FAITH WILLETS
ANTELOPE STAFF
I realized a long time ago that I wasn’t happy.
There was a day where I could remember what it felt like to be happy, but I couldn’t remember the last time I lived it. After months of scrolling endlessly on TikTok, I was tired of being a background character, I was determined to be the social fit girl that everyone adores.
So, I started going to the gym and going out on the weekends to make more “friends.” My days became gym at eight, class at ten, work at two, sleep by ten, and repeat. My best friend was the treadmill, and my days were packed from head to toe with one errand after another.
After months of this cycle, I noticed some changes. I was able to wear crop tops with confidence, but I still wasn’t “there.” So, I thought maybe it was my diet, and I started eating less, and sure enough there went a few more pounds. But it seemed that no matter what I did, I was miles away from my goal.
It wasn’t until I went strolling through the self-help section in Walmart, that I learned what I was doing wrong. After months of making friends, losing weight, and still feeling a gaping hole inside of me, I decided maybe it wasn’t my body that wasn’t “there” yet, maybe it was all in my head.
Mark Manson’s book, “The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck,” helped me to see that I was setting bad goals for myself, and therefore setting myself up to be disappointed. I started working out to look like the girls on Instagram rather than to be healthier.
So, your goal of losing five pounds turns into losing ten, and so forth. When we set these short goals, they are bound to be replaced by another because that’s how we are built at humans, we are never satisfied, but that doesn’t mean we can never be happy.
Instead, it’s important to set goals that are continuous and can’t be met easily. Going to the gym to be a healthier version of myself is something that I can work towards and achieve every day.
I may not transform overnight, but I’m better than I was yesterday, and that makes me truly happy.
