Apparently my last blog post resonated with a lot of people.
Sure he's cute, but he's also evil.
The Sloth.
The weird, unseen gravitational force that keeps you on the couch even though you know you should be working out.
The internal dialogue that allows you to just ‘eat’ when you know you shouldn’t.
Not the one that says “go for it, you can burn it off later”, or “you haven’t eaten that much today, you can afford it” but the one that says..”I don’t care”.
Defeating the sloth is the important first step in getting in shape.
The sine qua non if you will.
But the Sloth is tricky.
It can fool you into thinking you are taking action when you really are not.
Making lists is not defeating the sloth. Either is planning your nutrition or spending late nights planning out the exact sets and reps of your workout.
You may feel like you’re taking action…but you’re probably not.
Don’t get me wrong…preparation can be good, but procastination can disguise itself as preparation..and chances are – that is what’s happening.
To defeat the sloth you have to take action.
Or…in Guru talk….”Don’t Think. Do”.
And you have to believe.
You need to stand in front of a mirror and look at your body and say “Anything worth having is worth working for”
Then…you need to (as paradoxical as it sounds) realize that there is no magic, but that anything is possible.
Start by cutting ties with the sloth.
Recognize that the amount you have been eating now is responsible for the way you look and feel now.
The way you look and feel isn’t going to change unless the amount you eat changes first.
Recognize that the amount you have been moving is also responsible for the way you look and feel now.
The way you look and feel isn’t’ going to change unless the amount you move changes first.
The bottom line:
Do work, eat less. Defeat the Sloth.
BP
PS – Please, please please do NOT read this post, get pumped and say “Yes, I’m going to start MONDAY”.
That is the sloth talking.
Start now.
Darn-you’ve taken all the fun out of it. How about I’ll start 1/1/11? Kidding, sort of, but also not really. I am doing the workouts and fasting, but not going balls to the wall on eating quite yet. The sloth is comatose, but not quite dead.
There’s no better time than now! When I start a new program, I read through it and if possible hit the gym the minute it’s done printing. Training time’s training time. You can do all that other stuff on your free time
A while ago, you posted that people who are overweight generally did not get that way because of the way they eat NOW. And people who are overweight, and losing weight, certainly don’t look like they do because of the way they’re eating NOW. Just a contrarian anti-self-guilt observation.
Excellent point, and very true… worthy of an edit.
it doesnt seem that you like to eat=) Im all for a good diet and a great workout but i also tell myself its the end of the year, its the holidays, youve worked out hard. Dieted hard. Your body and your mind deserve this break=)
But sloth has such a tight grip! He must workout.
I might add, might not be the most productive thing when people “Don’t Think. Do” then go out and try to kill it every workout right out of the gate. You know… like they’re going to undo all the damage in a week. Doing something is a start, and something better than nothing.
I have noticed that too. If I don’T work out for a while or eat just whatever I want I get into that lazy “Sloth” state as well.
Because we are creatures of habit I’ve conditioned myself to get back on track as soon as this happens otherwise it could have bad impact on my success and life in general, I’m sure about that.
I think emotions are the key. I try to avoid people who are ruled by their emotions. Angry, moody, irritable and sulky people tend to be living in their own personal hell. It’s being able to override these baser impulses and to think rationally that differentiates us from lower lifeforms. Same with diet: you need to focus on your goals and make yourself accountable for every piece of crap you put into your body. Same with working out. But damn, the sloth is an insidious bugger; a charmer, a smooth talker, an ego stroker.
Hi Brad,
Great post. Around this time of the year I see lots of people start to talk about New Year’s resolutions, and it always makes me think about a lot of what you’re saying here. A New Year’s resolution is saying “I wish” or “I want to” and that’s often good enough for people. Sure, it makes us feel good to talk about grand goals, but it’s all blowing smoke until you say “I will” and then get up and start.
Always look forward to reading your posts.
[...] chubbier. I was uncomfortable and resolved to do whatever it took to shake off the feeling of the lazy, old sloth. It didn’t feel [...]