I’m horrible with internet slang, acronyms, phrases…whatever.

The first time someone posted TLDR I had to google it.

I thought of this the other day when my managers and I were talking about abbreviations and acronyms and lingo that may be helpful to make a list of.

I made the joke about how I’m so bad with knowing what those things are…

And I mentioned to Michelle, my lead Dietitian, the first time I saw TLDR.

She Googled it the second I mentioned it as she didn’t know either.

Anyway, why am I rambling on about this TLDR…and for those of you about to Google it, it is Too Long Didn’t Read….?

Because the first time I saw it, it was commented on one of my blog posts.

And seeing it oddly made me sadder and madder than any troll comment I could have gotten at the time.

I wasn’t mad because my articles are freaking fabulous and they were missing out but because they were holding themselves back.

I was honestly sad for them.

Because in their search for a quick answer, a fast fix, simply WHAT TO DO, they were missing out on the part that would actually allow them to find something that works for them…

Something that lead to lasting results…

The WHY behind the systems so they could implement them correctly.

They weren’t open to learning.

And their desire to just be told what to do quickly, was probably what kept them working really hard without seeing results….wasting far more time putting in pointless effort than it would have taken them to just embrace the learning and read the post.

I bring this up because I know I’ve even been guilty of this….

Skipping around an article, course or program to pull what I think I need.

To pull out the actions I can take.

Not always realizing the details and nuance and double checks that are included between what I’ve skipped around to.

But I can tell you this is also often what leads to us not getting the results the article or program or video promised.

It leads to us wasting time on even potentially a component of the system that has no benefit on it’s own.

It leads to us ending up with a slightly…well…off or disappointing result.

It’s honestly like trying to put together IKEA furniture without following the steps…especially if you’re Ryan.

You end up with one shelf upside down.

What may feel like pointless details is often the information you need to implement a system correctly – to fully understand it.

What may feel like pointless fluff is often the mindset shift you need to make so the habits and actions stick.

What may seem like pointless education is often the information we need to make sure the system is right for us, teaching us how to adjust based on our needs and goals.

What may seem LONG and not the actual “good stuff” is often what makes the good stuff work.

Systems work together.

Forget or ignore one piece and it may seemingly come together only to fall apart the second you stack books on the shelves….

Take the time now to learn.

Realize it can save you a lot of time in the future undoing what you’ve done because you didn’t take the time to put it together correctly in the first place….

So next time you want to find a solution and start a new program I would recommend you do read and listen to every component…

Breaking down how I try to approach taking on a new program and truly LEARNING how to do things correctly the first time….

1. Start at the beginning and don’t skip around unless there are directions directing you to follow a specific path based on your goals. And even then, go back and check out the parts you may have skipped as you dial in the other components.
2. Really seek to understand the details BEFORE you take action.
3. Pay attention to the details in the instructions. Don’t ignore the nuance or details that you deem “unimportant.”
4. Focus on not only the actions but how those actions work together to create the system.
5. Track your implementation to make sure you truly are following the steps so you can assess how everything works.

SUMMARY:

If you want to truly know if something works, you have to embrace every part. You have to take the time to learn over just skipping over things to get going.

While we all want to start immediately and take action, sometimes the most important action is simply reading and watching through everything to understand what we will need to do!