Change is difficult, but necessary for success.

Now, it's no secret that in order to be successful and to have lasting results, then we're going to have to be— or we're going to be required to change. It's what I was trying to say. So that's no secret, kind of. We all know that. We all know that. All right, well, if I want to get new results and I want to achieve more in my life, then there's probably going to be some changes that are going to be required in order for me to get there. Now, what many of us don't realize though is these changes need to take place on 3 different levels. And depending on where we're at as an individual, we're going to find each of those levels uniquely difficult, challenging, easy relative to us and where we're at right now. So what we need to do is first establish what they are and then what things we can start doing in order to essentially stack the odds in our favor. Because of the 3 elements, some are going to find certain parts really easy and other parts really challenging. So the first is environment. Now, when we're talking about environment, of course, we mean your day-to-day environment. So let's say, for example, we're talking body transformation and my goal of fat loss. Well, if I'm looking at having my environment set up or being conducive to the outcome of fat loss, then I need to make sure, for example, that my kitchen is set up accordingly. Do I have the right cookware? Do I have the right foods in store? Or is my, are my cupboards and my fridge full of junk and snacks and sweets and treats that will maybe knock me off track because I won't be able to fight the temptation to eat them? Will it be a case of the places I choose to eat out on a regular basis also aren't necessarily conducive to the goal? Now, it might not be that they serve totally bad food throughout, but maybe they don't have enough variety on their menu or enough options for you to eat in alignment with the goals that you want. So therefore you're constantly eating off plan. So therefore, unfortunately, the environments that you keep yourself within don't help you move towards your goal. We often see this in people that work in offices. If you have a profession that requires you work in an office building with lots of other staff members, colleagues, et cetera, there's often always biscuits and sweets and things laying around that everybody has immediate access to. And unfortunately, until you've sort of developed that self-discipline and commitment to the goal, it's quite difficult to not eat that stuff, especially if you're somebody that feels like, oh, I have to take part, I have to get involved just because everybody else is. Well, then that's going to make it very difficult. So of course, the first thing that we can really do with environment is start to change the home. Our home environment tends to be the most important one because that's where we tend to feel most comfortable, but also where we tend to reward ourselves the most. Now, of course, it is unique to each individual. Some people don't, and they'll do it in other, other places outside the home. But for most of us, when we get home after a long day at work, we feel like we deserve a reward and a treat now. So we'll kind of settle down, often in front of the TV, and then would allow ourselves to indulge in many of the things that we know we maybe shouldn't be having. Could be cakes, snacks, sweets, treats, could be alcohol, could just be overindulging in our dinner because we maybe didn't eat very well throughout the day. So then we overeat or overfeed in the evening in order to compensate for that. So we need to make sure if we're going to make changes that are ultimately going to lead to transformation so that we don't lose those, those changes, we're going to need to alter our environment. Now, after environment, the next thing that we need to look at is others. Now, when we're saying others, what we ultimately mean is people, other people, because the people that we tend to associate with, with the most will tend to significantly influence the ways that we act and the way that we show up for ourselves. So if we have people that are perhaps quite dear to us, quite close to us, and they don't lead a healthy lifestyle but you are trying to, then often what happens is because you don't want to feel like you're rejecting them or like they might reject you, what we often end up doing is just doing as they do. We do what we can to fit in the group because we don't want to rub people the wrong way, we don't want to trigger anybody. And we want to feel part of the tribe, essentially. So often we might have this goal of, I want to lose weight. Maybe the rest of the group isn't on board with that, not to the point where they're just going to deliberately sabotage you, but they might not be ready to step up and do it themselves yet. So often what can happen is we have the intention to change, but they will unconsciously continually influence us, influence us to, to stay on the dark side, so to speak, to keep eating off plan. Oh, and joining in with them, it's, it's often things like Oh, um, they'll be— they'll over-question you like, oh, why aren't you doing this? And why aren't you eating that? And why are you drinking this? And why are you— and often we get to a point where we're just sick of answering all the bloody questions. Or it'll be a case of that usual, go on, one more won't hurt kind of thing. And because of that, we tend to give in because we want to feel like we belong, we want to feel accepted. And often, particularly in the early stages, we don't necessarily have the personal power required to say no and to say, you know what, it's great that you guys want to do that, and maybe at some point I will, but right now that's not for me. I'm trying to achieve X, Y, and Z with my body, and therefore that's going to mean I need to choose something different. That, of course, can be challenging. So we have to look at, well, are these other people that I'm spending time with, are they people I'm going to maybe have to reduce the amount of time that I'm spending with them? Or is it a case of I need to find other people who are more in alignment with what I'm trying to achieve and just spend more time with them? So sometimes we can get away with continuing as we are with the people that maybe aren't the best to be around in terms of the goal we're trying to achieve. But as long as we spend more time in the influence of others who are acting in alignment with our goals, who are also maybe on the health thing and so on, and, and that do take care of themselves and respect their body and so on, often if we just spend more time with them, that will enable us to get results despite the fact that we might be spending too much time or a lot of time with people who aren't necessarily helpful for us to, to reach our goals. Now, of course, that's down to us being honest with ourselves and getting clear on the facts about how much of this we do need to do or not. Like, do I really need to exclude these people from my life or reduce that reduce the amount I'm exposed to them? And will I actually put in the effort to spend more time with other people who are going to help me reach my goals rather than hold me back from them? It can be quite challenging, as I mentioned, because of those tribal associations and so on, and not wanting to feel rejected and left out and things. But at the same time, we have to get clear. Well, how important is this goal to me? Do I really want to keep spinning the wheels and falling off the bandwagon and giving in to the peer pressure when really what I want is to transform my body, finally get the shape and physique that I want so that I don't constantly look in the mirror, feel disgusted, feel like shit, have low confidence, low self-esteem, and so on. So we've kind of got to weigh up what's going to be of most benefit to us ideally in the long run, not in terms of in the moment. So they're the first two. We've got environment and others. Now the third one, not surprisingly, is self. Now, this means that ultimately you as an individual are going to have to change as well. Now, I mentioned the other two first, environment and others, because for most of us, it's easier to change those things, particularly in the short term. It's easier to change our environment. I could just walk downstairs now, go into the kitchen and the fridge, remove anything that's bad, get rid of it or give it away, go into the pantry, the freezers, etc., get rid of anything that's bad. And that's done. So I've already started to change my environment. That's a relatively easy, simple step I can take. With the others, there might be a bit of friction. Oh, shit, that means I've got to spend less time with Steve or less time with Joe or whoever the hell it is. And that's not necessarily a problem, but might be challenging because again, they might be close friends, you might enjoy time with them and so on. And we just need to kind of weigh up what we are or are not willing to do. And now when it comes to self, unfortunately, our biggest attachment is likely to the current identity that we have. So even though we know, well, yeah, I'm going to have to change, which means I need to choose different foods, I need to show up differently in the mornings, I need to maybe start exercising now, maybe need a better sleep routine, and so on. I perhaps shouldn't binge-watch TV so late. I shouldn't, shouldn't, shouldn't. There's all these different things we should or shouldn't be doing. In order to reach our goals, this is over time where we are likely to feel and experience the greatest resistance. Now, of course, it can be different. Some people will just make the decision and they go, but at the same time, I'm sure you've had experience with yourself where you start something, a few days in you stop, quit, give up, and then it's weeks and weeks, and then you start again, and then you quit and give up, and so on, as soon as it gets challenging. That's where we need to confront self. Now, what we're looking to identify when it comes to changing self are things like our triggers. So what are the emotional states that I tend to be in when I decide to throw in the towel and give up on my exercise plan or my food plan and so on? Like, what are the things that are going on for me? Is it, is it an environmental thing? Oh, every time I'm in this particular place or in this type of situation, that causes me to slip up and eat off plan? Or is it every time I'm around these particular people? So it could be environment or others, or it could be down to our own internal emotional states. So what is the current or most frequent emotional state you tend to be in when you feel like, I want to give up, I want to quit, I want to do this, I want to, to give up and just indulge in something, I want to feel good in the moment? What's actually going on for you? Because if we can identify our own individual triggers, that makes it much easier to both manage ourselves so that we stay on plan, but also makes it easier to act in alignment with our environment and others too. So yes, this part, this final piece of self, is the most challenging one to implement for most people, but it's going to be the most rewarding one. And if you spend more time working on the self, we get to a point where We can do it. We can stay on plan. We can remain healthy and maintain our results regardless of the environment or the other people that we are hanging around with, the amount of time we're spending with them, because we've learned how to parent ourselves essentially, where we've gone through this process and allowed our internal identity to change. I no longer identify as the fat, unhealthy, weak, tired person. I now identify as somebody that's healthy and that takes care of themselves. Once we have that shift, it's no longer a challenge. It doesn't mean we never allow ourselves a treat or we never indulge. It just means we never allow the experience of that to disrupt us at an emotional level to the point that it makes us give up, because that's what tends to happen. We'll eat off plan once or twice and then go, ah, fuck it, and throw the whole day away, or we throw the rest of the week away because there's this part of us that says, oh, because I decided to eat something that wasn't exactly on my nutrition plan or exactly with my exercise program, now I'm not going to get results. So what's the point? I might as well throw in the towel. Now, of course, that's not necessarily true, but it's how it feels in the moment, and therefore we act in alignment with that belief. So if we can make those shifts at the level of self, it makes it much easier for us to identify, oh well, I just chose to eat this thing, it's not a big deal. Every now and again isn't going to harm, I can still get good results. They might not be as epic as they would have been, but we can still continue to get results regardless of whether we've eaten off plan or not, as long as we're willing to get back on plan once we've done so. And that's the catch for most people, is there's this piece of us that says, oh well, no point now, that ideally should go, oh well, that was enjoyable, that was nice, now I'll get back on plan. And of course that takes a bit of practice and time and learning to give yourself a bit of grace. But what we also have to remember is that for most of us, we can actually get real good results, even all the way to the specific result that we want sometimes, just using the 80/20 rule, where that— which may— excuse me— which means we can eat clean and exercise and train and do all the right things 80% of the time, and then 20% of the time we can allow ourselves a bit of slip, a bit of leeway, a bit of what you might consider fun relative to the other stuff. That can allow us to still get towards our results. And then it's only when our results get a bit more extreme that we need to then take slightly more extreme approaches and maybe go 85/15 or 90/10 and so on. But that's what I'll leave you guys with today. So just remember, change takes place on 3 different levels: environment, self, and others. Environment tends to be the easiest one to start with. Others, generally speaking, is— it's very challenging for some of us because a lot of our identity and self-worth is wrapped up in the other people that we spend time with. But generally speaking, others is easier to adapt or to tweak and change than this aspect of self. Now, that doesn't mean it has to be all drama and hard work. It just means sometimes this one takes a bit more time, consistency, a bit more time under tension doing the work to identify things like triggers, emotional responses, environmental factors, etc., that cause you to show up and accidentally or deliberately sabotage yourself when you have a set outcome. I want to lose this much weight this week, therefore I need to eat like this, this, and this. And then even though we know that, a thing happens, a trigger of some sort, and it causes us to go off plan. So those are the 3 levels, guys. If you have any questions on this, as always, drop them in the comments below. And if not, I look forward to chatting with you all in my next video. Take it easy, people.