I was leading a MOVE! weight management group at my VA when a Veteran expressed frustration at how slowly the pounds were coming off. He had been tracking his calories, increasing his activity and was “doing everything right,” so why was it taking so long to get where he wanted to be?
His classmates said all the usual things—“It took 30 years to get that weight on, it’s not coming off in 30 days!” “Everyone gets stuck, that’s part of the process,” “Are you snacking between meals? Are you eating late at night?”—but one Veteran said something that stuck with me: “You can’t make grass grow faster by pulling on it.”
Any meaningful goal we set for ourselves takes time. When you think about what is most pleasurable in your life—skills and talents, loved ones, communities, professional accomplishments—you’ll realize they took a long time and hard work to achieve. Shortcuts rarely work when we’re trying to reach our goals, and searching for the miracle cure or magical transformation can lead us to stop focusing on the work necessary to be successful. Patience and determination will carry you further than any shortcut.
If you find yourself frustrated that your efforts to optimize your health and well-being are taking too long, try thinking about the natural process of change and remember that “only bad things happen quickly.”
As part of your practice with being patient, consider this 20-minute standing chair yoga practice with Whole Health Coach and Yoga Instructor Katherine Hilgren from the St. Louis VA.
Interested in more paths as you embark, or continue, upon your Whole Health journey? Find out how a simple Yoga practice can improve your health, discover additional tips for Moving the Body, or learn how to set a SMART goal. For more information on VA’s MOVE! weight management program, visit the MOVE! website.
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Very good!
Good things CAN happen quickly too! Exercise is not a good analogy for life. Good things can happen. Miracles do happen! And good things can come quickly.
Great advice, thank you! I think it is also important to remember that every body is different…different metabolisms, thyroid issues, changes in work, relationship, living composition, etc. The answers are within, listen to your body and react at the appropriate time! No body knows your body better than yourself! Good luck! You’re gorgeous!