Set a goal, within a time frame, and a schedule for your loss
To be successful at something, we first need to create the ‘thing’. Let’s not fire bullets aimlessly without a target, what do you expect to hit if you haven’t a target. We need to create a goal, be realistic, add a time frame and a schedule of how much you want to lose per week, within reason.
When we create timeframes for our goals, we create purpose, direction, clarity and most importantly urgency. A desire to commit the next few weeks and months to something that will bring you fulfilment and achievement, something to be proud of. If we don’t set the time frame, we don’t have the urgency needed to see progress every week. Correct me if I’m wrong but if we don’t make progress every week, most people feel demotivated, and experience no rewards for their efforts and decide to give up. Progress and success is one of the main drivers of motivation, it keeps the fire going.
You may have to do something you have never done.
Becoming a better, more lean, healthy version of yourself might mean you have to carry out some behaviours, routines and habits that you haven’t before. It would be insane to think any different. If you bake a cake in the oven for 20 minutes and it comes out soggy and wet, it would be insane to think the next time you bake a cake you only need to pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. You know for a different outcome it requires a different approach; maybe a hotter oven or a longer duration.
Its not going to be easy, drop the naivety
When we think something like a body transformation is going to be easy (and yes dropping 10 lbs is a big transformation) we are simply kidding ourselves. If it was easy, every average joe walking the streets will be in tip top condition. “Living a life lead by motivation is the easiest way to subtly blend into the rest of the average people in this world” - meaning most people chose behaviours impulsively lead by emotions. That might be eating chocolate because they are sad. Not training because they are frustrated, or going out and getting pissed because they feel lonely. These unhelpful behaviours during a fat loss pursuit are lead by emotions, so just like most other people in the world struggling to drop body fat, lead an emotionally lead life if you wish, but the outcome will be far from your goal.
Choosing the difficult decision, making the harder choice, acting in a way that aligns with your goals regardless of your emotions is the hard part. It might be saying no when you deeply want to say yes. It might be going for that run when you really don’t want to. It might be going to bed earlier instead of watching the next 2 episodes on Netflix. All of these decisions are are the harder choices than their counterparts, but the very same choices that lead to the body or health you seek.
Be honest with yourself, stick to your word.
A lot of peoples struggles lie within the concept of self-belief and self-trust. The lack of either or both will only be detrimental to your efforts ion fat loss. The start of decreasing your self-belief is by not doing something you said you were going to do. Sounds so simple, and also doesn’t sound very influential. But let me tell you it is normally the make or break of most people journeys. The consistent lack of doing when you said you were going to is slowly eating away at your self-belief and self-trust, that eventually you want even belief the very words that come out your mouth, which will end up giving yourself permission to never do what you say your going to do. The more you fail to follow through with your words, the more your ego will tell you that you are “not disciplined enough” or that you ‘don’t have enough willpower” and maybe these are the very things you are thinking right now as you read this, you don’t have the discipline or the will power? As soon as you fail the next diet, to don’t follow through with what you said you were going to do, the, your ego will be right, and your ego loves being right, and even harder to start to break this cycle. You will actually become comfortable and ok with not doing things you said you were going to do, just because it feels like you were right. How ludicrous. The power is in your hands to start simply doing that stuff you said you were going to do. The key is to start with small tasks that you know you will do no matter what, then start to challenge yourself with bigger tasks, that may have more influence over you goals, but after doing the completing the smaller ones, you will create more self-belief and self-trust, the keys to results.
Entertain the possible, not the probable.
Just like I explained in my recent Instagram post, we always create the probable outcome in our minds, and don’t even recognise the possible. If the probable behaviour is negative and the possible behaviour is positive, not even recognising the positive behaviour is going to have zero help in actually doing it.
Awareness is your best friend. Something happens like your boss has a go at you for not meeting a deadline or target. You then feel like a failure and inadequate at your job. You excuse yourself from the gym that evening because you feel upset and frustrated at yourself, and you might even blame your boss for making you feel that way. Totally untrue and also a concept that takes your behaviour choices right out of your hands. What you have done is the ‘probably behaviour’ and haven’t even entertained the ‘possible behaviour’. Guess what the possible behaviour is. Simply going to the gym. It’s possible, but you didn’t even entertain the idea that it is possible because you blamed your boss for your emotions and now have excused yourself from the positive behaviour because you feel a certain way.
Recognition and awareness there is the other option available, and nothing anyone does or anything anyone says has the power to choose your behaviours is fundamental. Regardless of your emotional state, regardless of what someone said and regardless of what happened at work, imagine drawing a line under it, and simple entertaining from this point on what’s possible. Something positive, a helpful behaviours, going to the gym, cooking a nutrition meal. It’s possible, I literally just wrote it out. It’s not obscene and its certainly isn’t unrealistic. It’s just the positive, possible behaviour you think is impossible, or think you are excused from because what your boss said at lunchtime.
When people succumb to the circumstances in their life, blame these circumstances for their actions and maybe use them as an excuse to not do the thing they say they want to, this is called becmoing a victim to your circumstances. And guess what this is easy to play, its easy to be the victim. You just have to moan about stuff and blame other people. Hence why so many people that play victim to their circumstances end up unsuccessful in their desire to drop body fat. It was always someone elses fault and life is always just too hard. Back to point 3, "Its not going to be easy". Playing the victim is easy, so take back the power, take the responsibilty for your actions and dont blame others, or the circumstance you are in. Everyone has a circumstance, everyone has struggles, demons and reasons to play the victim. Don't be that person.