|
Understand some of the roots of poor motivation
Sunday, 11 November 2007
I was in a gym class today lifting barbells, when I looked around. You could see everyone was having a hard time of it. I attend that same class regularly, and it's common to get people who turn up a couple of times and then never come back. If you just look at the obesity epidemic, it's clear a lot of people don't get as much exercise as they should.
Why is it that so many of us humans find it so hard to get regular exercise? What is it in our nature that makes it so much effort to do what we know we should?
I think a large part of the answer lies in our heritage. We're all used to living in the modern world, but that's not the environment our bodies were designed to live in. Indeed, our lifestyles are alien to whoever or whatever built us had in mind when they did so.
Let me elaborate.
Human beings who were exactly like us have been around for about 200,000 years. For most of that time, they lived as hunters and gatherers. Sleeping under the stars and using the most basic of tools. These "cave-people" were exactly the same as us, physically and mentally. They were us, just thrown into different circumstances.
Compared to this, the time line of Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Medieval Europe are recent. The explosion of change in the last hundred years is just a blip. Even agriculture, the most basic of civilized traditions, is only about 10,000 years old.
Your body and mind were designed for very different circumstances than the ones you live in.
So what's this got to do with how difficult it is to go to the gym?
Well, if you think about it, this sort of exercise would be an insane undertaking for a hunter/gatherer. Why would any such person undertake physical work and activity that didn't directly contribute to their survival? And by directly contribute I mean with the benefits arriving this week at the latest - whether that be eating, drinking, or making a spear. Indeed, such people were forced into enough physical activity just trying to get by.
Is it any wonder that your body insists it get a rest whenever such an opportunity arises? It's expecting you to desperately need it.
You can see similar problems in other areas of life. Modern cities require us to deal with strangers daily, yet many people find this scary or stressful. But if you think back to being a tribes-person, this reaction makes perfect sense. In such an environment it would be very rare to come across strangers. And if you did, they likely presented danger. No wonder your mind finds dealing with them stressful.
When you think about the lifestyle you were designed for, compared to the lifestyle you actually live, many of the self-defeating behaviours you engage in can make more sense. You can finally understand the cause of the problem.
And as the old saying goes: a problem properly understood is a problem half-solved.
 | Convince people to sell themselves to you | | What do you want from others? Love? Respect? Money? Fame? In many social relationships there is a component of power involved. I'm not saying this is a good thing, but it's a fact so you might as well deal with it. In many one-on-one interactions, you will notice that one person is more dominant than the other. One is calling the shots, while the other reacts. |  | The world hates the weak | | About a decade ago, I had a job at a government office. My work mates were the enlightened and knowledgeable types that you often meet in such places. Their political views were generally what's considered progressive and many of them were involved in charity work. |  | Make good attributes part of your identity | | We all have a picture of who we are inside our heads. Sure, you might be an accountant who lives in Miami, but it extends much further than this. | | Is it better to read fiction or non-fiction? | | One of the most popular articles I’ve written on this site so far has been Five excellent mind habits to develop. It’s been generally well received, but I have come in for some criticism for my belief that it’s a better mind habit to read non-fiction than fiction. | | Who your friends are will have a big influence on who you are | | Of all the influences on our thinking, our interactions with others is probably the most important one. Those who we talk to on a regular basis have a much larger authority over our perception and feelings than many imagine.
|  | A central component of long-term happiness | | What makes us happy? Many people would look at material thing - a good car, a big house, nice holidays. Others would say friends and family. These are all extremely important. | | A good way of punishing bad behaviour in others | | Most of us know the maxim that we should reward pleasing behaviour in others and punish the bad. But most people tend to do the punishment side completely wrongly. The thing is when it comes to that, many people underestimate how badly things will make the other person feel. | | Incompetent people tend to overestimate their skill level | | Something interesting happens to me whenever I try to learn a new skill. I tend to underestimate just how hard it's going to be. For some reason, part of me thinks I'm going to be naturally talented at it, even though I have no evidence for that being the case. |  | Learn how to prioritize | | Why do some people work hard yet achieve almost nothing, while others seem to get lots done with very little effort? The answer is to be found in prioritization skills. |  | How to give up smoking | | I smoked for seven years, averaging a packet a day. I was completely addicted to nicotine and the cigarette habit for a time. It's now been fourteen years since I last had a cigarette. Here's how I did it. |
New articles are being added all the time, so make sure you bookmark Paul's Tips and come back.
|
|