I had a one-on-one coaching client of mine who spent the better part of two months figuring out why THIS time her health efforts would be different.

Whoa, whoa, whoa… my bad, I got way ahead of myself, let me back up.

When a new client, we’ll call her Adele (yes, cuz she’s as fabulous as the singer), signed on for one-on-one coaching with me, I asked her why she thought this time would be different.

She was at a loss for words – she wasn’t sure. And she told me later that, quite honestly, it was because she wasn’t actually sure that it would be different.

So every couple of weeks on our weekly coaching calls, I’d ask Adele if she had thought about why this time it was different.

And it was about two months into our coaching during a session where I didn’t ask this question that she brought it up and told me she had finally figured it out! 

It was different this time because she realized was willing to let the process unfold – she knew it wouldn’t be instant results, she knew it would take time, and she knew having the support of me as her health coach would be a game changer.

The two months we had been working together had been the easiest health related efforts Adele had ever committed to, and much to her surprise, they were WORKING!

That’s not to say it was totally easy – no, she put in the effort to make those changes. But compared to the methods she had tried before (yoyo-ing, dieting, grueling workout plans, spiraling, etc) these small steps were do-able and maintainable… something Adele NEVER thought she’d be saying.

The Misconception

And again, to be honest, Adele told me that throughout the first couple months she wasn’t sure making these small changes were going to work. They didn’t seem like ‘enough’ to really make an impact.

Which is exactly why it DOES work!

By making small changes to our lifestyle, it makes getting healthy easy and – you guessed it – it doesn’t suck!

After two months of witnessing how the small changes do have an impact, that’s when the realization hit her – she actually let the process unfold.

Most of us are in a hurry to get healthy, we want instant results, and small, sustainable changes just don’t produce those overnight results. 

Despite how much we try to convince ourselves we’re in it for the long haul, we still have this underlying expectation of seeing immediate change.

Given the chance to take a magic pill to instantly get healthy and in shape, we’d all be fighting for our spot in line.

But when Adele realized this time was different because she gave small changes a chance, it was the best light bulb moment EVER!!!

The Long Game

It’s the small changes that ARE the long game. They make healthy sustainable, and (dare I say) fun!

Adele realized the small changes are what allowed her to still live the spontaneous, joy-filled life she wants, WHILE getting a little healthier each day.

In fact, by getting healthier, it only added to the spontaneity and joy of her life  and as a result she’s finding it easier and easier to make the small changes which compound to big health results over time.

Is she perfect? Nope.

But is she okay with that, now more than ever? Yep!

The small changes are easier to make a reality and by doing so, gives her the confidence to keep at it.

Before she would have fallen off the wagon, given herself loads of shit about it and gone down a spiral of shame, and ended up going in circles with her health.

Now though, she’s realizing that getting and staying healthy can be fun!

Let Adele’s two months of reflection save you some time and shed light on the fact that small changes are the way to go about getting healthy for the long term, without the suck!