Pizza & Sugar have you surrounded.
We seem too scared of our weaknesses to question them, to ask why we’re weak here. Why would anyone be weak here? What is it that we’re afraid of? This baffles us.
Take technology. Technology is the epicenter of learning. If you drew a big circle representing learning, Technology would be at its center. Tech is all about learning. Perhaps that is what draws some of the most creative people to it — there is always something to learn, and that is wildly appealing to certain folks. And yet it intimidates many. While technology is wonderful, it isn’t perfect. It is created by human hands, and human hands create imperfect things. Technology allows you to create with ease. It allows you to broadcast yourself — live — to anyone on the planet. It gives you the gift of creating a digital record of your life, proving you were here, that you mattered, that you contributed, that you cared and that you had the discipline to write it down or create for others.
Sugar is everywhere.
Take sugar. Sugar is one of the most addicting substances on the planet. Everyone knows this. Yet when we try to lose weight, we have a hell of a time saying no to sugar. Granted, it is everywhere. It is in our drinks. It is in our snacks. It is in juices we give to our kids. It is in our main courses. It is in our sides. It is certainly in our desserts. It is even in coffee (if you add it). There are ways around sugar, but they are non-sexy one-offs, specific foods to only eat. As for quitting any wildly tempting food, it is best to not keep sugar around the house. Banish it! But we have a tough time banishing sugar entirely. It’s too damn tasty. Plus, like pizza, it is everywhere you look. We have an incredibly hard time saying no to pizza.
Even the trainers don’t want to go to the gym.
No one really wants to go to the gym. Not even trainers. No one looks forward to the work-out. No one relishes sweating it out with other people, working it, working it, working it. Even Navy SEALs don’t feel it on occasion. Yet they still Get After It. They know what they have to do despite their feelings to the contrary and they do it. They realize it doesn’t matter what they feel. What matters is what they do despite what they feel. This is the essence of discipline: doing the thing even though you don’t feel like it. It is also the definition of adulthood. We despise thinking about going to the gym and yet we still go.
Why do we despise thinking about going to the gym? Is it the hard work? Is it the people? Is it the environment? Is it how it makes us feel while we exercise even though we know we’ll feel great physical and psychological satisfaction when we leave for having done it? It turns out the gym is an accurate representation of life: we get out what we put in. Exercise is an investment in oneself and in one’s future. Despite this, it is a hard sale. You cannot outsource exercise.
