But first, just a quick refresher: when I say “mindset,” what I really mean is perception – how you choose to view your process.

Mindset is thing that bridges the gap between knowing what to do and being able to actually do it long term. Honing your mindset is the key to long-term results, happiness and appreciation of the journey.

And being that it’s really just your perception, it’s something that we can choose every single day.

Let me give you an example.

Recently I received an email from a woman telling me how upset she was that after 2 weeks on a new, very strict diet, she had "only" lost 4 lbs.

This felt very unfair to her. And understandably.

Think about it. When you work hard on something – you expect certain outcomes. Besides, it takes a lot of mental energy and time to follow a new program. You have to buy the food, have it prepped and ready, Tupperwares assembled, eyes on the clock so you make sure you’re eating at the right times, counting macros, managing hunger and cravings, using willpower like crazy, trying to get all your workouts in perfectly and never messing up. And that’s on top of all the usual things you have to think about like family, chores, partners, work, whatever.

So, of course when you pour your energy into doing something so strenuously, it feels like a slap across the face when you don’t get the outcomes you expected.

This is tough.

And you might be reading this nodding your head thinking about how that’s happened to you before, but at the same time, on an intellectual level, you understand that weight loss isn't always going to go accordingly to a detailed timeline, so this gal shouldn’t really be surprised, right?

But still. The whole experience feels very unfair and defeating, doesn’t it?

So, what’s the solution?

Is it to keep plugging away at the diet, continuing to try your hardest to be perfect and never mess up and follow everything to the T and harness every ounce of mental energy to stay the course and white-knuckle your way through, with the expectation that if you “just try harder” you’ll eventually get the linear results you seek?

OR, is it to adjust your perception of the process? Your mindset?

Because here’s the thing. No matter how much we kick and scream and whine and play the victim about the process – the outcome is the same: results will be as predictable as we think they should be. We want them to be, but they’re just not.

So adjusting our perception of what to expect would be wise. First, because in doing that, we’re able to adopt some perspective. We can adjust our timeline, we can wrap our head around the fact that there will be ups and downs in the process and not everything is going to go perfectly to plan.

We can choose different expectations because we can see that the expectations we were holding onto don’t serve us. They make us miserable and discouraged.

And this can be tricky because two things happen when we start adjusting our perception to a kinder outlook:

We think, “Aaaah, I don’t want to accept that it’s going to be a slower process because that feels like I am not trying hard enough!”

I get that, but that’s also just a trap.

If you don’t believe me, try harder and see what happens. It’ll be the same outcome because the reality is that the metabolism is adjusting every single day to inputs like movement and food, and much of that is completely unpredictable.

So could you see that changing your perception to a more accommodating reality isn’t giving up, it’s actually smart strategy. Because when you do that, you don’t get as discouraged, and you don’t feel the kneejerk reaction to throw your hands up and say eff it. You realize that the journey on its own has merit and you embrace it, with the trust that immersion in the process is all you need.

This is such an interesting insight for me, and something I used to experience a lot. I’d think if I was on a program and not get the expected results, it was my fault and I just sucked. OR, if I had a program I simply could not stay on, I’d think it was because I was weak-willed and lazy, even though I was trying my hardest. We tend to make it about us when a program doesn’t work or we can’t for the life of us stay compliant on some arbitrary meal plan we got from some random coach. We make it mean we’re a failure.

And I don’t know about you, but when I feel like I suck, the last thing I want to do is stay the course.

But the answer is not to make excuses – it’s actually the opposite: take 100% responsibility and take all emotion out of it. Get clinical.

This is a mindset switch, right?

For example, take that woman who emailed me – if I can get her to simply look at her process objectively, adjusting her mindset becomes easy, because you choose the mindset that serves you most.

And which mindset is that? The one that allows for a) more consistent (not perfect!) implementation and b) self-compassion and patience (aka, happiness or ease).

Your mindset is important because the perception you actively choose shapes your experience and has the power to help you stay the course if you let it.

And that daily choice of how you see the process is one you make every single day. It’s an active thing.

Xo,

Jill

P.S. I always feel compelled to blow up your inbox with tons of mindset (my mom recently asked me if I think I'll ever run out of ideas. Lol.), but because I know for some people, it’s too much, I created a special separate Mindset Club email list (it’s free!). If you want all the introspection insights and tools, add yourself here. Those who join will also get early, exclusive and discounted access to join my Mindset Makeover 2: #RadicalResponsibility course, which opens July 14^th. Get on THE MINDSET LIST here.