Yesterday morning I stepped on the scale and saw a big drop, 3.2 pounds exactly, which brought me down 5.6 pounds overall since the start of this project.
Weight loss is a huge part of this project. I have a goal weight that I am working toward while tracking my steps, calories burned and consumed, macronutrients, and supplements. So seeing a big drop is encouraging. It’s exciting. It’s the payoff for the work that I am putting in.
But it can also mess with my mind.
Instead of simply being encouraged by the number on the scale, I immediately begin wondering how much weight I can lose by the next day and how much faster I can reach my goal weight. Suddenly I’m living days, weeks, and months into the future instead of grounding myself in today.
This isn’t just about weight. It’s a pattern that I consistently find myself falling into, putting the cart before the horse, so to speak.
Instead of writing a page or two of a book, I start thinking about the ending.
Instead of focusing on today’s habits, I wonder when I will reach my goal weight.
Instead of concentrating on today’s actions, I wonder when I will have the entire project built.
I’m wanting to achieve things now that I can’t realistically hope to accomplish for six months, a year, or even longer.
This is one of the things that plagued me during previous attempts to launch this project. Instead of focusing on what needed to be done today, I would spend my time thinking about what I was going to accomplish in the future. I became so focused on the destination that I never allowed myself to enjoy the journey toward it.
That hasn’t happened during this attempt.
This time I have remained focused on completing the next action. Taking the next step. Moving the project forward one action at a time.
So when I saw that number on the scale and my mind immediately jumped to how quickly I could lose more weight, I stopped myself.
I reminded myself that this isn’t about losing the weight by tomorrow.
It’s about building a sustainable diet and exercise regimen that allows me to lose the weight over time and maintain it once it’s gone.
It’s not about self-publishing a book tomorrow.
It’s about spending some time writing today, even if it’s only a few hundred words.
I’m not going to achieve my goals of losing weight, writing books, becoming more organized, becoming more financially secure, and being the best husband and father I can be overnight.
Those goals take time.
And if I consistently put in the work, I’ll eventually get there.
Consistency looks like completing my morning routine.
Going for my daily walks.
Spending time with my family.
Being present in the moment.
Writing blog posts.
Hitting my reading goals.
None of these things are heroic.
They are ordinary tasks repeated over and over again.
But that’s how progress is built.
Small actions compounded over time become larger results.
Tomorrow there will be another weigh-in and my weight could fluctuate either way. There will be more steps to walk, more workouts to complete, and another opportunity to get it right.
But that’s tomorrow.
Today I just need to keep showing up.
Doing the work.
Taking the next step.
I’ve spent most of my life chasing finish lines. The older I get, the more I think the secret is much simpler than that.
Just take life one day at a time.
The Young Napoleon Project 