Last week, I was scrolling through my Twitter feed (yes, I still go down the social media time suck sometimes) and I came across an article entitled, “Effort is Enough,” by Ryan Holiday, an author whose writing and ideas I really respect.

I saw it, was intrigued, but didn’t actually click on it to read it.

The reason was because I loved the title, and it was enough to get my own juices flowing about what the idea means to me. I have my own ideas about it, and I wanted to take some time to expand on it and potentially share it with JillFit readers.

PLUS, I am practicing what I preach in my latest #ActionAcademy course (it’s 100% free, you can join the 1500 women already enrolled, HERE).

Two weeks ago on our first live #ActionAcademy call, I asked the women to do some homework. I asked them to “unfollow or unsubscribe from at least 10 accounts/people who make you feel insecure or overwhelmed or jealous when you look at them,” as a means to stop getting distracted and start working on our own stuff. It was a reminder not to compare your Month #1 with someone else’s Year #5.

But look, it happens to all of us. Jealousy, envy, insecurity, overwhelm and feeling like, “Omggggg there is so much to do, I’ll never get there!” – all totally normal.

But also totally unhelpful, especially when trying to get started and get some wins.

Of course the ultimate goal is to be able to follow anyone and not get any emotional hits—and we’re working on that—but in the meantime and in the interest of #GSD, which is what #ActionAcademy is all about (duh), unfollowing for a while is key.

So, I didn’t read Ryan’s piece because I didn’t want to get sidetracked and I didn’t want to feel the potential let-down of, “Ugh, that’s exactly how I feel and he said it so much better!”

Two people can read the same book and pull out completely different insights.

Two people can watch the same movie and be struck by completely separate scenes.

Two people can read an article title and come to two completely different conclusions about what it means.

But the phase, “Effort is enough” caught my eye because as I was recently reading through the hundreds of survey responses I received from #ActionAcademy participants, a few major themes stood out, one of which centered around effort:

All totally understandable and valid worries, right?

And while I do believe there are always smarter ways to do things, and certainly some blueprints we can consider, so much of any process of creating something bigger is about being okay with unknowns, and being comfortable in the discomfort of letting effort alone be enough for now.

Because …

We can never control outcomes. We can never control how people perceive us. We can never control what people do or what they say. We can never control how much money we’ll make or how many clients we’ll get or how fast things will happen. 

Over the last 6 years at JillFit, I have always been moving. Sometimes it was sideways, sometimes it was backward (!!!), sometimes forward, but I was always engaged. I was always trying new things, things I wasn’t sure of, saying yes to stuff, seeing where certain things would take me, moving, acting, engaging, doing.

So when you get scared that all this effort—whether it’s toward your physique goals, your eating, your personal development work or growing an online fitness business—isn’t taking you anywhere, check yourself.

It takes you to the places that don’t work (good, now we know!), and it takes you to amazingly rewarding places you never would have experienced if you hadn’t put in the effort. Mindful action uncovers everything.

Effort is the only thing we can control, and knowing that helps us double down on it. It assures us that the more effort we put out, the more paths we reveal, and the closer we become to knowing what works, and the closer we are to the success we want.

Any coach who tells you they have a protocol that they can drop you into and guarantee results instantly is doing you a huge disservice. Yes, there are tools and strategies and experiences that can be shared, but your effort is your only guarantee. So don’t belittle it. Don’t talk about it like it’s a waste. It’s everything!

And besides, what’s the alternative? Not putting out the effort? Not taking action on the things we say we want? I don’t know about you, but inaction isn’t an option anymore.

Like Jade says, “Easy is earned.” You only get to have the wins and experience the rewarding outcomes if you are willing to get down and dirty, no matter how long it takes.

So yes, I do think “effort is enough” regardless of outcomes.

Wishing you a great week!

Xo,

Jill

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P.S. The title of this email stems from an experience I had last Friday when I was speaking about internet fitness business at the Fitness MBA Summit event here in LA. I was lucky enough to meet IRL my friend Isah, who is currently enrolled in #ActionAcademy and she said, “I am loving Action Academy so much! Thank you! But sorry, I had to unfollow you!” Looooololol. I loved it, and I wanted it. In the name of getting clear and finally #GSD, do what you gotta do. I support you 100%! Xo