state. We just concluded our summer trip. I had been planning for, and anticipating that trip for months. With the trip coming to an end, there is a sense that summer is now slipping away. While there are other fun things still to come, the thing that I was most anticipating is now in the rear view mirror. Soon I will be about the business of fall, with orchard visits, calendar making and the like. Being at this stage of the summer makes me a bit blue. On top of all that, I am coming off a week of either really bad allergies, or a summer cold, and last night my hip and leg hurt such that I was having some trouble getting around. All that was running through my head, and I was finding myself in a mini-funk. Here is where my newfound health kicks in.

Because I feel better than I have in years, I am approaching this fall with a much better attitude. While I will never be a fan of Autumn and Winter, and all the cold that they bring, it doesn’t mean that I have to be in a mentally down state about it. I see this all as just another set of opportunities to do new things, and to smile and enjoy whatever life is throwing at me.

What I have gotten by achieving weight loss goals, is lighter. What I have become is healthier. Today, as I am rapidly approaching the six month mark on this journey, I feel as physically and mentally healthy as at any time in the last 10 to 15 years.

Today my reflection is on how I have become more healthy, and on how that journey is still very much at its beginning.