Why I decided to sign up for a half marathon

The wearable tech we have now is mind-blowing.

Maybe a little too mind-blowing.

I was scrolling on Twitter and came across someone flaunting their VO2max that their Apple Watch had estimated. (VO2max is a sciency way to measure cardio fitness.)

I had no idea that the metal square on my wrist could do such a thing.

After all, I studied exercise science, and to get that number, we had to hook someone up to a machine and make them run until they couldn't any longer.

So I opened up my health app to see mine.

Let's just say I was extremely disappointed.

But I knew why it was disappointing.

Over the past year, I have rarely missed a weight session.

When it came to cardio, though, I realized that I had given myself passes on many occasions.

I got upset with myself.

I immediately began to look for solutions.

What could I do that would make it so I couldn't skip my cardio sessions anymore?

Signing up for a half marathon was the only logical option.

It's okay to be upset with where you're at

I hear some people say, "never be upset with where you're at because you're on the right path."

This is only true in the right context.

If you're taking steps every day towards your goals, you bet. I completely agree with it.

But if you haven't taken a step yet, that's shitty advice.

If you're not moving, it's no one's fault but your own for being in the same place you were last year.

Take my marathon, for example.

I was letting myself skip cardio, which resulted in poor cardio fitness.

I should be mad at myself for not taking that side of my health seriously because it's equally important as lifting.

The alternative would be to tell myself it's okay and that I'll do better next time.

We all know that's not true, though. That's never the case, because most people don't have that kind of discipline.

I'm not saying that you need to lay into yourself or that you're less of a person for slipping up now and then.

Sometimes we just need that little kick in the pants to get us going.

A kick in the pants that we ourselves provide the shoe for.

Pain is the best motivator for change

Pain is, simply put, heavy discomfort.

When we're uncomfortable, we will do what we can to relieve that discomfort.

That's just how our human brains are wired.

It's a pretty straight-forward concept.

Without pain and problems, no one would feel the need to change.

But you need to actually do something when these sensations arise.

Many people complain about their circumstances and then do nothing to improve them.

It's almost like they enjoy the pain that they're in.

We all know someone like that.

That pain only serves you when it's a catalyst for something better.

Use it to your advantage.

How to change

Change is hard - no doubt about it.

We're beings of habit, and it feels weird to do something else.

But if you're not moving forward, you're going to drown.

We can play with our psychology and physiology to make it a bit easier, though.

Let's dive in.

Make it hard not to change

If you really want to change, take extreme measures.

Light a fire under your ass.

Put yourself in a situation that you couldn't get out of unless you changed.

If it's fitness, sign up for a hard run.

If it's your discipline, set up punishments for not doing what you need to do.

If it's finances, give a friend your cards so you can't spend.

Share your goals with someone to keep you accountable.

If you don't make things "real", you'll always find excuses and reasons why you didn't complete what you meant to do.

You need to be willing to do the work now to have a better future.

And you're the only one who can do anything about it.

Make progress easy to track

The number one reason I hear from people who stop going to the gym is that they don't see any results. (There are a lot of things that go into that, but we can open that can later.)

Okay, but did you show up to your three sessions and push yourself?

Yes?

Then you made progress.

It's not always about seeing the results, but seeing that you showed up for the process.

If it's fitness, get a calendar and cross off the days that you went to the gym.

If it's your discipline, use a habit tracker.

If it's finances, use the numbers in your bank account.

Change occurs every day that you show up for what you want to achieve.

That's hard to see as the stack increases day by day, but when you look at it after a month or two, it's obvious how much you've accomplished.

I believe that working with effort rather than milestones is good in the beginning.

Once you've built up the muscles for what you're doing, you can start to look at milestones.

Celebrate the small wins

Appreciating the work that you're putting in is extremely important.

There needs to be some enjoyment along the way, otherwise, it's easy to get so bitter that you give up.

It's good to treat yourself.

But make sure the reward matches the task.

And slowly make the reward require more and more work.

It's a little bit like leveling up in a video game.

One battle might give you enough XP to reach level 1, but you'll need to win two more to get to level 2.

Later on, it'll take 50 or more battles to level up.

The point is that leveling up feels good.

We need that extra bit of dopamine to keep us going when we're just starting out.

Once you're at level 50, it gets a bit more autonomous, and the act itself becomes rewarding.

Well, that’s it for today, my friends.

If you have something that you’re wanting to change, feel free to hit me up. I’d be happy to work on a plan with you.

Until next time, with love,

Noah