On Being Consistent…

I recently asked my community (join here!) what their biggest struggle is when it comes to food, alcohol, healing or weight. Not surprisingly, the top answers involved the “C” word: CONSISTENCY.

They shared things like:

• staying on track
• sticking with it
• resisting tempting foods/drinks
• portion control
• meal planning
• having more discipline
• losing motivation

Every single one of these fall under the umbrella of consistency… which many of you think comes from being disciplined, motivated and having willpower and structure – but consistency is actually a practice – and this practice goes much deeper.

And by deeper, I mean into the subconscious.

You see discipline, motivation, structure and willpower rely quite heavily on the CONSCIOUS brain – and THAT’s a losing proposition.

Why?

Because your conscious brain requires energy, focus and conscious awareness and 90% (or more) of what you actually THINK and DO comes from your subconscious.

So how do you overcome the challenge of being CONSISTENT without relying on the conscious brain?

You program – or should I say – you RE-program – your subconscious…so that it aligns with your beliefs and values – your inner truth which, when practiced over and over again, become habits (or neural patterns) – in other words, NEW programs.

If you’ve instead been yo-yo dieting or endlessly working on overcoming poor eating/drinking habits, it’s NOT because you don’t have the right diet or macros, rules, recipes or meal prep strategies.

It’s not because you’re weak or that you love food or wine – or even because you have an active social life or unsupportive family members, friends or even finances…

For MOST of you, it’s because you aren’t ALIGNED with these three essentials:

1. CLARITY: You’re not clear and aligned with what you REALLY want, why you want it – and how you’re going to make it happen.
2. CONFIDENCE: You don’t believe you CAN. You don’t believe you deserve what it is you desire…you feel unworthy of it…and/or you aren’t willing to “let go” of the ‘you’ you are now in order to step into the “YOU” you wish to become. <THIS REQUIRES CONFIDENCE AND A DEEP INNER BELIEF THAT IT’S POSSIBLE…no matter what.
3. COMMITMENT: You’re not willing to do the work for the long haul. You’re not willing to mess up, make some mistakes, learn from them and continue on your committed journey toward what you now KNOW you clearly want. To do this ‘thing’, you must never give up.

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.

~Henry Ford (< Not my favorite person in history by any means, but this quote is 🔥.)

I share this insight with love, empathy and compassion, because I’ve been there myself. I lost and regained the same 20-40 pounds for decades until I made this internal shift.

How did I finally become consistent?

1. I was clear. Many OGs in this community were following along when I announced that I intended to lose my last 20 pounds forever…BUT ONLY in a way that I loved – without dieting or restricting – which meant that I would be enjoying moderate amounts of wine and any other indulgences I chose – each and every week. I was clear in how I would achieve and maintain this desired result using simple mindset tools and nutrition tweaks. Each and every day I connected with this clear goal and plan with only empowered, sustainable choices that felt aligned and good in my body-mind.
2. I was confident. I KNEW it was possible..I was so confident I made it public! I had all the knowledge and tools I needed to make it happen. PERIOD.
3. I was committed. Each week – even when I overindulged…even when the scale was up…even when I didn’t feel like it and veered off my plan; I STAYED THE COURSE. Some of you may recall, I lost an average of .72 Lbs per week over the course of those 7 months. That’s slow progress by most weight loss standards….but week by week….(sometimes up, sometimes down – letting go of impatience, perfectionism, my old ‘all or nothing’ patterns)… I stuck with this commitment until I achieved my goal. And now, more than a year later, this is just who I am.

I hope you see that if you don’t work on these 3 things….if you keep focusing on the food, the macros, the fasting, the diet – or the dysfunction – your old patterns – life’s limitations…if you continue to identify and attach to what’s “wrong with you and your life”, relying on your old familiar subconscious patterns, you WILL continue to struggle.

Consistency comes from clarity, confidence and commitment that originates and burns INSIDE of YOU – this keeps the fires burning – especially when things get challenging or boring (which they will).

Transformation does NOT happen through external structure, having the perfect environment, iron fist discipline, magical motivation, steely willpower or any of these highly touted external tools….

Those conscious forces can help with implementation, for sure – but they also can be impermanent and exhausted – sometimes quickly – unless they’re fueled by this deeper internal state.

This is where you start.

xo,

Ev