When you are going on a trip, the GPS doesn’t tell you your last turn. Heck, it doesn’t even tell you all your turns at once. Instead, your GPS will let you know when you need to turn as the turn approaches.

Life is the same way.

As we start a new journey to improved health and weight loss, we are anxious to know all the turns.

What will it take? What sacrifices you have to make? What foods do you have to cut out?

If you knew what it would take to reach your goal? All the twists, turns, and course corrections, do you think you would start in the first place?

Probably not. So let go of knowing the exact plan go.

In accomplishing anything substantial, you intimately understand the getting there wasn’t an easy process. You had to remain flexible and learn from your mistakes.

In your heart of hearts, you know that anything worth having is going to take more work, more time, more energy than you ever imagined. Hello, motherhood.

You also know, just like a good road trip, that the reward is in the journey, not just the final destination.

So why do we treat weight loss differently?

Let’s say the goal is to lose 30 pounds. What should you focus on? The full 30?

Nooooooo! That will leave you frustrated and overwhelmed.

You might even call it quits before you really begin.

Instead, focus on how you want to feel when you lose that weight.

Ready to rock when your alarm goes off, energy all day long, strong, and confident. You can look in the mirror and smile. You built a foundation for a body and life you love.

That’s a destination worth the journey.

The next turn is the next 1 pound. How do you get there? By focusing on the things that you can control – habits.

PS I’ve lost the 30 pounds, and I kept it off – but the feeling I so desperately wanted didn’t come for another 13 years. If I knew back then what I know now, I would have chased that feeling. That’s why I created Grace & Grit: Habits.