I​’ve tried every diet imaginable. I know how the stomach feels feeding it 200 calories every three hours, and how it feels while depriving it of anything but water and coffee for 18. I’ve been vegan and vegetarian and keto and paleo. I’ve been bulletproof too, and while feeling like a superhero, my body looked more like a superhero’s couch potato roommate. 

I approached each new diet like discovering the missing link:

“​Of course! It’s not my bad habits, it’s because I’m not putting enough butter in my coffee!”

Whichever diet I attempted, I didn’t stay with it for long. When the results didn’t come easily, I’d give up and search for a whole new eating approach. I bounced from fast track to fast track while others stayed in a lane. Like an impatient driver, I kept merging and second guessing and swerving, always looking for a quicker way – perhaps something secret, but never gaining any distance between myself and those who simply committed.

Recently I’ve refocused on dieting after a few too many weeks of unbridled indulgences. This time, I opted for the tried and true method proven by countless athletes, bodybuilders, actors, and even our own dear coaches: eat fewer calories, track your macros, and commit. After a few weeks I’ve accepted the simplicity and dropped the allure of the easy way. The pathway to the reward doesn’t have to be thrilling, in fact it usually isn’t. Nonetheless, the path is there waiting for us. 

When I stopped expecting miracles, I set in motion the mechanics to make actual change. 

W​hatever your goals are, I encourage you to approach it with the long view. Let it be boring. Let it be bland. Let it be simple. The quote by Chris Pratt below captures this sentiment: 

“Six months seems like a long time unless you’re looking backwards… all you have to do is just a few things every day and remain consistent, and time will fly just as fast as it flies if you’re working hard or not.” – Chris Pratt 

He’s right – six months will go by either way. If we shed the idea of the overnight success, we tap into the power to do some incredible things. Whatever your goals are; if it’s to drop pounds or gain weight, if it’s to dead lift 135 lbs or 400 lbs, if it’s to run a mile under 6 minutes or simply run a mile, commit and get to work. Adding a pound every week to your lift, dropping a pound a week from your waist, or running a second faster each week compounds of over time and will bring you to any goal you wish.

The lane next to you isn’t any faster, though sometimes it may appear to be. Let’s ignore the seduction of the easy way and trust the process. Let the path be bland, let it be boring, and let the thrill come from the absolute achievement that is waiting for us all!