The person you want to be...

I'll just be the person I am now, only a lot smaller and in clothes available at any shop.

Oh boy! I could talk all day on this subject. Just look at my username here! :O)

I highly, highly, highly recommend a book called "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin (sp?). It's a fun read and you can just absorb her thoughts and experiences or do your own project. But, it's really cool to step back and take inventory - what makes me happy, who do I want to be, what makes me unhappy, how do I absorb the happiness and avoid the other stuff? It sounds so elementary, but we often are too busy working out and paying the bills to pay it much attention. And, we have goofy thoughts like:

* Why should I be happy when others suffer?
* If I'm happy and I know it, then the universe will rain calamity on me. So, I'd better control my level of sadness and lay low.
* Shut up and just eat the damn cookie. No, your not full yet.

)

Can't wait to see how this conversation evolves!

I want to be healthy.

I'm already a lot closer than I was a couple years ago.

My goal is to become a stronger person physically, mentally and spiritually!!! The stonger i get the better i feel, therefore the better person i become!! less focus on myself and more on helping others!

On average, we only have about 80 years on this 4.5 billion year old planet. Therefore, we may as well try to do something extraordinary, however we define it. That's my current outlook and motivation for becoming the best physical specimen I can.

I want to be a role model... I want to inspire the people around me and the kids I work with.

On average, we only have about 80 years on this 4.5 billion year old planet. Therefore, we may as well try to do something extraordinary, however we define it. That's my current outlook and motivation for becoming the best physical specimen I can.

My journey here at MFP was not really about loosing weight, although I did need to. It really was about learning how to have a healthier relationship with food. One that was not obsessive, overindulgent, or avoidant. During my 10 months here, I have not only truly developed a healthier relationship with food, but also learned how to use those same skills with anything I tended to be "lop-sided" about, which included relationships with other people (especially romantic relationships) and the one I had with myself. The best way I can describe my transformation isn't that I am thinner or physically more fit or feel better physically (although those things are a by-product) , it is that I am more aware, more mindful, more in tune, and more present in my life! I am an active participant in my day to day decisions, not an emotionally reactive, impulsive zombie... I love making choices of what to eat, how to nourish my body, who to date, what healthy boundaries to put around me, etc. I love being PRESENT in my life, in my world, versus just reacting to it or doing what other people expect me to do...

All in all, I am simply more mindful and in tune to me, who I am at my core and I have learned to really care about me... To respect my needs and boundaries. I feel, for the first time in my life, all of my stars are aligned. Not one of them seems out of line... I am in total synch: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually... It's been a great, enlightening journey, one that I hope continues to grow and give me even more insight!
********
What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness

I've seen a couple of posts recently about people's successes on here talking about "becoming the person they want to be". I was wondering if many people have thought about this - who do you want to be and how is your weightloss "journey" (for lack of a better word) helping you become that person?

I would like to be less cynical and judgmental and just generally "happier". I want to be "the fit one", and I want to look it.

I feel that as I'm been striving towards fitness and health, I'm also struggling with coming to terms with myself, and I find myself trying harder to be positive and enjoy life. Meeting my exercise goals makes me feel better about myself and generally happier with life, I think. I reckon I've still got a lot of work to do, but I'm confident that I'm on my way to becoming "the person I want to be".

What about you?

I think it's a great attitude to have. I've been an MFP member for about 15 months and I've lost SO much weight that it has changed my confidence from zero to human! Tonight I launched a blog on Facebook with the hopes of showing others how a REAL girl like me could find that happiness and healthiness that comes from supportive people like on MFP, and from education about how food and exercise affects us individually.

This isn't sales - I make NO money from it, it's just for good REAL people to support each other further.
https://www.facebook.com/Beingthisgirl

My journey here at MFP was not really about loosing weight, although I did need to. It really was about learning how to have a healthier relationship with food. One that was not obsessive, overindulgent, or avoidant. During my 10 months here, I have not only truly developed a healthier relationship with food, but also learned how to use those same skills with anything I tended to be "lop-sided" about, which included relationships with other people (especially romantic relationships) and the one I had with myself. The best way I can describe my transformation isn't that I am thinner or physically more fit or feel better physically (although those things are a by-product) , it is that I am more aware, more mindful, more in tune, and more present in my life! I am an active participant in my day to day decisions, not an emotionally reactive, impulsive zombie... I love making choices of what to eat, how to nourish my body, who to date, what healthy boundaries to put around me, etc. I love being PRESENT in my life, in my world, versus just reacting to it or doing what other people expect me to do...

All in all, I am simply more mindful and in tune to me, who I am at my core and I have learned to really care about me... To respect my needs and boundaries. I feel, for the first time in my life, all of my stars are aligned. Not one of them seems out of line... I am in total synch: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually... It's been a great, enlightening journey, one that I hope continues to grow and give me even more insight!
********
What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness

Some of these are really great responses. I think mindfulness was something I was really getting at; something that I'm looking to improve when it comes to all aspects of life, but also something that this weight loss progression is encouraging - thanks Dawn!

You're quite welcome! Enjoy YOUR journey!