That’s a serious question.
It’s easy to think about how amazing life will be when you reach your goals.
It feels great in your mind.
You can see it. Feel it. Taste it.
The idealized version of you is a beautiful thing.
But, will you allow yourself to be successful and actually let it happen?
There’s a big difference between fantasy and reality.
And no, I’m not talking about “doing the work.”
I’m talking about allowing yourself to be successful.
Have you ever been in a situation where things were going incredibly well and then out of nowhere you set fire to everything?
You burned it all.
Like … where the fuck did that even come from??
You were making progress.
You were feeling great.
You were well on your way and then …
BAM.
Just like that … you lit the match …
And blew it all up.
Then, you probably spent some time picking up the pieces.
Scratching your head, wondering what in the world just happened.
How could you be so close … and then pull yourself back so far?
I actually know why.
It’s something that you won’t find in any diet book or training manual.
It’s something that’s built into your software.
It’s in the way you’re wired.
Achieving success means losing a part of you.
And that is scary.
It’s painful.
It comes with grief and loss.
Ask any person who has lost significant weight about the old version of themselves.
They’ll speak fondly about the safety net.
The fact that they knew what to expect.
The fact that they could hide and remain comfortable.
The results that they achieved required loss of those things.
People noticed and commented so they felt a certain pressure to continue.
They could no longer hide.
They had to step into a new identity.
There was a grieving process.
I know … because I lived it.
I still hold a special place in my heart for the 250+ lb. version of me.
When you allow yourself to be successful, there’s pain and discomfort with growth.
But, I was never going to allow myself to be successful until I became aware of the inherent loss that comes with growth.
When a lobster outgrows it’s shell …
It feels intense pressure, discomfort, and pain.
The discomfort is what tells the lobster it’s time to grow a new shell.
There is pain and discomfort when you decide to outgrow your shell.
Some people decide to keep their old shell forever …
Because once they start to see progress … they are caught off guard by the vulnerability of it all.
So they hide once again.
You can’t build your new shell without embracing the pain and discomfort of outgrowing your old one.
Now let me ask you again …
WILL you allow yourself to be successful?
Identify your patterns and behaviors when success starts to happen.
Your setbacks might be a direct result of your unwillingness to experience the pain and discomfort of outgrowing your shell.
Just food for thought.
