This morning while working with a client, I stated that I wished we had a smaller stability ball to work with. This would've made the exercise she was doing more difficult. I said this just before the second set of this particular exercise, which was at the beginning of the workout. I said it because she made the first set look easy. By the fourth set we were both glad there wasn't a smaller ball. This got me thinking; how often do we take on too much? I thought about this more with my next client as we talked about steps he should/could take to lose weight. He tends towards grand all or nothing gestures. He's not my only client with this mentality. In fact lots of my clients fall into this category. They all forget the old (now cliché) quote "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Change is hard (also cliché). People realize this and think wholesale change is the only way to make change. I know, that doesn't make any sense: change is hard so lets change a bunch of stuff in order to get the first change.
So how should we go about change? My answer: stop trying to do more, focus on doing enough. Enough? Doing enough means you're moving consistently toward your goal. Doing enough means you acknowledge progress. (Time for another cliché) doing enough means it's not about the destination, it's about the journey.
In the case of the stability exercise, "enough" meant using the same ball from start to finish. Doing more, a smaller ball, would've resulted in decreased quality and/or she wouldn't have been able to do as many sets/reps.
In the case of weight loss, "enough" is figuring out what tiny thing can you do that will help you lose weight. Emphasis on tiny because along with trying to change too much, people will try to change "too big". For example, my client suggested maybe he should stop drinking. Great suggestion, right? Well, he goes out 2-3 nights/week either socially or for business. Once you figure that in, quitting drinking becomes a very big ask. It's probably better to say, "no drinking at home" or "limit to one drink/outing". "Tiny" will be dependent on the individual.
Doing enough should feel relatively easy. It really shouldn't feel like you're making too big of a sacrifice. You'll know if you're doing enough if you're making progress. Don't worry about how much progress, just ask was there progress? If yes, then you are doing enough. If no, then you are not doing enough.
Here is where things can get tricky: a little bit of progress tends to make people want more progress, faster. Patience is a virtue (I've literally lost count of the clichés). I've often had to plead with clients to continue doing just enough and not more than enough. I know it seems backward. If doing enough is good, then shouldn't more than enough be better?
Technically the answer is yes. Practically the answer is no. Technically if you can do more than enough then you can get to the goal faster. Practically doing more than enough usually leads to no progress. This happens because you're also trying to do more than enough at work/school or more than enough with the family or more than enough with that new guy or gal. Practically doing more than enough takes time and energy. Two of the most expensive and limited commodities.
Doing just enough allows you to save up on those commodities. Another thing that happens is when you look back after weeks of doing enough you'll realize that you've been doing more and more.
