I lost some momentum this week.
I let myself lose some momentum, and I know it. I talked myself out of going to the gym and eating junk.
"I've been doing pretty good. I can take a day off, it wont hurt," I told myself in a feeble attempt to justify my actions. Even though I rationalized my decision, I knew it was bullshit. Cognitive dissonance was quickly acheived.
Processed foods are filled with all sorts of nasty chemicals, added for flavour and as preservatives. If eating fruits and veggies make you less depressed, it's not a stretch to infer that the opposite is true, and without a workout, my body was not treated to it's daily dose of dopamine. With nothing to combat the toxicity of the junk I ate, I was in a noticeably darker mood the next day.
I put myself in the perfect position for my black dog to rear it's ugly head, and it did so gladly and ruthelessly.
Negative thoughts spiraled through my mind. Who am I to think I deserve better than average? I am average! I'm below average! Do I really believe a silly little blogger site will change anything for me? It's all a waste. I should stop now, before I embarress myself...
Fuck that!
Days like this are going to happen. There will always be good days and bad days. I should expect this sort of thing, especially right now, early in this quest for self-accomplishment. Objects at rest tend to stay at rest. Right now I'm fighting a brain heavily entrenched in homeostasis.
I am simply experiencing friction.
Napolean Hill taught me that the most common cause of failure is giving up when met with a temporary defeat. All defeats are temporary. The road to success is littered with failure. The only true failure is giving up.
I'm not giving up.
Keep hustlin', Thomas.
ReplyDeleteBefore you know it, you'll be on on top.
This comment made my week.
DeleteThank you, Ludvig.
Keep going Thomas - Ludvig will help you!
ReplyDeleteDon't give up, but don't be afraid to rest. Speaking from experience, although grinding brings results, don't be afraid to try new things as well as forcing yourself to do what you "should".
What I mean here is that if you're struggling to get yourself to go the gym, let yourself go to a restaurant at the weekend - but take your mother / parents. Or maybe treat your friends to a round of bowling or something. This refocuses your energy, giving you inspiration to hit the gym again afterwards.
You must remember that life is incremental (notice how we're NOT the first species to inhabit the planet, or even the first civilisation?). This means that everything you do is ALWAYS going to build on what you did yesterday, even if it's bad. It's easy to get in the rhythm of "pushing" (which is good); but to add the cherry on the top, you may wish to diversify once in a while, expanding your horizons as a result
Wow.
DeleteI appreciate this advice, Richard!
I have a history of burrning out rather quickly. I have been trying to keep a steady pace this time around; a slow burn.
I will definitely be keeping these strategies in mind, especially what you said about incremental change and how everything builds on itself.
Very insightful.
I appreciate the time you took to type this all.
Thank you!
No problem sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping us updated on your journey
Burnout is common - you just gotta keep it cool every once in a while. I think a major proponent of burnout is trying to do too much too quickly, hence causing strain on yourself. As your team & momentum grows, you'll be able to do the things you want, but to get there, you need to take the steps every day, which may appear small at first
You'll want to keep track of Ludvig - the stuff he was telling me that he wants to do was incredible!
Thank you for reading!
DeleteI touch upon the cause of burnout (for me) in my latest post. It was in the forefront of my mind as I wrote it, thanks to your comment.
I'll definitely be keeping up with Ludvig's work. A great deal of the inspiration to starting this blog came from Ludvig's blog. Very useful and inspiring posts on SGM.