The Right Goal at the Wrong Time Will Still Fail
And Why That Doesn’t Mean You’re Failing
Two weeks ago, my client G.H. — a 43-year-old father of three — told me he was ready to get serious about dropping body fat again.
When he started with me eight weeks ago, he’d already lost about 25 pounds on his own. Then he hit a wall for a few months. No more progress. No forward momentum. He wasn’t gaining weight, but he wasn’t moving either.
So we tightened up his training.
We bumped up his protein.
We kept him at maintenance calories until he felt ready to cut.
And two weeks ago, he said, “I’m ready.”
Most people would look at the calendar and think:
“Right after Thanksgiving? In December? Is that really the best time?”
Like most things in training, performance, and behavior change…
it depends.
Some people can cut this time of year.
I’m doing it myself — a 9-week cut before I fly out for a trip on Christmas Day.
But here’s the difference:
I knew exactly what resistance I’d face.
I knew how I’d navigate it.
And I cleared the space in my life for it to work.
For G.H., it was a completely different story.
When the Goal Is Right but the Timing Is Wrong
For him, it wasn’t primarily internal resistance that stopped progress.
(Though we’ve only begun scratching the surface of that work.)
It was external resistance — the kind that is real, valid, and incredibly difficult to outmaneuver without serious preparation.
G.H. is a father of three.
All three are in ballet.
And December?
December is chaos.
Rehearsals.
Dress runs.
Recitals.
Back-to-back nights of driving an hour each way after work.
Gone from home from 6–9 p.m. almost every evening.
Trying to stay in a consistent caloric deficit under those circumstances?
Not impossible…
…but absolutely more demanding.
Could he have navigated it with strict food planning, meal prep, and tight execution?
Yes.
But the real question — the one most people don’t ask — is:
“Is pursuing this goal right now worth the extra energy it will cost me?”
After two weeks of trying, he realized it wasn’t.
Not because he’s weak.
Not because he’s uncommitted.
Not because the goal doesn’t matter.
But because the season of life he’s in right now doesn’t match the energy required for that specific goal.
So instead of forcing it, he made the right call:
Stay in maintenance.
Get through this busy season intact.
Protect his bandwidth.
Maintain consistency where it’s realistic.
And pick up the fat-loss goal once the performances end and life opens up again.
This is what wise decision-making looks like.
This is Internal Leadership applied to external resistance.
Most People Never Learn This: Timing Is a Skill
You can have the right goal and still fail if the timing is wrong.
Not because you’re flawed — but because goals require energy, attention, structure, and capacity.
Fat loss isn’t just “eat less.”
It’s:
meal planning
food availability
consistent routines
stable evenings
lower stress
predictable patterns
mental bandwidth
If the season of your life doesn’t support those behaviors, you’re fighting uphill every single day.
And when every day requires a battle…
you burn out.
The smarter play is what G.H. did:
Align the timing with the capacity.
He’ll drop fat faster and more sustainably in January — not because January is magical, but because his life will actually support the behaviors that fat loss requires.
Internal Leadership at Play
This is exactly what Internal Leadership looks like in the real world:
Recognition:
“I don’t have the bandwidth for a deficit right now.”
Ownership:
“This is my season of life — it makes sense that it’s hard. And it’s my responsiblity to do something about it.
Direction:
“What’s the aligned choice for this moment?”
Execution:
“Shift to maintenance. Protect consistency. Try again later.”
Integration:
Next time he starts a cut, he’ll know exactly what season of life supports success — and which ones don’t.
This is not quitting.
This is not avoidance.
This is choosing a strategy aligned with reality, not fantasy.
Most people fail because they try to force a goal into a season that can’t support it.
G.H. made the opposite choice:
He chose alignment over ego.
Wisdom over pressure.
Long-term success over short-term performance.
And that’s what creates sustainable change.
If you want help choosing the right goal for the season you’re in—and building the skill of Internal Leadership to stay consistent—the 8-Week LFP Training Group is where we do that work.
Message me for details.