Why Simple Habits Beat Sexy Solutions Every Time

Woof! Things are changing around here and I’m not just talking about the weather…

My husband and I have been renovating a home for the last year. Well let’s be honest… mostly my husband… and father in law… and father… but I’ve been supervising 😜 Anyways, finally we are living in the home and feeling some relief from this journey that felt like it would never end. While we still have a lot of work to do, looking back, it feels like the last year of living at my parents, running around back and forth like chickens with our heads cut off, and navigating some tense moments 🤭 kind of went by like that! (imagine me snapping my fingers like it was nothing.) 

Isn’t that how it goes?

Whatever goal you have in front of you seems so far away. The journey of patience, consistency, and pure grit you will inevitably need to keep going when you don’t want to seems so daunting it almost makes you just want to freeze, or not start at all. No matter what change you are fixing to make, or thing you are looking to accomplish, you are signing up to face these obstacles. Big or small, discomfort is part of change to some degree or another. There will be many times you feel like you are getting no-where, many times you will want to throw in the towel, and many times you wonder why you got yourself in to the “mess” in the first place.

Thats exactly how it feels when you are working towards a fitness, nutrition, or health goal in general. These types of goals are made up of a lot of little simple habits that lead to big results over time. The problem isn’t the complexity of what you need to do. What you need to do is usually simple… very very simple. But that doesn’t mean it is easy. The hard part is being patient and consistent LONG enough. Many times people are not seeing results because they are throwing the towel in too soon or jumping from focus to focus, or new fad to new fad, not sticking with one thing long enough to see it through. To actually see change or give their bodies and minds long enough to adapt to something new. Two weeks is not long enough to know if your macro plan is working or if you have a food sensitivity that is preventing you from feeling your best. Three months isn’t long enough to loose 50 lbs and keep it off forever, or go from the couch to a six-pack. These types of goals take time. They are the goals that start with one goal in mind but throughout the process you develop and change your intention because you have found the more valuable wins along the way. 

We trick ourselves (or instagram does) into thinking that the journey is glamorous. That the tools and tricks are progressive and “sexy.” The reality is…. they are boring as heck. They consist of the same things every day or every week, over and over, and they are not special, they are not complicated… they are boring. 

You eat clean most of the time.

(Unprocessed foods, limit added sugar, pass on fast food etc…)

You move your body most days.

(Breathe heavy some and lift heavy others or a combo of both)

You drink water.

You sleep.

You repeat. 

That’s it. 

It’s not complicated, it’s not special, it’s simple. You don’t need a special drink with a bunch of supplements or powdereed veggies. You don’t need fancy vitamins or a rigid diet. You don’t need a watch to tell you how lazy you are or not. You need some guidelines, real food, and to let go of all the other noise. Find a good support system to keep you going, and establish a solid “why” to remember why you care in the first place. 

Put your armor on in the beginning. Set your expectations on being ready for battle, for the long haul and the greater end game. Then do the battle. Do not let up. Do not worry about how long it will take, what anyone else is doing, or when it will be over. One day you will realize that you feel confident in your health. You feel routine in your habits you have been fighting to maintain, and it simply won’t feel like a fight anymore. It will just be normal. Part of you.

One day you’ll look back — just like I did with this house — and realize that all the messy, slow, ordinary work added up to something beautiful. In a world where there’s unlimited amounts of choices and lifestyles and identities you can choose from, it’s hard to know what’s right for you. If you need help establishing some guidelines for yourself, please let me know. I’d love to help you come up with a plan of attack so you have something to focus on and can move forward with confidence. 🤩