Don't rush through the good stuff..

We get so caught up on wanting what we want, right away, that we forget the point of this life is the journey not the destination. With the fast-paced nature of the world we live in we are pissed off when we have to work towards something that takes time to achieve--this is where the term instant gratification(I'm going to call it I.G.) comes from. Not everyone feels this way, and for those that don't cheers to you--that's awesome(not being sarcastic that really is awesome). The rest of us have to embrace a new mindset when it comes to slowing down the process, and embracing this crazy thing called life, because it doesn't come naturally.

Not sure if it's a generational thing, but working towards goals where you don't get to see the progress immediately is annoying. You work out one day and then you get on the scale and are upset that you didn't lose five pounds. You put away one piece of clothing in your messy room and give up because your room isn't clean yet. We all can be victims of this I.G., and it prevents us from making any steps because we don't see the point. Why do all that and see no immediate progress, when I can just keep doing the same things and get nowhere. If we're going to go through the hard process of making changes, we need to be rewarded right away because we deserve it? Well not really. No one deserves anything, if you want something you don't have you have to do something you're not already doing.

I.G. also leads to low frustration tolerance. Since we think we deserve something right now, and most of the time we can get it (if we're in a conversation and someone asks 'oh what was that movie', in 10 seconds, depending how fast your internet speed is, you have the answer via your phone that's already in your hands as you are having this conversation), so when we can't we get upset. We don't have patience for things anymore, and it causes us unnecessary frustration. If we learn to assess that the situation isn't really that bad, rather than just giving in to our anger, we will be much better off.

If we're worried about the time it will take to get something, the time is going to pass regardless--if you start working towards your fitness goal today, 2 months down the road you'll be feeling a little stronger and a little healthier, or if not you'll be feeling the same self-loathing feelings that made you think about change in the first place. I didn't want to start graduate school because it felt like such a long time (and it would suck, and I would be tired, and blah blah), but 2 and a half years later I had a degree that allowed me to do what I love, rather than still sitting in my temp job at the bank scanning documents feeling stifled and not reaching my potential.

The answer lies in the awareness of the fact that it's the smallest steps, applied consistently, that lead to the biggest changes. Each day on the treadmill gets you closer to that weight loss goal, where you can't pinpoint which day it was, but rather that it was a combination of all the days and the new habit that has formed. You need to become mindful and present of each day, because that is where happiness is. It's not the car or the house or the beautiful husband/wife that marks a happy life, but the daily appreciation of your current existence and situation. Once we slow down our minds, we can fully appreciate the view.