There is a common short term goal question that many people face all the time.

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

Well today, I want to talk about where I was 5 years ago today.
I was preparing to ask a girl to be my girlfriend.

I had never actually held much hope of this. I told myself that I would never find love, and that no girl would ever love me enough to see past my 500 pound body. I truly didn’t think there was any possible way that I could get any girl to see me for who I actually am, no matter how much I tried, or how great my personality may have been. I believed that my body was too much for anyone to overcome. I was depressed, although I certainly kept that hidden.

And then suddenly, there I was, about to head out on a 2nd date with this girl who clearly liked me, a lot. Since our first date, we had been texting non-stop. I couldn’t believe that this girl that I had asked out was actually looking past the outside and was clearly loving me on the inside.

Next came the all important step of getting her to be “official” with me. Like locking in a contract, I knew I had to seal the deal. Now, of course, I see that this is absolutely ridiculous. Nothing was stopping her from moving on with a slight breeze, but at the time, this was critical.

I came up with the perfect idea.

Months earlier, when we were originally getting to know each other, one of the very first conversations we had ever had was about our favourite opening lines of a novel. Using this as romantic inspiration, I decided that this night, I would write the opening lines of “our story” where I ask her to be my girlfriend. I tucked it into the front cover of the book that had my favourite opening line, and I knew this would demonstrate my thoughtfulness and romance.

She said yes, and has said yes many times since. We’ve gotten married, traveled and relocated vast distances, and I have realized that my life would never have been the same without her. Although, I have written in the past that My Wife Didn’t Make Me Lose Weight, she certainly gave me the self confidence that I needed to do anything.

5 years ago, if I had been asked where I would be today, I would never have guessed that my current life would actually be reality. To be comfortable with my body after losing 260 pounds, to have lived in 3 different provinces within the first 1.5 years of marriage, constantly knocking down challenges as they’ve arisen, and to have a wife and partner who has loved me through every step of the way. These are things that I could never have believed would happen just 5 short years ago.

5 years is short in the grand scheme of life, but you can live an entire life within those 5 years. I think that I have done just that, and I couldn’t be happier with where I have ended up on the other side of it all.

5 years is nothing.
5 years is everything.

My wife, Andrea, has also made a post about this day to commemorate our 5 years as a couple. Make sure to check it out here!