Last Thursday was a long day for me. I had networking events all day and was gone from 7am to 11pm or so. I came home exhausted and just wanted to sleep. I sat down at my computer and burned some time catching up on emails, facebook and twitter. I knew I needed to work out and at least get a short run in, but I kept putting it off and putting it off. I told myself I would do it in 5 minutes, then another 5 minutes, then another 5 minutes. Pretty soon it was 1am and all I wanted to do was sleep…
So I did….
And I lost an opportunity to get a little better.
What’s worse is what happened next. I started to fall into the habit of inaction.
I started getting used to doing nothing.
For the next 2 days I didn’t do anything to improve in preparation for the triathlon.
Not only that, but my blog slacked. I haven’t posted anything since Friday morning. It’s been 5 days. That’s craptastic.
Now I can come up with all sorts of reasons why I should be excused for this [we were having my best friend’s bachelor party, I was out of town, writing is hard], but when it comes down to it, I can do better than just lame excuses. I can do SOMETHING.
I started this post actually on Sunday, but pushed it off until Monday where I wrote a few words and pushed it off until yesterday, where i pushed it off until last night, until I finally just bit the bullet, sat down and wrote the dang thing.
It’s dangerously scary how easy it is to fall into a pattern of inaction. Once you slack off on your goals the first time, the temptation to slack off the next time is even greater and the more excuses you’re able to come up with for why you should keep slacking off. All it takes is a few days of that and all of a sudden, life is happening to you instead of YOU taking control and dictating what happens in your one and only life. I’m constantly amazed at what I can accomplish with a little focus and determination, but sometimes those elude me, inaction sets in, and before I know it, my life has turned to blah. Inaction is so prevalent and easy to fall into without realizing and it’s a constant struggle for me. The question that constantly arises for me is:
How do you fight inaction?
What are strategies or techniques that you use? What mentality do you adopt? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you have to say!
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Joel,
I agree that it is easy to fall into patterns of inaction. Although I’m *far* from perfect (especially where exercise is concerned), I have found that two things help to keep me going: setting specific standards that I hold myself to and making specific commitments.
I talked about this on my blog.
Raising Your Standards Will Change Your Life
http://www.markcancellieri.com/blog/2010/01/21/raising-your-standards-will-change-your-life/
The Huge Power of Small Commitments
http://www.markcancellieri.com/blog/2010/04/13/the-huge-power-of-small-commitments/
The one danger of this is the problem of setting too many standards and commitments. Then it can just lead to burn out. It’s not a huge problem. You just have to be selective.
Definitely agree with burnout. I’ve experienced that one too many times. It’s a fine line between setting goals and pushing yourself and setting goals that are simply destined to get you discouraged. Thanks for the input!
“The best way out is always through”, Robert Frost.
I’m sure there are thousands of methods out there, I’m in the
Nike club (just do it).
One simple technique I use is to have personal ‘trigger’ word like, “RIGHT” or “C’MON” form this habit and it might help !?
Success.
Paul – I’m finding the best way is to adopt the Just Do It attitude. The Nike Club – love it, have you got rights to that 😛
Can you explain your trigger word? I’m not quite sure I’m picking up what you’re throwing down =)
Yep, it’s very easy to do! The main this is though, that you catch yourself doing it, and fix it…
First of all, don’t beat yourself up about missing one session, especially if you work late and don’t get hime until 11pm. No matter how well you plan your training and how good your intentions are, sometimes life is going to get in the way – you just have to deal with it.
The trick however, is not to let a single missed session turn into two or three as you mentioned. Inaction breeds inaction and there are 2 things I find helpful:
1. When possible, get your training done early in the morning. I tend to get up at 6.30 and get my run or swim done before starting work for the day. Not only does it feel good to have it done, but you’re way less likely to miss it due to other commitments running over time.
2. If you’ve been inactive for any amount of time, for whatever reason, it can be hard jumping into a full workout. But action breeds action, so just do SOMETHING. Doesn’t matter how small – a 5 minute jog around the block, 20 push ups, a few minutes of stretching and yoga… however small it is, you’ll get your body moving and you’ll then fins it easier to jump into a full workout either later in the day, or the following morning!
Hope that helps – works for me anyway!
Billy-
I love to workout in the early morning, the problem is I’m a night owl. I stay up late creating and thinking for my job and the blog. I love getting my workouts done in the morning, the problem is getting up for it =) I need to work on getting a better work-life balance in general.
I love your statements: inaction breeds inaction, & action breeds action. It’s amazing the power that momentum has, not only in my exercise routine, but any goals in general.
I can’t function in the morning, so I don’t. I know that I’m a night owl, so I go to the gym late. It works for my schedule.
How I fight inaction? Well, if it’s stuff like laundry and dishes, I just have to do it. Because if I don’t, that stuff piles up and starts smelling.
As far as blogging goes, it IS hard to stay on top of it. It’s a lot of work and dedication, but my take on it is “what else would I be doing?” Probably wasting time surfing the net for useless stuff. So, instead of doing that for 3 hours, I’ll do it for 2 and spend one hour on the blog or doing something blog related.
I’m also trying really hard not to beat myself up over one missed workout or even TWO missed workouts. Two rest days are actually GOOD for me. I am HORRIBLE at tapering for races. I’m realizing that I need time to recover too. I don’t consider it “inaction”, I consider it rest. When I think of it as “rest” then I can enjoy the down time. Eventually, I get fed up with rest and it’s back to go time. Gotta get ‘er done.
In terms of trigger words or motivational self speech
nothing beats: JFDI
JUST F___ DO IT
At the end of the day, nobody is perfect. We all fall down but the magic lies not in being perfect but in being perfect WITHIN our mistakes.