The Single Most Important Ingredient for Permanent Transformation
Do you want to know the single most important ingredient in your journey to permanent transformation? You might think it has something to do with cutting out certain foods, quitting alcohol, or optimizing your workouts for your body type.
While all of those things can be beneficial, the single most important ingredient that can make all the difference on your journey toward permanent transformation is this:
Patience.
Why? Because permanent transformation, contrary to popular belief, is not a fast 30-day, 60-day or even 90-day process. True transformation doesn’t happen overnight. Rather, it’s the sum of thousands of choices made over a long period of time that result in sustainable habits and a complete identity shift.
Remember: you didn’t get where you are overnight. It’s going to take a long time to get where you want to be.
The good news is that it is possible and you can do it! Let me share with you some strategies for cultivating your patience and navigating setbacks and plateaus in order to break through and achieve permanent transformation, once and for all.
What is Permanent Transformation?
Before we dive into how to cultivate patience, it’s important to talk about permanent transformation. After all, many people achieve results from short programs and crash diets. For some people, those results might even stay with them for a long period of time! But here’s the difference between quick results and permanent transformation: Quick results are not sustainable; permanent transformation is.
Following a strict workout and eating plan for 30 days is difficult, but doable. But what happens when school lets out and your kids are home for the summer? What happens when you injure your wrist walking the dogs and you’re unable to complete your “get fit quick” program?
The moral of the story is: life happens, and without permanent transformation, it will derail your well-intentioned plans for getting results, landing you back at square one.
Permanent transformation requires two things: sustainable habits and a shift in identity, both of which require immense amounts of time and, therefore, patience. In a world that glorifies instant gratification, this is bad news.
Fortunately, I have some good news! I’m sharing two practical ways for you to cultivate patience in your own journey toward permanent transformation, plus tips for how to overcome setbacks and plateaus.
Practical Ways to Cultivate Patience
Patience, like any muscle, can be exercised and grown over time. And just like exercising a new muscle, it may feel uncomfortable at times, but ultimately it will serve you well.
The first thing to do is to focus on the process, not the results. If you’re constantly focused on achieving results, you will quickly abandon the process when the results are slow to come. The problem with that is permanent transformation takes a long time, and setbacks and plateaus are a normal part of that process. (More about navigating setbacks and plateaus below).
If your focus is on the process, instead, you will be dedicated to maintaining it, even when the results are slim to none.
Part of this boils down to your identity. If your identity lies in going to the gym every day, it won’t matter if you aren’t seeing results. You simply show up to the gym every day because that’s who you are. It’s a part of what makes you, you.
If your identity lies in how much you can bench press, however, your whole world can fall apart if you injure your wrist or your arm, or if you haven’t upped the weight in a few weeks.
By focusing on the process over the results, you will be able to stick to the process even when the results are slow to come.
The second thing to do is to practice accepting yourself and loving yourself wherever you are at right now. This is related to your mindset and how you view yourself. So many people embarking on a health and fitness journey do so out of a hatred for their body. They are constantly striving for a lower number on the scale or a more toned appearance because they aren’t happy with who they are at the moment.
This can be a strong motivation that drives results. However, when results slow or stop, the person is left with internal disgust. This feeling can quickly backfire, leading them to give up, lose momentum, and return to unhealthy habits.
If you’re able to learn how to love and accept yourself during every stage of the journey, you will be able to be patient with yourself during plateaus and setbacks. You won’t immediately give up when you don’t get the results you want, because you are confident in who you are and dedicated to loving yourself in that season, no matter the number on the scale or the size of the clothes.
If you want to cultivate patience during your journey to permanent transformation, practice focusing on the process over the results, and accepting yourself as you are at every stage in your journey.
Setbacks and Plateaus
In order to grow your patience, you must understand one thing: progress is never linear. Everybody experiences setbacks and plateaus. There are a million factors: external factors such as significant life events like moving, pregnancies or tragedies, and internal factors such as mental health, insomnia, or menopause. Even if it seems nothing has happened, progress can remain stagnant for a long time.
The important thing to remember is that setbacks and plateaus are completely normal, and you must avoid comparing your progress to others as much as possible. As they say, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” It’s never worth comparing yourself to others, so do your best to remind yourself that your journey is your own and nobody else’s.
If you’re experiencing a setback or plateau, work to focus your attention on what you CAN control versus what you CAN’T control.
For example, you can always control your internal dialogue or your mindset. You can control your sustainable habits such as meditation, movement, or planning meals ahead of time. Whatever the situation is, identify the things you can control, and focus on those.
Conversely, there will always be certain things you can’t control. It might be a difficult relationship with a family member. It might be that you got let go from your job. Maybe your dog got sick and you’re spending time going to the vet, giving your dog medicine, and cleaning up ten times more than normal, not to mention dealing with all the added stress and worry.
These things happen, unfortunately, and it doesn’t do any good to stress out about things that are outside of your control! If you want to achieve permanent transformation, you need to be able to ride the wave, focus on what you can control, and let go of what you can’t. Only then will you have the tools to succeed – permanently!
Celebrate the Wins
Lastly, if you want to boost your motivation and keep your spirits up, it is important to celebrate your wins on a regular basis! I know that when you’re experiencing setbacks or plateaus, it can feel like there aren’t any wins to celebrate, but I always tell my clients that that is not an acceptable answer. There are ALWAYS wins to celebrate, no matter how defeated you feel.
Did you get out of bed today? That’s a win! Did you drink water today? That’s a win! Has your sleep quality increased? That’s a win!
When it feels like the scale refuses to budge or your body refuses to transform, it’s all the more important to celebrate wins outside of those results. Focus on celebrating mindset wins, or how you feel on the inside. Celebrate your consistency or your attitude. Celebrate your commitment to rest. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!
Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were you! It took a lifetime of habits, choices and circumstances that led to where you are today, and transformation simply won’t happen overnight. Patience is the single most important ingredient when it comes to achieving permanent transformation!
If you’re feeling stuck, try shifting your focus to the process rather than the results. If you have a strong process, the results will take care of themselves! Try to avoid comparing yourself to others. Everyone’s journey is unique to them. And lastly, there will always be surprises and obstacles along the way. The important thing is to focus on what you CAN control over what you CAN’T.
Be patient with yourself, be kind, and celebrate your wins, no matter how small!
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