The Solution May Sound Simple. So Why Can't You Achieve It?

Progress is hard. Over time you think you’ve figured it out, and BOOM. You realize you didn't. Not even close.

And that is an omnipresent cycle. It will always show up again at some point, if I could give this phenomenon a description it would be the following:

Doing the work we think we have to do VS doing the work we have to do

The best example that I can think of is losing weight.

I can only imagine many people have tried figuring out how to lose weight and properly approach their weight loss journey.

You watch plenty of videos and look at some scientific research papers and everyone will tell you millions of things to do or not do, but in the end, they find a common ground:

Calorie deficit.

That’s pretty much it. It seems so easy. Then you start and it might even seem to work on the first try, but all of a sudden you make no progress anymore and maybe you even gain more weight.

So then, you sit down, try to figure out what went wrong and start over.

Now, you’re hyped again because you think you understand the game now. You know what to do because you won’t repeat the same mistakes, like eating the wrong foods. Right...

Fast forward, and you are back at 0.  

How was this possible? Well, maybe you ate good food but underestimated how many calories they have.

That's when you first start understanding how easy the solution seems, but how many hidden layers there actually are underneath.

That's why some quit, and some continue.

And all these adjustments don't just happen within a few weeks. You follow one strategy over months and realize how much you were doing wrong. Then it happens again and again.  

This can be so disheartening because you put in so much effort, physically as well as mentally, and it seems like you get nothing out of it.

You defined your goal and you "failed".

And that's not limited to fitness. We're talking about YOU not reaching your goals.

There is no one to blame but you.

And that's the good thing about it, you're in complete control.

You get feedback, and the feedback is REAL.

But hey, you're ahead of so many people. People that are afraid of defining where they want to go because they're avoiding "failure".

They know that if they set a goal, and they don't reach it, there's one else to blame. And that feels like shit. Therefore they just keep on doing whatever, as long as they can avoid getting uncomfortable with themselves.

But if you set a goal and fail, you know who to hold accountable. You will recognize the exact moments when you wander away from your goal, and that's a headache.

Like eating a piece of cake when you know you shouldn't.

That can hurt badly and mess with your confidence, but hey, that's just needed sometimes. That's where you keep on looking for something that works best for you, to avoid these exact conflicts in the future.

That's the learning process that you discover underneath the so-called "simple solution".  

And instead of beating yourself up again, picture your future self giving you advice:

"Hey buddy, that' wasn't the way, try again. And if it doesn't work, no worries, use another strategy and try that one. But whatever you do, don't stop trying."

Because if you don't try again, misery will surely follow you, trying to constantly beat you up. And trust me, it's faster than you.

Back to the easy solution, calorie deficit.

Even if it might sound so easy, the simplest concept has the power to reveal your biggest weaknesses and flaws.

That's why they call it a journey. It's a self-discovering journey with an unpredictable amount of lessons and obstacles.  

An adventure that will tell you so much about yourself, revealing your actual character strength.

Conclusion

If you're still looking for the right strategy, don't beat yourself up. You're still in the race.

You're learning. You're figuring out what’s best suited for you, even when starting over and over feels like SHIT.

Also, I know it's hard to accept that you're currently not where you want to be and that you won't be there for the next month or maybe even years.

But 5 years will pass anyways. You can choose what you do within these 5 years.  

Accept that it’s a long-term game. You basically have no better option.

Read, ask experts, try out different diets, try out different workouts, fail, fail again but don't stop.

Keep looking for the right solution, a solution that makes it easy for you.

It s somewhere out there, but proper self-reflection and determination will get you there at some point.

And a quick reminder, progress isn't linear.