PATIENCE AND FAITH

Getting lean is a practice of patience and faith. I have not owned or subscribed to either the P or the F. Like many, I want it fast and now. I spend more time looking up the “perfect” this or that vs. putting in those same hours to get myself fit or do some meal prep. 

I have gone through this cycle more times than I can count. And regardless of my knowing how to do it and even being able to coach others in how to do it, I still struggle with believing in myself enough to trust that I can hold myself accountable for what goes into my mouth. Cool? No. But there are smarts in knowing oneself well enough to know to enlist someone in helping you get to your goals. Enter hiring a coach again.

I have 4 goals:

1. Get back the muscle I lost during the last two years in lock-down

2. Do something I love more than most things 3-4x a week

3. To get my ass lean again — not to be confused with skinny

4. To relearn the art of commitment, consistency, and faith

What I have fallen in love with all over again is the process. I like watching and being able to gauge what my daily choices are doing for my overall goals. I love seeing the progress and understanding what I am trading when I decide to be “non-compliant”… and weighing its worth. 

Why do I bring all of this up? Well, 2 reasons:

1. I have been asked multiple times what I do for my training and meals, and this is as close to an explanation as possible without being literal.

2. I believe this to be applicable in all things where progress is desired.

If you need support to get yourself to the next level — in anything — I’d say the investment is well worth it if you can connect with the right coach, mentor, or therapist. I’d also argue that having a way to track progress is essential to continuing the forward momentum that one seems to have in the beginning. (In my land, that involves pictures, measurements, and a bi-weekly feedback intake when trying to make physical progress. Tracking progress in other areas will vary based on the subject being worked on.)

All of this comes back to knowing your strengths and weaknesses. When you can isolate those weaknesses, you have now empowered yourself to take a step to shift in the direction you want to see your life go. If you feel more comfortable wearing blinders and/or coming up with reasons why it’s not the same for you, well, I can’t help you — but will tell you that you’re lying to yourself.

A short but relevant story: 
I have this friend, Cath — a total badass who is afraid of very little. She will take on CEO’s and CFO’s and COO’s without missing a beat. She knows what work is, and she’s not afraid of putting in the hours to make shit happen. But Cathy thought I was just “blessed” when it came to the physical things. She assumed that I looked the way I looked because I was “one of the lucky ones,” so she didn’t feel like any of my advice applied to her. Regardless, she would still ask the questions, and I would again tell her it was possible.

One day Cathy decided she didn’t want to feel the way she did anymore, so she hired a fitness coach. She got her plan and followed her plan. She didn’t like doing it some days (but did) and loved it other days. Regardless of how she felt, she was consistent. 

A few months later, many pounds down and presenting herself with a shit ton more vibrancy, Cathy says something like, “Hey, I want to apologize to you. I used to think this all came easy for you, but after doing it myself and watching how much effort and commitment you put in, I realize this isn’t easier for you. You just make it look easy. So I’m sorry that I wrote off your hard work. It’s super impressive and inspiring.”

Deciding to be better or improving isn’t impossible. We just make ourselves it feel like it is. 

Commit to not writing yourself off. Commit to outsourcing where you need support or guidance until you’re able and willing to do it on your own. Decide what you are okay with sacrificing, whether it be time, money, comfort, or whatever else you can come up with, and just head towards the version of yourself that you want to be.

Now go put that patience and faith muscle to work.

— The Essentialyst