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How to win with the long game

Episode 326
Wildly Successful Lifestyle

LISTEN TO: How to win with the long game

Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 326 of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast! Im glad you’re here, it’s nice to surround ourselves with people that want to be the best version of themselves and are actively learning new ways to do that, so thanks for being here and be sure to share this podcast with others doing the same.

Ive been doing a lot of design work lately and it’s been fun! The world feels right when I’m helping people create an environment that brings them joy whether it’s in their head space like I do with my podcast or their literal space like I do with design. And both have a lot to do with each other.

Your literal space is a good indicator of where your heads at and your head space is deeply affected by your literal space, like if you have a lot of clutter in your environment, its probably pretty hard for you to relax. Or if you have a lot of negative self talk, and feelings of low self worth, that’s more than likely portrayed in your environment as well, especially in your health and the way you present yourself. It’s all tied together.

I’ve talked about that before in episodes but it never hurts to remember that. If you want to see where you’re head is, take a look around at your environment and the way you present yourself. Not always 100% accurate of course, but it’s a good place to start. Your environment matters and so does the way you present yourself.

So this last week, I drove 3 hours to meet with clients that needed design advice quickly because they bought a new home and wanted to put this one they are currently in on the market immediately and they had a contractor starting work the next week. They had gotten my name as someone they could trust so they were willing to pay for my drive there and back, so I said sure. We are talking a 4 million dollar home so it should be top notch to go on the market. I go into the home and it was chaotic. It was really a wreck. Lovely on the outside, chaos on the inside. They had bought it sight unseen so once they walked around it, they realized they didn’t like it at all and ended up never doing anything to it, knowing they were going to move as soon as they could find another house. I didn’t have this knowledge going into it, they just said they needed to know what to do to make it market ready. After spending 4 hours walking every space. My energy was zapped partly due to the chaos and I realized they needed much more help then I was going to be able to give them in one consult and the help they did need, I didn’t even do like organizing and staging. My mind kept wondering where they go for a respite. That’s my normal game plan, the long term plan for people wanting to have a home they love for a very long time, but that’s not what they were asking for, they wanted to wash their hands of that house as soon as possible. SO, I gave them what they asked for suggestions, Paint colors and lighting. And Im out the door. As Im making the long drive home, Im feeling kind of bad about the situation because they really do need so much more help and they had paid quite a bit for my consult because of the drive…and then I stopped and I asked myself “why are you beating yourself up?” The only question I need to answer is did I do my best and did I provide the service they asked for? The answer was absolutely yes. I realized Im used to working with clients that want to make their home beautiful for their own enjoyment. All They needed was quality answers quickly and I gave them that. They didn’t ask me for head space help, they asked me for literal space help. They were not in it for the long game, they wanted out, just tell us what we need to do so we can do it and put this house behind us. Once I freed my brain from the mind drama that I was creating by trying to take on responsibility for things that were not my responsibility I let it go and haven’t given it another thought, they weren’t in it for the long game and that was fine.

But you see there’s a different mindset when you’re in it for the long game. We take our time and we plan it out and we stick to the plan regardless.

There are times where a quick fix makes sense, like for my clients who wanted to put their house on the market immediately. But for most of us in our day to day lives, we have to be in it for the long term gains. Be in it for the long game. If you’re always looking at things from a quick fix, you’re going to constantly struggle with long term gains.

There have been times when Ive been at the gym and my workout was sub par because I was tired but that didn’t stop me from showing up the next day to work out because I know my long term gains are more important than one bad workout. Think about that the next time you’re workout isn’t so great, just tell yourself, Im in it for the long game and I know tomorrow will be better. Keep going.

Same thing for nutrition! Ive been going to my sisters once a week. I was there this week and my mom had made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and her cinnamon rolls are out of this world yummy, she had half a pan left over just sitting there in front of me. I hadn’t had lunch and they had this big late breakfast so no-one was in a hurry to eat but me. So you can probably guess what happened. I ate a cinnamon roll. I don’t eat bread anymore and I try not to eat butter and sugar which those rolls were full of. But I ate it and I enjoyed it, my hands were itching like crazy later and I still say it was worth it. My functional dr would be appalled. Now I know one cinnamon roll isn’t going to kill my goals, but continuing to eat like that all day might, so I didn’t continue eating everything in sight which is what the old me would do, I would have said well Ive blown it so may as well eat whatever I want. No, now my mindset is that I’m in it for the long game, so I got right back on my normal healthy eating.

The Long game plans goes for relationships as well. When you know without a doubt you’re partner is your forever person. Your mindset is very different than if divorce is an option. When you’re in it for the long term, if you have an argument you work it out. We all have bad days. Now don’t be staying in a toxic situation but if your relationships is overall great, you don’t throw in the towel when someone is going through a hard time, you work through it.

When we know we are in it for the long game our mindset is different. Little setbacks don’t completely derail us, we get right back on our plan and we stick with it. We are human after all.

The long game plan changes your mindset. We would love instant gratification but we know the long game is more important. So, yeah Your workouts aren’t always going to be amazing, keep doing them anyway. You’re not always going to eat perfectly, but don’t let one bad meal derail you for the day. And just because you have an argument with a friend or your partner it doesn’t mean the relationship is over…work it out. That’s the long game mindset.

We live in a world where instant gratification is king. How is that working out for us? Not so good, 71% of Americans are overweight, 42% being obese. Almost 50% of marriages will end in divorce. We don’t have to be part of that statistic if we decide that’s not what we want.

My challenge to you is to adopt the long game mindset. Especially with your exercise and nutrition because that is something you are in complete control of. Relationships involve another person so it can be trickier. But they know if you’re truly committed or if you have one foot out the door, so if you decide you’re going to have that long game mindset, they’ll feel it and you will too which could change everything. Share this with 3 friends, I love you guys, I’ll talk to you in a few days.

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