I used to think that consistent practice was boring.
I liked the excitement of learning new things, adopting new practices, and then…
learning newer things and adopting new new practices.
It made for a lot of learning, but not many new habits or longterm changes.
I was always more or less in the same place, struggling with the same issues, albeit in new ways.
And I masked my disappointment with… shiny new things.
I don’t do that anymore.
I’m fortunate that my work invites me into the minds of highly successful women, and I often learn as much from them as they do from me.
Losing weight is hard.
Losing a lot of weight, as my clients do, takes daily, consistent practice – staying aware, planning your food, recording everything you eat and drink, exploring and learning from the times you don’t, weighing and recording your weight, monitoring your thoughts and feelings….
And more of the same the next day.
At the same time, it requires them to limit what they often regard as a primary source of comfort and excitement – food.
Over the last year, I have had the privilege of coaching two women who don’t give up on themselves, and have achieved so much, only because they have remained consistent in their practice for long periods, with little visible results.
Martha stuck to her protocol for an entire month, without losing a pound. She’d already lost 15lbs, and these last 10 were not moving without a fight. She was up for it. She knows that sometimes you put in a lot of effort before you see results – she’s an executive in a large organization and she’s done it many times in this arena.
Her daily practice is paying off – now she’s losing a pound a week, and will reach her goal weight soon.
Lisa keeps overeating when she gets stressed. She runs a busy law firm, and her daily practice, for years, has been to eat her stress with doughnuts and cookies and grabbed fast food for lunch and dinner. She still does it, often, and every time she shows up for coaching and is figuring out how she is going to show up for herself consistently.
She hasn’t given up on herself. She knows what it’s like to do the work when she would rather stay home with her daughter. But she wakes up every day for her clients, and every day she posts a report for me.
Whether she’s stuck to her protocol or not, she is up for her daily practice of coaching, examination, and reporting. She will reach her goal weight for sure.
Over the past few months, inspired by my clients, I have adopted daily practices that are small, and sustaining.
I say a morning prayer before I get out of bed. It settles me instantly in a way I could never achieve with meditation. It reminds me who I am, where I belong and where my connections are.
I don’t eat before 2pm. This is non-negotiable. No matter what is going on, or where I am. If I want to, I gently notice my desire, and remind myself that I don’t do that anymore. And I feel calm and centred. Like there’s nothing I can’t do.
Small practices, that add up.
I’m done with shiny new extravagant practices that I get bored of.
I’m so much more settled with consistent, daily practices that are barely a topic of conversation with anyone but myself, and are building on each other to help me live my life consciously and connectedly.
Why don’t you pick one small thing, that you want to do, and that feels much smaller than you could do, and commit to that. Don’t pick it if there is any doubt in your mind that you may not do it. Start building a reservoir of evidence that you are a person who does what you say you will do – for you.
P.S. Our call with Kara Rasmussen was a huge success. We want everyone to know how possible it is to save for a BMW if you follow her system, so I’m sending you all the link to her class. Enjoy it and if you’re interested in learning more and working with Kara, email her at, email Kara@changekeepers.com.