This is why you are not seeing results…

Sometime in my 3rd year in university, I was determined to shed some weight because I was tired of people always commenting on how big my boobs were. I just believed that if I could lose some weight, the twins would go down too…at least, that’s what Google said. Anyway, I started doing all these fitfam sturv – Jogging to the school gate every night, cleaning up my diet and portions, drinking plenty water and just making healthier choices in general.

After about two weeks of not eating rice or buying cafe 2 shawarma, I started asking myself “Omo! Is this really necessary? Na breast I b̶r̶e̶a̶s̶t̶ get I no kee person oo” I wasn’t even sure I was actually losing the weight 😭 During the period when I was having this internal war, I ran into one of my friends who I hadn’t seen around school in a while. When the person saw me, she ran to hug me and immediately followed with “Wow Tomi you’ve added oo.” OMO!!! You mean I’ve been forfeiting rice and cafe 2 shawarma for nothing? After class that day, I went straight to cafe 2 and bought shawarma + a plate of rice to eat in the evening 😭

The truth is…it’s an absolutely shitty feeling. To feel like you’re doing so much and putting in maximum effort but you’re not seeing any results. That thing can painnnnnnnnnnnnn!!! But worse still, it can make you lose the willpower to keep going. So today, because I need YOU to keep going, I’m going to tell you why you’re not seeing results and what you can do to fix it.

1. You quit too soon! This is the most common reason why people don’t see results. You do something and you don’t see results and you just quit. If you keep quitting things the moment you don’t see instant results, you’d become a quitter. Because many times, results don’t come immediately. They are usually the outcome of a long period of hard work, consistency and patience. So my darling, it’s not that you won’t see results. It’s just that you’re not seeing results YET. Keep going…it’ll come.

2. The menace of comparison. Don’t be out here comparing your behind-the-scenes to someone else’s highlights. You don’t know what this person has been through or the work they have put in to get to where they currently are. Remember that you are unique and different, so what worked for someone else may not necessarily work for you. Focus on your own story and your own journey.

3. You only tried one thing. You can’t keep doing the same one thing for ages and be expecting a different result. Try mixing things up. Try other strategies that can complement your current effort. Less hard work, more smart work…which leads me to the next reason–

4. You prioritise being busy over being productive. A busy person works hard but a productive person works smart. Ask yourself “What tasks am I working on? Are they necessary? Can I find a more effective way to do them? Don’t say yes to everything. Don’t jump on every trend. Those are tasks that will fill up your time but may not necessarily bring you results. Focus on the ones that do.

5. You didn’t learn how to properly do the thing you’re trying to do. Capacity building is important in whatever it is you’re doing. You need to gain more knowledge, skills, and other resources that will help you do it better. If you already have a talent in acting for instance, going to acting school or reading books or watching videos on becoming a better actor will help you achieve results faster than relying on just your talent.

6. You’re not consistent. If you want to make a hole in a wall, you don’t do it by hitting the hammer on the nail once today, then you come back next year and hit it again. Nope! You hit it repeatedly and consistently until you’ve made the hole. Think of that hole as your goal. Keep doing what you are doing even when you don’t feel like it. Be consistent!

7. You procrastinate too much. It’s okay to put off a few things from time to time but if you realise you put off almost everything until the last minute then you may have a serious problem with procrastination. One result of procrastination that most people don’t see is that it makes you do less effective work. The more you procrastinate, the less time to have to do that thing which means at the end of the day you’d be doing a rushed work. Good work requires proper time and effort and procrastination is a thief of both.

8. You’re striving for perfection instead of progress. When I feel sad about not seeing my goals manifest YET, I’ve learnt to look at my journey and the progress I’ve made instead of the things that haven’t changed. E.g “Wow I ate clean and healthy for two whole weeks” as opposed to “UGH! I’ve not lost any weight. This isn’t working”. Try it! Focus on your progress and not perfection.

I hope that somebody reading this can get the needed motivation to keep going even when they cannot see results YET! Remember sweetie, if you continue putting in the work, you still have a 50:50 chance of getting results. But if you stop putting in the work, you have a 100% chance of never getting any results. I think I’ll side with probability here and say go for it! I’ll be cheering you on!

Love,

Tomi of Lagos