In Pursuit of Happiness

Happiness and weight-loss for me go hand-in-hand. In thinking about life and looking back to what motivates us to be the person we are or do the things we do, I realize that many things in life actually depend upon one's state of mind and perspective.

My decision to be healthy and lose weight wasn't a decision I made overnight. It was a result of a journey of self discovery as I reflected upon the true meaning of life. Was being "successful" and "rich" what life was all about? Was working 12 hours a day for recognition and a promotion our ultimate goal? Was having power and influence the answer?

Or was life simply a matter of being happy with oneself and grateful for the things we have in life. Could just being with the people we love and doing the things we like be enough?

Was this too "simplistic" a view on life? Had I become too laid back and lazy? Had I taken the easy way out of life? Perhaps I wasn't living up to my full potential. Perhaps I should just spend most of my life sitting at a desk staring into a computer, playing office politics. Perhaps I should be working harder.

The question then is: Why does my happiness have to be derived from other people's definition of "success." ? Why do I need other people's "approval" and "recognition?" Why do I have to live up to other people's "expectations?"

For me, I realized that being happy with the person I am was most important. I did a re-evaluation of my priorities. Life was just too short to be spent in a rat race. I wanted to do so many things in life, and to get there, I had to slow down and take care of myself first before I ran out of gas. Life, as I mentioned before, is nothing without good health. Without good health, one won't have the energy to do things one wants to in life.

So how does happiness relate to good health? Well, for some people a lot of times we eat more than we should because we are unhappy, stressed, or lonely. We eat to drown our sorrows. We eat because we had a problem we couldn't solve. To eat is comforting. Cookies, ice cream and cakes remind us of the good times. Then we gain weight, and we eat because we are frustrated at our weight, frustrated that we got ourselves into this shape, frustrated that things aren't going our way.

You may say you are happy, but stop your daily activities for just a moment. Take time out, sit somewhere quiet where you can hear yourself think, turn off the phone and the tv.. and perhaps you might discover a little something about yourself.

I have always been a happy person without much stress. However, through this journey of self-discovery, I feel that I am more calm and happier than I have ever been before. I took time out for myself, took care of my health, and re-evaluated my priorities in life.

Life wasn't all about work or fitting myself into someone's else definition of "success". I didn't need other people's approval to feel happy. Life for me was enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Watching the wind blow through trees and hearing the leaves rustle. Playing with the dog that wagged its tail or watching the ripples on the lake. Feeling the wind blow through my hair and feeling the grass underneath my feet. This for me is life.

With a sound body comes a sound mind. They go hand in hand... Its not just about the weight and the scale. Being healthy involves every aspect of one's life. :D Happy Easter!