One Apple A Day #72
Keep improving. Today I started from #71, fixed some small bits and add a whole new part at the end. This post complete part one of this thoughts about habits and self improvement. This first part is about the “body” part.
Second part will arrive in the next days and will be about the “mind” side. I’m not sure when I will be able to publish it, I will be travelling for a week and I am willing to leave the laptop at home. So, I will keep writing but on paper.
I have a confession to make.
I have a problem with goals. More than one, to be honest.
I’m lazy, undisciplined and I would never include willpower in my list of best skills. I also have a vivid imagination that can create beautiful goals but can also create great excuses.
I started a lot of projects, but I finish only a few. When I was younger, I minimised the problem increasing the number of projects I started. Even if the success ratio is low, more goals mean more results. Growing up it was clear that this strategy wasn’t a strategy at all. I started feeling delusional. And with so many goals I lost the perception of what I want, of what I love. I needed a change. But how? For sure not setting another goal? While I was stuck finding a way out, life served me a sort of solution.
My partner received an interesting offer for a project in a Middle-East country. We were both thinking about moving out of London, so we decided to give it a go. On top of that, we also agreed that I would not have sought a job. I had an opportunity to go away from almost everything for a year.
Initially, it didn’t work as expected. For the first six months, I kept doing my job remotely. I loved the team, the client and the project. But the different time zone and the distance gave me some space for my personal quest. I didn’t want to set other goals. I already had the work and the preparation for my once-in-a-life journey in Patagonia. It was more than enough. So, my quest started as a growth process, without any particular goal.
I started reading books and blogs on a broad range of topics. I subscribe to online programs and classes. I researched outside and inside of me.
In the meanwhile, I had to find a way to avoid the risk of getting bored and fat. Life can be very layback for an expat in a rich MiddleEastern country.
By the way, the idiocy of the difference between expat and immigrant is very evident in these countries. But, this is another story. Back to my struggle to avoid boredom and fat.
I was working from home or some café, mostly alone. The rest of the people I knew were very busy working. And I had plenty of free time, but there wasn’t much to do here. In particular during the very long and hot summer.
I had to find other ways to keep me active.
The first problem was to keep fit. I’m lucky to live with a raw food chef, so I’m very careful on my diet. But, it wasn’t enough, I need to exercise.
I did some sports in the past. Running, swimming, pilates, and some light weight training in a gym. Nothing sticks for long. I was able to keep swimming for a few years, but only because it was something I shared with my partner. In London, I used to walk a lot, but in this town, it isn’t safe enough.
There’s a basic gym in the building with a treadmill, an elliptic machine, and a few dumbells. Because I like to workout in the morning, I thought it was a good idea to use it.
I started doing some exercises that I found online, but it was boring, and I struggled to keep the discipline. One day I discover HASfit.com, a website with plenty of exercises and a few programs. I thought it was worth trying and I started one of their 90 days program. The program was perfect for me; five workouts a week and a different set of exercises every day. I didn’t have to prepare anything in advance. Every morning I went down to the gym, launch the video and follow the instructions.
Without even noticing I went through the whole program without skipping a day. And despite having no goals, I saw some results. The best thing is that I felt in love for my workout routine. I started a new 90 days program, still without a definite goal but being fit. It’s almost one year now, and I can’t imagine to start a day without my morning workout.
This experience tought me two things:
It takes a lot of time to get some results. A lot of daily small improvements that compound over time to a great result. This is why you need to fall in love with the process more than with the outcomes. If the result is the only thing that matter, you will need an incredible amount of willpower to go through the process. But if you find a way to fall in love with the process, the results will take care of themselves
The process can be boring, and boredom is one of your enemy. You need to find a way to add variety to your routine so you can keep doing it for a long period. In this particular case I learned that our body is designed to get the maximum results with the minimum effort. If you do the same exercises repeatedly, your muscles adapt to your routine so you perform great on your routine but your muscles stop growing. They are not challenged enough. Variety not only make your routine less boring but it also improves your results.
My body wasn’t the only thing I want to keep fit. I wanted to keep my mind fit as well. And this is when One Apple A Day started.