Today's lesson: Enjoy the Journey. Before I went to bed last night, I knew that in the morning I was going to have 2 options. If it snowed, I was going to get up earlier than normal and shovel. If it did not snow, I was going to get up earlier and exercise.

It did not snow, so I did not shovel. I did not get up early and exercise, I stayed in bed and over slept. I had an 8:00 meeting up at LDS Hospital and it usually takes about 30 minutes to get there. I left the house at 8:03 and knew I was going to be a half hour late to my meeting.

I tried to contact one of my coworkers to let them know that I was going to be late, but he did not answer his phone. So I was resigned to being late. Two strikes, no exercise and late for a meeting!

As I got onto the highway, it was raining and traffic was going to be heavy. But it was lighter than I expected. The "Philadephia Freedom" by Elton John came on the radio. I turned up the music and began to sing. Next great song, Margaritaville! Now I'm really feeling good. By the time I got to work, I was feeling great. Yes, I was still late and admitted to the group that I just didn't want to get out of bed. And I failed to get on that treadmill and work up a sweat. . . but I was still feeling good. I could not go back in time and change things. So I excepted what things were and enjoyed the drive.

I realized that instead of being frustrated about being late or sleeping in, I took advantage of the commute and enjoyed the drive. Sure, there was traffic, rain, and those "other" drivers, but I enjoyed the journey. I could have decided to yell at people "get out of my way, I'm late." But instead, I sang out loud and enjoyed the stormy weather.

So exercising, watching what I eat, journaling, etc are all the things I need to do to lose weight. But I have decided to enjoy this journey. Exercise isn't anything that I enjoy, but I do like how I feel afterwards. And when I'm exercising, I usually have that time to think to myself. The phone isn't ringing, people are talking to me. I can organize my day or come up with some motivational thought for the day. That is something that I can enjoy.

And when I make a choice of a healthy food, I can enjoy the taste and I can enjoy the fact that I'm doing something that will make me feel better. And when I make the choice to eat candy or potato chips or some other unhealthy item, I can enjoy it, but limit the amount.

Losing weight is hard. Keeping it off is even harder. But I am committed to this journey, so I might as well enjoy each moment.

Today's Goals:
Enjoy the journey.
Make dinner tonight.
Exercise for 30 minutes.

Exercise is key to losing weight.
Exercise is key to managing my diabetes.
Exercise is key to managing stress in my life.
Exercise is key to my well being.
Exercise is key to being successful.