
Are We Being Honest in the Work That We’re Willing to Invest?
A few months back I decided I wanted to drop a few pounds. I set my goals, “adjusted my diet” and began the work. Four weeks in and I stepped on the scale. “What, it’s been four weeks and I haven’t lost a pound?” We’ve all been there, beginning a journey with a unique goal in mind only to find little to no change after time has passed. My results, though disappointing, could lead to faulty conclusions. “I’ll never lose weight.” “No matter what I do it never works.” or “It’s so unfair and hard for me.” This unhelpful way of thinking inhibits progress while honest evaluation increases the probability of success.
Having an honest outlook is quite difficult. It requires self-awareness, self-reflection, and the ability to sit with the uncomfortable realities of a situation. Having the narrative, “I really tried but weight loss is too hard.”’ is very different than “I’ve put in effort for which I should be proud, but I have not yet figured out the work necessary for me to achieve my goal.” (More on “work” soon). When we are mentally confident and have a strong sense of self, we can be reflective without judgement. Like a scientist we can review data and make the necessary modifications leading us closer to our goals.
Let’s consider the idea of “work” and weight loss. Typically diet and exercise are needed to lose weight. Though technically sound these truths are a gross simplification of a difficult process. Cutting calories or working out more are digestible solutions but what if you need more sleep to lose weight? What if staying at calorie maintenance, foam rolling or even gaining weight is necessary for weight loss? Would you be willing to take these steps? “Work” is the physical and mental effort necessary to achieve your desired result and not the shared experience of others. We cannot validate our journey by the way we thought it would be or by how others describe their path. Instead, we use our results to guide us towards our goals. If things are changing for the better, then we’ve figured out our definition of “work”. If not, keep going and we’ll get there.
This new definition of work is where honesty is imperative. Starting a journey that we were never prepared to complete is a frustrating process that fosters minimal results and leaves us in a worse mental state than when we began. Honesty is also necessary to correctly evaluate, reflect and adjust our approach, a common protocol for any long-term process. Being honest allows us to avoid gut-wrenching experiences. It’s better to say, “I like the idea of weight loss, but I am not ready to invest in the way I need to be successful.” than it is to begin something without being completely committed and become increasingly disappointed from not achieving results we never intended to meet.
Revisiting my month of no weight loss after evaluating my health calendar (I journal my daily macros, workouts, hours of sleep, sugar intake, etc. on a paper calendar to see the month at-a-glance.), I found that the number of times I ate meals out was much higher than I’d remembered. I believed that I was doing a “good job”, but the proof was staring back at me in written form. I could ignore the facts and sit in my sorrow, or I could take an honest look, use the information to adjust and keep moving forward. One hundred percent (100%) honesty is uncomfortable, but it is in the discomfort that progress begins. I encourage you to get uncomfortable, be honest and get to work. You and your goals are worth it.
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Photo Credit @aggergakker