A Reminder

When I first started this blog… I talked about what GOAL meant to me. There is a reason it's all capitalized. Because in my world… GOAL is an acronym. It stands for "Get Out And Live."

GOAL Inspired Living… is living a life where I choose to Get Out and Live!

This comes up as a result of a few posts I've seen recently on MFP. 

I am not a goal-oriented person. And I'm proud of that. "Goal" is a nasty four-letter word in my world. I attempt to eliminate from my vocabulary as much as possible. I get a little frustrated by people who try to insist that I use "goals" in my life. I try to explain what goal means to me and why I don't like it. Some people then try to define goal for me and explain why it is a positive word and why I should use it. IT DOESN'T WORK FOR ME! (And yes, in this context… using all caps is meant to signify yelling. Because apparently reasonable and intelligent conversation doesn't get through to some people. I'm looking at you G.S.)

In fact… in my attempt to eliminate "goal" from my vocabulary… I'm going to change the phrase "goal weight" to "maintenance weight."

But here is why I do not like the word goal and why I'm trying to eliminate it from my vocabulary. To me… goal is an end point. It is something you work towards and when you reach it… you're done. Mission accomplished. It's kinda like wanting to get my bachelors degree. I worked toward that. And then I accomplished it. And once I did… I didn't keep working on it! That wouldn't make sense. I already had it! And that is what goal means to me. 

Except when it comes to weight loss… if I do that… then I would end up gaining the weight back. A goal is not a lifestyle change. It is something you work for… then when you accomplish it… you pat yourself on the back for a job well done and you move on to something else. 

So, I have chosen not to be goal-oriented. I chose to be process-oriented. I focus on the kind of life I want to have… and I live accordingly. In this area that includes eating healthier and less. It includes getting in regular exercise. If the scale goes down… that's great. Don't get me wrong… I love to see the scale go down. But if it doesn't (it didn't today), I don't get down on myself. I don't feel like a failure. And I don't consider throwing in the towel "'cuz it's not working anyway." I simply keep going. Because the important thing is that I continue doing those things that will allow me to have the life I want. My week is a success if I continually do those things that I need to (eat right… exercise). My week is not a success if I lose weight. 

And therefore… when I get down to my "maintenance weight" (ooh, I really like that term!) it doesn't mean mission accomplished and move on. It means I keep going with what I need to do have the life I want. 

A quote I found that really speaks to me says it well...  

If you focus on results, you'll never change.

If you focus on change, you'll get results.

This works for other areas of my life too. But that is another topic for a different venue.