There’s Only One Way To Create Real, and Lasting Change
And it involves more than handing over your email address.
Ever done this before? Ever hand over your email address for a PDF on 9 Habits to Give Up so You Can 10x Your Per-Hour Output?
I just did. And some distant part of me actually thought it was exactly what I needed.
And I have to now ask myself: What are the chances these 9 things are going to change my life? Will I actually do any of them?
Do you ever notice how many things you sign up for — or buy — in the hopes that it will make whatever you’re after easier to achieve?
We believe these things to be THE THING that’ll get us across the finish line. We think YES! This is IT, this is going to be the thing that makes me lose 20 pounds or become a master home cook, or write like Hemingway. I’ve got it, I’ve finally got it this time!
Here’s the thing.
Buying or downloading the thing is “the easy way” and the easy way steals time, energy, and focus from what can make the most change and get you what you want.
But here’s the nasty little thing that’s going to make this whole fun letter a real downer.
There’s only ONE WAY to get what you want and it stings worse than a yellow jacket getting caught in your shirt, turning you into a pin cushion.
And that one way is by — eek, don’t hate me — doing the work.
I know, it’s horrible. It’s dreadful. It’s a misery snowcone.
We’d all rather get stuck under the file cabinet of life filled with its to-dos and not-to-dos than have to do. the. work.
(And there’s one little addition I feel I have to mention about “the work”.)
See, the thing is, the work? The work takes time. (Did you just throw your mimosa at me?)
That means you have to pull out your cape of discipline and wear it like never before.
It means taking your goals seriously and banishing excuses from your world.
And you can bet that bottom dollar this process will be wrought with all sorts of emotions about who we are, and who we identify as since those things run DEEP! For example, I’m a woman who still thinks she could be in her 30s — delusional — who’s serious about wanting to eat better but can’t give up the notion that cheese and crackers should be on the menu every day.
That’s who I am. But it’s not really — it’s more of what I’d prefer. Who I want to be is the kind of person who shuns snacking — I want to achieve a level of snobbery toward snacks because it feels more British to me and I’ve always wanted a British accent — and tea at 4 pm and scones that can knock a tooth out. And the tea sandwiches? To die for.
To achieve snacking snobbery, I have to change part of my identity, and that’s where the work comes in.
There are no quick fixes. None. Not the cleanse, the fad, what’s trending now, what any of the Kardashians are doing, none of it will work… until you do.
Solving a complex, lifelong problem, begins by focusing on what’s happening in the mind. You have to do the mental work before you can see any long-lasting results begin to populate around you.
Want to lose weight? Want to stop snacking? Want to create an entirely new life where you’re feeling like a badass momma who’s got her sh*t together? Who wears alo but that’s because you actually workout every day and the term “athleisurewear” appalls you but you’re not a snob about it? If your goals are like THAT, there’s work involved, but it’s the BEST KIND OF WORK because the change is real at that level. It’s long-lasting. It’s euphoric. And it’s all yours. IT’S ALL YOURS!
It’s not handing over an email address and boom your life has changed because that doesn’t work.
You do. When you do the work, you’ll never deal with the stress or frustration of not being who you want to be.
You do that, and you’ll be on 🔥
(And as for those 9 habits to give up? Turns out I already don’t do them so yea — I’m better off than I imagined. Maybe we should we talk about the stories we tell ourselves next?)
Till next week my “doing the work” friend!
❤️
am