A Fair Comparison Between Writing Versus Gym Workout
Hey friends!
Today, when I was scrolling through my Youtube feed, I stumbled upon a motivational video by Simon Sinek in which he described the importance of consistency in our discipline. In his words:
“If you go to the gym and you workout, and you come back and you look in the mirror, you will see nothing. And if you go to the gym the next day and come back and look in the mirror, you will see nothing. So there are clearly no results; since they cannot be measured, they must be ineffective. So we quit, Right?
Or if you fundamentally believe that this is the right course of action, you stick with it. If you believe there’s something there, you commit yourself to an act of service. You commit yourself to the regime, the exercise. You can screw it up. You can eat chocolate cake one day. You can skip a day or two. You know it allows for that. But if you stick with it consistently, I’m not exactly sure what day, but I know you’ll start getting into shape.” — Simon Sinek
“Isn’t it the same with writing?” I asked myself.
This made the wheels of curiosity and reasoning turn in my mind. When I have time between classes, I also go to the gym. I felt strongly connected to and related to the idea of writing and going to the gym. I picked up my pen and wrote down bullet points to write about in this post. If you are also a gym enthusiast and a newbie writer, then I’m sure you will relate to these points.
Consistency
To build an athletic, perfectly shaped body, you shouldn’t miss a day at the gym. This is obvious when you start working out; there will be days when you feel sad, tired, miserable, or too occupied to hit the gym. But the self-imposed resolution and commitment to fitness and health will force you to take action, pack your gym bag, and go to the gym.
The same is true for writing. You lack ideas; you become too lazy to write even a single paragraph. You should treat writing as a workout for your brain. To be consistent, show up every day at your desired writing place. In my case, it is my study table beside my bed with a lamp that focuses light on my laptop keypad, intriguing me to focus and organize my thoughts. I must say that the most difficult part of achieving success in any skill, say writing, is consistency. This leads to my second point:
Train And Enjoy The Process
Showing up at the gym every day is difficult. When I first started going to the gym, it always made me feel bored as I was learning all the new exercises. I often used to wonder if doing all these exercises every day is tedious without fast results. Making it a lifestyle change and keeping doing it to the point where you want to be fit and healthy is unexciting. Surely, I was a beginner at that time, and later I realized the perks of training in the gym. I enjoyed my sleep, I had better eating habits, and I always felt excited and happy. The boredom of training every day was replaced by the joy of having a time period all to myself. I adapted to this as a lifestyle change by listening to music and focusing completely on my work.
For writing, although I haven’t developed any muscles yet, in my opinion, it’s the same as training your body. It is difficult to stay consistent in your writing. But I made this process joyful with soothing music and a time to write after sunset or sunrise. Both of these times are calm and peaceful, ideal for a writer to concentrate. Writing without enjoying it is like forcing yourself to labor.
No Quick Results
When you start a workout routine, you record your present weight, body mass index (BMI), diet, and body fat percentage on a notepad for reference. Then you start your workout routine. After you finish, there will be no significant changes in your body shape, for sure. But you stick to your workout plan and remain consistent in your pursuit of a better-toned body, and there will come a day, say after three or four weeks when you start seeing results. Your reward for consistency and commitment to your goals.
As a writer, there are no instant results when you start writing online. It takes time to get discovered by people on the internet. In the meantime, you have to show up every day. You are the only person — your only true admirer — before you build an audience. Your voice seems to have been echoing in the void for an unknown amount of time. However, once you start seeing results in your stats, you have already trained your writing muscles to the point where you deserve the compliments of those who found you online. And what comes after that is a journey I have yet to embark on!
You Quit You Lose
Muscular atrophy is a biological term used to describe a condition in which a person loses muscles due to a lack of physical activity. In the gym, we call it “losing your gains.” People who train on natural diets will tend to lose their gains more slowly than those who use artificial means of building muscles. A month’s absence from your workout routine will negate all of your previous months’ efforts and hard work. It takes time and energy to get back on track where you left off, but it is less than when you first started.
In writing, it takes time to develop a system for writing without procrastination. It takes time to train your brain to focus on one point you are thinking about writing about. And what if you stop writing? Will you lose your thinking ability? Absolutely no.
But what will it cost you?
Your ideas!
See, when you are continuously writing, you are feeding your brain new food for thought every day. Every topic you write about generates a slew of new ideas. But when you stop writing, your productivity ceases. And when you decide to start writing again, it feels like you’re starting from scratch.
Self-Discipline
Self-discipline is the ability to push yourself forward to do a certain task. In the gym, it is both a prerequisite and a result. You work hard in the gym; keep going for more reps. You become stronger, more resilient, and tougher as a result. You become a better version of yourself. You become resistant to temptations. This resistance makes up your personality. You organize your life like you organize your gym routine and workout. In a nutshell, this is discipline.
As for writing, it is a requirement if you want to excel in this career. Writing demands a system that lacks distractions.
“I value self-discipline, but creating systems that make it next to impossible to misbehave is more reliable than self-control” — Tim Ferris
To make such a system work, you must make it exceptionally tempting and alluring. Like, when I sit in my rolling chair and play soothing music, it gives me vibes of self-talk and meditation. My imagination and reasoning abilities have quadrupled. So, when I am finished writing, I start thinking of other topics that I have discovered to write about so that I can enjoy the process again.
