In Western society (especially the US) we have the idea that anything worth doing is worth overdoing. "Go big or go home." and "No pain, no gain." are our mantras. But how much truth is there to that? People live unhealthy, disjointed lives all year long and then decide that on January 1st all that is going to change in one fell swoop! It's well known that this rarely works, and yet people try year after year to make some huge change all at once. Small gradual steps is the way to go to succeed.
Pro MMA trainer Firas Zahabi really set off the lightbulb with me when talking about fitness on Joe Rogan's podcast. He basically said that you shouldn't be sore after a workout. Why? Because if you're sore it means you won't be able to train the next day. Instead, just work out at 75 or 80% intensity and don't destroy your body. This will allow you to train consistently and will enable you to actually get more exercise than the person who's going out there and giving it 110% a few days a week. I have friends that do CrossFit. They're constantly complaining about being sore and sometimes injured. If you think CrossFit is fun and works for you, go for it. I did it for a couple weeks and it wasn't for me.
This concept can be applied to many other things out side of fitness like finances, your career, mental health, learning and much more. I'm the type of person who hate committing large blocks of time to single activities. If you tell me to meditate or work out for even 15 mintues, I'll come up with a reason why it's not a good time. But I've started doing mini 30 second workouts and short minute long meditation sessions to clear my stress. This small action can snowball into tons of motivation and greater focus. So think big, but start small.
• If you're trying to learn something new and aren't in the mood to study for hours, just try for 5 minutes and then stop if you're not feeling it.
• If you're stressed just take a few conscious breaths. Or just sit and meditate for a single minute
• Have an overwhelming project to finish? Just focus on doing one tiny part of it and eventually it won't be so big and scary.
• Not motivated to go to the gym? Just do a few pushups, pullups or squats.
• Can't seem to save much money? Just cut out something small like going to the restaurant or bar for a week and then see if you can throw a few bucks into your savings account.
• Did you eat a whole pizza by yourself and feel terrible? Munch on a few greens or carrot sticks.
• Instead of ignoring people on the street, do a small kindness for someone when the opportunity presents itself.
• Have a massive life goal that seems out of your reach? Find one tiny thing that you can do now to work towards it.
• Don't take changing too seriously. Just have fun with the process.
While I'm alive, I'll make tiny changes to earth. - Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit
