The Greatest Skill You Can't Ignore This Year

So you've made the decision to improve your health and fitness, you're 2 weeks into a new routine; better food, more exercise, earlier nights. You jump on the scales. They've not changed. WTF!!!!

Most of you will have experienced this at some point in your health and fitness journey.

There's no way to sugar coat it, it's frustrating! 

Change is hard. You are abstaining from things you 'enjoy' because you genuinely want to improve your health. But when, after weeks of hard work there is no sign of physical change on the scales or in the mirror it's so demoralising. 

There is nothing I can write that will help you ignore this reality. So with that said I think we should face what is happening here head on.

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Here's the reality:

You're eating great, exercising more, going to bed earlier. Your habits are brilliant. There is nothing you need to change.

But you're not getting results. Here's where we've got to get real. The skill you are yet to develop is...

Patience

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'Bore on Matt!' 

And I completely agree. 

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Patience is not exciting, it's not revolutionary, but it is the only way. 

Patience is one of the most consistent charter traits the healthiest, fitness, most content people I know have in abundance. 

You do not need a new way to eat or a new exercise routine to follow. What you need is to apply healthy habits consistently for a LONG time.

Patience is required to better understand how you respond to different exercise, nutrition and lifestyle methods physically, mentally and practically.

Patience is required to discover a level of appreciation and contentment for the process.

Patience is required to iterate and refine your way.

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Rick Rubin articulates the power of patience perfectly in his book 'The Creative Act: A Way Of Being':

"Patience is developed much like awareness. Through the appreciation of what is. Impatience is an argument with reality. The desire for something to be different from what we are experiencing in the here and now. 

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Time is something we have no control over. So patience begins with acceptance of natural rhythms. The implied benefits of impatience is to save time by speeding up and skipping ahead to those rhythms. Paradoxically, this ends up taking more time and using more energy. It's wasted effort."

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So with all that said yes, a lack of progress is very frustrating. Especially when you have significantly changed your daily/weekly habits. However, slow progress is normal. In fact, slow progress is often the best type of progress. Lifelong change doesn't happen fast.

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The more you can focus on finding a way to enjoy the process instead of focusing on the outcome, the more accepting you will become of the time it takes. 

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Be patient. 

Time passes quickly. 

It could happen sooner than you think.

Matt

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