The Flinch — 3 min read
How long does it take you to wake up and leave your fluffy cutie pillow? I’m sure it could be worse than a breakup, isn’t it? Forget about that. How old do you feel when your inner reluctant sloth puts you off for a workout, and you start seeing a perilous stack of excuses, perhaps bigger than your pile of laundry? This isn’t an article about procrastination, or anything near to it, sorry if it sounded like that, but this article is about the flinch.
Back then, 1000 years ago, how difficult, let alone pernicious it was to have lunch? Our “great grand-great-great (we can keep on going forever) ancestor” had to sharpen his spear and go on a hunt, not knowing whether that was the day he would be prey instead of the intended predator. He had two options: a. die of hunger, or b. risk it for the biscuit. So, you either die trying to eat your lunch for the day or die out of hunger and lose everything, which makes the former choice a better bargain for him to choose. Have I forgotten to mention that they didn’t have fridges back then? So as daddy-ancestor always says, “finish up your plate young fella and flex your biceps.” Yes exactly right, he had to do this mission every single day. Good luck.
Fast forward to 2023 and it’s the extreme opposite. Who could have imagined that a single meal could be at your doorstep by just holding a piece of metal? No, not a plastic knife, not even a sharpened spear. It’s another piece of metal that you only need to recharge and exercise your thumb by pressing buttons on, completely insane, isn’t it? It’s true that we live in a hyperconnected, digitalized world, whereby with simple clicks everything you want could be at your doorbell. Guess what, our inner cutie sweetie sloth feeds best and grows the most in that world. No surprise that our tendencies to accept challenges have recognizably dropped down to -40 degrees Celsius, a perfect habitat for polar bears.
The flinch: it’s that thin film of thought to slack off, whatever challenge you take. Internally, you will be facing the most formidable lawyer with all his paperwork, evidence, and arguments to stay in bed for another 3 mins, take a shower with warm water, and just exercise one day a week — or whatever demons you’re currently battling. The flinch starts with your soliloquy of negative self-talk, “I can’t do it”. That’s different from procrastinating, the latter is the tendency to do things later, yet the former is the tendency to cut corners and choose the road more traveled. There’s nothing wrong with easier alternatives, but only if they’re not broadening the chasm between you and your potential. Because once you voluntarily take that cold shower, for example, it’s done, your body starts to adapt, and the flinch disappears! Yes, once you do it, you’re switched on, and on the road less traveled. It’s scientifically proven that once you voluntarily take a challenge you unlock genetic grooves in your brain. Ever wondered why some people might be more courageous, resilient, and determined, than others? Read “The Brain that Changes itself” by Norman Doidge.
I would highly encourage you to challenge yourself not to slip into the flinch because the truth is: whatever that thing might be, you can do it. One last thing: always starts small. That’s not another pep talk, I need to write it for myself; for me to write the first sentence in this article, I faced all my inner demons. What if it’s awful, repetitive, monotonous, blah..blah..blah. Actually, that hindered me from even completing a word let alone a sentence. But once the first sentence is written, wait for the magic, you’ll find yourself finishing your thing. I’ve finished my article. Now it’s your turn. Finish your thing. Keep grinding.
Reference
Doidge, N. (2017). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of Brain Science. ReadHowYouWant.
