Work in Progress can still be celebrated

I was asked by the owners of my gym to be member of the month yesterday.  My immediate reaction was “Oh wow. Really! Already?”  You see, most of the time when I’ve seen this type of recognition it is done when there’s big accomplishments involved, and sometimes there’s even a before and after photo.  No matter how many small changes I’ve been making towards the bigger goal, I didn’t see myself like that yet.

But as I started filling out the About You questionnaire, it started sinking in that it was time to celebrate a bit.  My answers alone showed great progress.  And then I pulled out some pictures…

 

It was the first time I went back and looked at photos when I was my heaviest.  It felt like it was a long time ago, yet I knew exactly how I was feeling then just by looking at it. 

I remember that day. I was travelling for work at the time.  I had eaten horribly during the day, went out for happy hour (taking a cab because I didn’t want to walk), ate some more, drank some more, came back to the hotel later and ordered even more food.  And then in some weird counter-intuitive moment, I decided to take a picture.  If anything as a reminder in an “I’m never going to do this again” moment.  Just for me - no intention of ever sharing it with anyone.  But I’m glad I did.

If you’re trying to make any changes in your life – I recommend taking a few random snaps when moments like that happen.  I can look back at it now, celebrate the progress up to this point, and keep moving forward.