finding satisfaction

Satisfaction: (sat-is-fak-shuhn) noun - an act of satisfying, fulfillment, gratification, contentment; confident acceptance of something as satisfactory, dependable, true, etc; the opportunity to redress or right a wrong.
(I know what I want to say, just not sure if it will come across like I want, so here goes nothing:

This word has been swimming through my mind a lot the past few days....for lots of different reasons...
a: finding satisfaction in working out hard & making progress
b: finding satisfaction in what I choose to eat
c: finding satisfaction in what I choose NOT to eat
d: finding satisfaction in the progress that I feel
e: finding satisfaction in how I am changing physically, mentally & emotionally
f: finding satisfaction in how others perceive what I have been doing (compliments)
g: finding satisfaction in knowing that I am changing a wrong into a right (see above definition)

So last night was a HUGE a-ha moment for me & this "satisfaction issue". I realize that I am counting on others to help me to FEEL this satisfaction that I want so badly - let me explain....I have been running into friends & acquaintances throughout this challenge, some that I see on a regular basis & some that I haven't seen for months. Upon seeing some of these friends, I have anxiously awaited for them to make some profound comment on the change that I am certain is happening while on this challenge, I am sitting on the edge of my seat, if you will, anxious to hear them gush over the amount of weight loss they see in me (I am vain, yes, I know I have lost, why can't others see it too??), then last night, after spending an entire day with a group of ladies that I haven't seen since last fall & not have ONE of them comment on the 'new look of Ali' it hit me: I HAVE TO BE THE ONE THAT IS SATISFIED WITH WHAT I AM DOING, NOT WAITING AROUND FOR OTHERS TO GIVE ME THE COMMENTS!!!
I am learning, slowly to be proud of what I have been able to do, I am proud that I go to the gym & work hard, I am proud when I make better choices on how I cook & what I eat, I am even proud when I choose to eat something I enjoy & KNOW when to stop, I am proud when I realize that I have changed something so wrong in my life to something better, I am proud when I move my belt up a notch because if not my pants will fall (and I have told my boys that crack kills, so....), I am proud of myself, even if I am walking into that wall of disappointment more times that I am walking down the hall of fame!!

Finding satisfaction in what I am doing is a huge milestone for me.....