Becoming

Biggest Loser. Do you watch it? I admit, I'm hooked. Watch it every week, and can't wait to see the next episode. (pathetic.)

As much as I am motivated and inspired by the competitors stories, there is one thing that concerns me. Each week, I hear someone say "I'm becoming the person that I always wanted to be." Hmmm. I wonder, does the contestant mean, "I'm becoming skinny and that's what I've always wanted to be." Or does the contestant mean, "I'm getting in touch with what caused these problems to begin with, I'm dealing with them, and because of that, I'm able to be my very best self." Some of them, I'm sure, would say the second idea is what they had in mind. Too many--stars of reality TV shows and real live people too--believe that the number on a scale is the key to contentment.

I believe "becoming" is so much more than weight. It's true: my weight issues often prevent me from focusing on the things that could help me become my truest self. But getting to a certain weight won't make me a better Aileen. Plus, numbers are typically unreliable and notoriously inconsistent.

So what does help me become my best self? First, I think staying on the journey to better health becomes me. It becomes me physically, but also emotionally, spiritually, and otherwise. Second, for me, is realizing that it is a journey--a journey without a final destination. It's a joy ride: a life-long joy ride to better health. There is no number waiting for me out there some where at life's finish line. I'm just making healthful choices, checking out the scenery as I go.

So, I'm not going to become a contestant on some reality TV show so I can become the person I've always wanted to be. I'm going to travel the road of life, one healthy choice at a time. I think that becomes me.

Decreasing self, increasing health,
Aileen