Two days ago I moved into a new home. After several weeks of prepping, packing, purging and planning moving day had finally arrived. Now it's time to unpack and organize and settle in. I've unpacked all the easy things. I've put away dishes. I have furniture in the right rooms. Towels and bathroom essentials are in the bathrooms. I've made a lot of progress in two days. BUT I still have a long ways to go!

I still have lots of odds and ends and items I'm just not sure where to put. I've not even thought about where to hang pictures or where to put decorative items. Clothes are in the closets but not even close to organized just yet! As much as I have done, when I look around it's a bit discouraging. It's going to take some time to really get settled and get everything the way I want.  Progress will happen but it takes time.

As I was thinking about this, I realized it is much the same way with making changes to our bodies, our health, and pursuing a New Year's resolution. Often times we have initial wins. We have early successes. Maybe we notice the scale moves a bit or our pants are not quite so snug if we are trying to lose weight. With a healthy diet, we discover some new foods we like. The early part can be the easy part because we are excited about the change we hope to see.

And then there's a plateau! The scale stops changing so much, our healthy resolves are challenged with get togethers and dinners out, and we don't seem to be seeing the changes in our body or our strength as quickly as we'd like. Changing our bodies and our lifestyle to be healthy takes time. If I want to be stronger, I need to be consistently working at it and not just for a few weeks. Progress takes time. That's why it's important to focus on the small wins, applaud the early success and use that positive energy to stay the course. Healthy change is not an overnight fix. 

When I think about my move and all I have done in two days ... it's really a lot! I have a ways to go but I also have time to get there. Yes I'd like it done today but I can be patience and follow the process. Instead of getting discouraged, I'm going to celebrate where I am and keep plugging along. 

If you've taken on a new healthy challenge this year - stay the course. Celebrate your early success, know you will get there but it won't be overnight. True change takes time. Lasting change takes commitment and more time. Rewarding change takes time. Progress takes time.