Where is that finish line?

I wanted to take a moment to write about something that has been weighing (no pun intended) on me pretty heavily.  Can a number on the scale define completion? Can a clothing size or the numbers on a measuring tape?  I am approaching the 180 day mark in my fitness journey, an amazing number!  That equals half a year, over 235 hours of exercise, over 150 workout sessions, and a whopping 96,872 calories that have been burnt to a crisp!

If someone presented me with those numbers on their own fitness blog I'd tell them it was quite the accomplishment!  So why do I feel less than victorious to have completed all that for myself?

I am not, nor have I ever been a psychologist so don't put a lot of thought in to what I'm about to say.  But I think that life is about balance and not necessarily something you race through checking off your life's 'to do' list......wow, really?  That's actually a very eye opening statement for me, as simple as the statement might be.

You see, I am a goal driven person, I see a goal and I tackle it with a vengeance.  I don't give up until I've reached the finish line, even if I reach it crawling on my hands and knees.  I've set many different goals in my life, some have driven me to the brink of insanity as I tried to complete them while others have left me with much less satisfaction then I'd imagined.

On occasion, I've set goals so ambitious that I find myself seeking a compromise half way through.  And sometimes the race is an unending pursuit.  The finish line never quite within my grasp.  I think that's where I'm at now.  I feel like this 'get fit' goal started as a sprint only to realize half way around the track that this journey had no finish line so I'd better slow down and pace myself.

Will the scale ever tell me 'YOU WIN', and give me that feeling of elation that I get from completing an impressive task?  And if it did, could I then quit and move on to another item on my check list?  This journey is about being consistent in my fitness, health and nutrition.  It's about taking a steadfast approach, not running the race to win or even make the top 3 but showing up everyday and making my way around the track.

So while the scale may never tell me that I've won, and the measuring tape may never become a gold medal around my neck I am learning to balance my life and to me that equals success and achievement.  I've figured out that my goals can become part of my everyday life, and not the single focus of my life.