Trusting the process…

Last week someone posted on her Instagram story: “Does the process even know that we’re trusting it?” “Bravo!”, I thought, with a huge grin on my face!

Because honestly – what if it doesn’t, right?! What if the process is just out there…taking its sweet time, sipping a latte, while we’re over here holding on by a dumbbell and a dream?

We’ve all heard the phrase “Trust the process.” It’s printed on gym walls and coffee mugs, and our members read it almost weekly in my Challenge letter! We say it so easily, like it’s the answer to everything – fitness, life, detox, weight-loss, patience, abs.

But the truth is, trusting the process sounds a lot easier than it feels. It’s like saying “relax” while you’re stuck in traffic, late for work, and your GPS has just re-routed for the fourth time. Or like saying, “patience is a virtue” when you’ve been eating chicken breasts and doing squats for three weeks, and your jeans still fit exactly the same. That’s when I like to imagine the process sitting somewhere with its feet up, saying, “Relax, I’ve got this. You’re just building character first.”

Trusting the process feels a bit like being in a relationship with time. You give and give and give – and you’re not sure if it’s giving back.

In fitness, business, or life – results rarely arrive on our preferred timeline. We want the quick fix, the instant gratification, the before and after story in ten days or less. But growth doesn’t work like that.

Sometimes it’s invisible. Sometimes it’s slow. And sometimes it looks like absolutely nothing is happening – right before everything changes. It’s in those moments that our belief gets tested. The mirror might not reflect the effort yet, but your consistency is building something far bigger than visible change.  It’s shaping character, resilience, and discipline.

James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits”, puts it perfectly: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems…” And systems – aka the process – are built one unglamorous day at a time. The early morning workouts. The meals that no one claps for… Because, come on, let’s be real: it’s not like swopping that rusk for a boiled egg at breakfast, or saying “no” to a glass of red wine, is going to bring the traffic to a standstill, or make the birds sing louder!

And the sooner we make peace with the fact that most days are unglamorous, the better. And it’s okay! Because those days are still part of the journey. They’re the days where you sip your water anyway, do your workout, and show up simply because you said you would – even if no one’s cheering.

For me, the most important aspect of trusting the process, is to accept that it doesn’t mean sitting back and hoping for magic. It’s active trust – choosing to believe that effort compounds, even when evidence is scarce. But that’s the challenging thing – we humans battle with unseen progress. We want reassurance.

Unfortunately, the universe doesn’t send those. But it does reward persistence.

Question is – how do we manage to trust the long, damn process?

Trust eventually has evidence. The more times you’ve shown up and come out stronger, the easier it gets to trust the next chapter. Think back – how many times did you think you wouldn’t get through something, and yet…here you are.

You’ve survived every bad day, every plateau, every “I can’t do this” moment. That’s not luck – that’s proof!

The process might be slow, but so is perfect coffee. Just like you can’t rush a good brew, you can’t rush meaningful change. Instant coffee might give you a caffeine hit, but real flavour takes time. The same goes for your journey. Whether it’s fitness, healing, career, or confidence – slow progress is still progress.

We’re plunging into Week three of our Summer Challenge tomorrow, and this one is all about detox – and isn’t that just the perfect metaphor for trusting the process? Yes, this week we’ll be flushing, cleansing, cutting, and resetting – but detox doesn’t happen overnight.

When people hear “detox”, they often picture dramatic transformations: glowing skin by Wednesday, flat tummy by Friday, inner peace by the weekend. But the truth is: one week of creating mindfulness about detox, is more like sending your body a polite reminder: “Hey, let’s clean up our act.” It’s a nudge, not a miracle.

Detox is a perfect example of the quiet work – the unsung, unseen part of progress. It’s the early nights, the coffee withdrawal, the sugar headaches, the litre of litre of water that you swear is now your new personality.

And while it’s utterly tempting to expect fireworks, real detox happens subtly. Because detox is a pattern. A promise. A process. You start to sleep better. You have fewer cravings. Your energy lifts. Your thought clear. But you only notice these things if you stay the course.

…It’s the same with progress. Sometimes it shows up as peace – in your mind, your mood, or the way your body finally feels like it’s exhaling. Every time you finish a challenge week, every time you conquer a class – you’re proving something powerful to yourself. You can do hard things, and they work when you’re consistent.

But, the real detox this coming week isn’t only physical. It’s about letting go of toxic thoughts too – the “I’m not good enough”, and the “This isn’t working” soundtrack that plays when motivation dips…

I recently read “The Tao of Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff. Hoff explains how opened Christmas presents aren’t as much fun as the process of thinking about them. This is pretty true, isn’t it? The process is the whole point! Hoff offers the idea, of trying to enjoy every minute of the time we spend during the process of working towards our goals.

The trick is choosing the road that best suits you and finding happiness at as many stops along the way as you can. It means paying attention to all the good things in our lives – that’s happiness. In knowing that the process, not the outcome, is what’s most important.

It means celebrating the small wins – that extra glass of water, that push through a tough workout, that moment of saying “no” to a snack that doesn’t serve you. It’s noticing the progress in your energy, your mood, and your mindset, even if the scale or mirror isn’t showing it yet. Because when you find pleasure in the daily steps, you’re not just enduring – you’re living the change, and that’s the real power of trusting the process.

So yes, maybe the process doesn’t know that we’re trusting it. But that’s okay. Because real trust isn’t about being noticed – it’s about staying steady when no one is watching.

As motivational speaker Mandy Hale said: “What we are waiting for is not as important as what happens to us while we are waiting. Trust the wait. Embrace the uncertainty. Enjoy the beauty of becoming.” (Please send me Mandy Hale’s quote, starting with “Trust the wait…” if you’re a Challenge member, before Wednesday!)

Because that’s what the process really is – becoming.

Becoming stronger.

Becoming wiser.

Becoming more YOU…

Let’s keep showing up. Let’s keep trusting our bodies to do their quiet, brilliant work. And let’s keep trusting the process – even if it doesn’t text back. One day, it will surprise you!

Yours in fitness

Mirna
082 779 0507