find the thing you are avoiding doing
it is easy to do more of the same
Most times, it is easy to do more of the same things that you are doing. For example, I love lifting weights. The prospect of a new training plan every quarter is exciting - even though the moves are more or less the same.
Every new plan throws a different challenge, forces you to improve your skill, and challenges you mentally and physically. Either you hit a plateau and have to plod your way through it slowly and steadily. Or you are learning a new movement that's just so hard to figure out.
The more time I find myself working, the better my training compliance gets. Because it is an hour of my day that I get to spend doing something that I love, and it is a welcome break from working.
but the thing you are avoiding, the thing you dislike
But I dislike stretching. Even though I know it is good for me. In fact, learning to touch my toes after a month of a 30-minute daily practice is how I got my fitness journey going.
But I'd much rather spend 10 more minutes per day practicing light snatches, or playing around on how to plank better, or whatever strikes my fancy, than to spend the time stretching my tight muscles.
Yes, that's just silly.
After a certain point, and finding that point is oh-so-hard and oh-so-obvious, I need to stop spending more time lifting weights or whatever it is I am doing in my gym. And instead, spend some of that time doing good ol' fashion stretching.
the non-negotiation
Yep, it is boring.
I find a dozen excuses every evening when the thought pops into my head.
I just got done with work. I just want to relax.
It is time for dinner and I am starving.
I can't stretch on a full stomach.
I am sleepy.
The above is a typical conversation/negotiation in my head which ends up with me not stretching. Once a week, a miracle happens and I grow a brain and I end up stretching. But more often than not, I find an excuse and slink away.
the reality
Now, I do a reasonable amount of fun, mobility work and my training is reasonable. But I know that I can add in daily stretching and I could use a bit more flexibility.
There are certain things that we might be avoiding that are fine to avoid - we might not be losing much out there. But the sensible way to find out would be to stretch daily and diligently for a month and then strike it out.
But I know that stretching is not something I should be avoiding. I just feel it, and I know it.
It is simply something that I am slacking on.
The solution is simple. I just need to carve this into my evening routine and stretch.
sandbox
Every time I've looked at obvious gaps, they tend to be from things that I've avoided doing. And when I add them in, they tend to bring in wonderful changes. Three examples.
- Working lesser, for example, has made the quality of my work better.
2. Reading more has made my thinking a bit more varied and imaginative.
3. Writing three times a week has improved the amount of learning I have made from my past, as well as understanding failures and successes.
All of these were things that I was avoiding doing. All of these were obvious things that I should've been doing. None happened until I just sucked it up and made it happen.
I know what I need to do. I know I don't want to.
I am hoping I get around to doing it.
What obvious thing are you avoiding in your life?