Crush All Plateaus: Navigating the Journey
Something interesting sometimes happens to folks who embark upon journeys of self-improvement through fitness. Sometimes, “fitness” has the opposite of the intended effect on our lives.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, as they say.
When we’re taking everything about it so seriously and stressing over every little thing (especially the things beyond our control) we can easily lose sight of being able to enjoy the journey.
That is what this story is about.
Starting at Level 1
From the age of about 10 all the way through my late teens, I spent a significant amount of my time immersed in roleplaying (specifically, massive-multiplayer online roleplaying/MMORPG) games.
Every time I created a new “character” in Diablo II, Everquest, World of Warcraft, etc…I started at level 1.
In these worlds, your character starts with the most basic of items and skills; but as you embark upon your journey and complete different quests and missions (the game equivalent of training, eating, and recovering according to your goals), you gain new skills, abilities, strategy, insight, and more.
…kind of like a more fun version of trying to live a healthier lifestyle.
If you stick with it, you can build your character into an exponentially more powerful version of itself than it was when you started.
…very much like the real-life process of strengthening mind and body
It takes time and patience.
It takes a bit of strategy and mindfulness.
Above all, it takes consistency. And in the gaming world, there’s not much of a reason to stick with something consistently if you aren’t enjoying it.
…ok, so pretty much exactly like the process of transforming our lives through fitness
Staying Focused On What Matters
Though it might sound crazy, it’s not uncommon for a player to lose sight of reality and what they’re playing for. It’s not hard to get lost in the pursuit of a goal or “end point” and end up sacrificing our actual, real peace in the present for the idea of a better future — abstract and outside of perception.
It was a strange and frustrating notion when I set out to play a game for the sake of enjoying it, but ended up frustrated when I got stuck and actually felt worse off than I did when I started.
It always happened when I began obsessing over the outcomes I wanted (a powerful, high-level character) more than I was enjoying the process of actually playing the game.
This is where a lot of us get stuck. Sometimes we realize it quickly and find a way to move on.
Other times…we get ourselves so far off of the path that we don’t even recognize that we’re lost.
We know it by the faint sensation of dread that runs through our heads as we lie in bed at night, like “something” (who knows what) is wrong, and that it’s going to pop up and get us when we least expect it.
It’s what happens when our focus gets so narrow that all we can see is the end-goal. It frustrates and stresses us out to no end, because our mind sees where we want to be but can’t figure out how to get there. Especially these days, we want what we want…and we want it now.
Building Discipline for Long-term Success
No matter how bad we want it now, transformation is a gradual process. See above for the bit about time and patience (something a 10 year old growing up with dial-up internet is already in short supply of).
The more impatient we get and try to rush the process, the further behind we end up falling. Impatience is a killer of joy.
Driving by ourselves, with our music/podcast/radio and what feels like total isolation from the outside world is…wonderful. UNTIL we hit traffic and suddenly “have somewhere to be.” Not so enjoyable anymore.
Doing our best to infuse some level of enjoyment into a good amount of our efforts with eating, sleeping, and training will eventually engrain the discipline we need for long-term success (I say some level of enjoyment because, c’mon, only psychopaths enjoy everything they do).
Discipline and enjoyment may not sound like they belong together, but in some ways they’re both necessary to balance each other out.
Finding the Love
When we feel stuck and unfulfilled, like something is wrong that we can’t seem to figure out, it helps when we find the love in the process that makes the hard work worth doing.
Why did we start this journey? What do we hope to gain from all of it? Do we think we’re capable of achieving “it”? Most importantly, why does it matter to us?
With the perspective knowing these things brings, we can start focusing on what’s going to be most productive for us.
If I haven’t made it obvious by now — focusing on the outcome isn’t what tends to be the most productive. It’s what gives us the anxiety of wanting something without knowing how to get it, so all we’re left with is the void of non-fulfillment.
Finding the Focus
I could definitely focus on an all-taco diet
Like most things, what’s going to be most productive for each of us is fairly individual. Whatever our biggest deficiency is where we should start.
Some of us should focus on eating less. Others on eating more. And others on more nuanced aspects of eating, like making sure we consistently eat enough protein to help us build or maintain our muscle tissue or incorporating more nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits into our diets.
Some of us have the eating side of things down pretty good and need to focus on the aspects of training that we’re not-so-good at (like some cardiorespiratory conditioning if all we do is lift weights and vice versa).
What Now?
Through serious (but not too serious) introspection and with some help from others, our quest is to find our biggest weaknesses and, one by one, turn them into strengths.
There is no outsourcing our weaknesses to others on this path. Nobody can diet for us; nobody can exercise for us; and nobody can get results for us. This journey is a personal one, and while we’re not necessarily alone along the path, only we ourselves can put one foot in front of the other.
It isn’t necessary to rush the process. We can take time and care to enjoy, reflect, and improve upon what we’re doing over time.
One step at a time.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Lao Tzu
