Everyone wants a quick fix. There I said it. It’s a valid statement in a 24/7 instant gratification society. When it comes to our health, this concept gets even more magnified.
How long will it take me to lose weight? How fast can I see results? Is there a quicker way for me to get healthy? On and on.
Let’s step back for a moment and think about the time needed to be proficient at something. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, he makes the case that it takes 10,000 hours to be good at something. Whether you believe that or not my ole school brain says ‘heck yeah’ if you want to excel at something you have to practice it. If you need some inspiration turn on the Olympics and listen to some of the athlete’s stories.
Humor me while I use myself as an example. (And yes N =1 is not peer-reviewed) I took my first dance lesson at age 3, parents discovered, as did I that I had an a “bit” of affinity for it plus loved it. Fast forward and I ended up having a 30+ year career as an international professional dancer. Total up the number of hours practiced doing that, makes my mind spin.
I’m going to wager a fun speculative number 30 years full-time work let’s say 50 weeks a year with 40 hours a week (it was more) that’s = 2000 hours per year x 30 years = 60,000 hours of dancing and that is ONLY the professional years not the years prior to the “official career” early on when studying from age 3 to 16.
Let’s flip gears to something even more related. Think you want to learn a foreign language. How long does it or did it take for you to first speak a few words, make a complete sentence and then finally be able to hold a conversation? I can tell you it is not a couple weeks. Personal experience when I first moved to the Netherlands I knew your basic Dutch tourist version, be able to order a coffee, say ‘dank je wel’ and not much more.
After two years living there, taking a class or two and being extremely vigilant with Dutch friends to support me, I got there. But no, it did not happen overnight and honestly it is still a work in progress, but I improved and continue to move forward.
OK back to the health and patience predicament. If you want a short-term solution maybe you’re not really ready for change on the sustainable path. Just a thought. If you’re looking for a lifestyle to maintain a sense of vibrancy and strength, you need to make friends with patience. I love this quote from Dr. Eric Berg, “You have to get healthy before you can lose weight.” Excellent short video here from him on that topic.
Even if weight loss is not your current health goal, anything pertaining to your total well-being takes time. Constantly chasing a short-term solution deters you from investing in lifestyle components that truly support longevity. Two additional posts on that topic are Longevity: Bits & Pieces and Exercise & Aging Insights.
However long it took you to get where you are in terms of health status, it just might take equally long to turn it around. You’re on the right path, just take a deep breath, gather a good supporting tribe around you and march forward.
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”
John Quincy Adams
