There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
Beverly Sills
If you are looking for sustainable results, then chances are you will have to put in the work. It will involve making changes and seeing the fruit of those changes appear overtime — instead of 30 days from now. There is no get-rich, quick scheme when it comes to reaching goals that are worth it, because any goal worth it, is worth working for.
The reality is the work must get done.
Doing this work involves dedication. Sometimes it is two steps forward, one step back (or five steps back if I’m being honest). It involves effort and time. I wish I could say a life of bikini-ready bodies is the end result of a 14-day plank challenge. I wish I could tell you running once a week is enough to lower your chances of heart disease, but in reality, the chances of that being correct is slim. Why? Because once one reverts back to old habits, the old results will reappear. The work involved needs to be done in order to see sustained results. That last 10 lbs you are trying to lose may not come about from a month-long challenge, but rather from a daily commitment to see it through.
That is not to say that it is a miserable experience filled with heart-wrenching work. Change is not automatically negative, but sometimes the process can be a little uncomfortable and hard to handle, especially if it involves awkward or painful memories. However, the work still has to be done. If you want to run a marathon you have to put in the practice (and deal with the shin splits, and blisters, and muscle aches…). If you want to feel well-rested, you have to sleep for a reasonable number of hours every night. If you want to make peace with your past, you have to face your demons. It has to happen as part of the process. It is the dirty work that leads to the reward.
Bottom line: It is not easy, but most likely it is worth it. If you are expecting to put as little effort as possible into it, chances are the output will suffer. The more energy, time, and dedication that is given to your goals, the better the chances you will succeed long term.
Doing the work is essential.