Sweat & Smiles: How to be More by Trying Less
By Melissa Romano on January 30, 2021 from Sweat & Smiles
No excuses. No pain, no gain. Just Do It.
You want to know what I think when I hear these phrases? Well, I’m going to tell you anyway.
First: a sick child, a desire for a day off, and mental exhaustion or just a few of the many, many valid excuses so I call bullcrap. Secondly: soreness to the point of a decreased range of motion (aka hard to move) is not something to be celebrated but a message from the body that you went too far, too fast and the only thing left to gain is potential injuries and a dislike for movement. And lastly, just do it invokes in me an
essence that actually stands in direct contradiction to the first two popular phrases.
essence that actually stands in direct contradiction to the first two popular phrases.
Just do it reminds me of one of the attitudes of mindfulness: non-striving. The tendency to strive and achieve in our culture and society has enabled us to enjoy unprecedented standards of living, comfort and security. However, striving has resulted in extraordinary levels of discontent, stress, impatience and dissatisfaction. When I think of ‘just do it’ I think of the possibility of non-striving. Shifting your perception of these phrases and the way you approach your goals can be transformational.
In the Redefining Healthy Initiative we have a Just Do It activity. For one day members have only on goal: be yourself. The instructions are simple: when you wake up put on whatever clothes make you feel the best then spend the day focusing only on the process… not the product. It’s focusing on the product that creates the discontent, stress, impatience, and dissatisfaction. It’s not movement or mending your relationship with food that causes discontent, stress, impatience, and dissatisfaction - it’s the desire to reach the end of the road. Your goal of losing 25 pounds will not generate enough energy to get you out of bed on a cold sleepy morning while the desire to warm up and do what will make you feel best in the moment might.
Even when you are not satisfied with your present circumstances you will find yourself better served by simply being in the moment and asking yourself what the next right step is. Marketing campaigns will leave you staring at the top of the mountain. You’ll find yourself standing at the bottom confused, overwhelmed, and defeated before you even start because you have yet to look at your location and put your foot on the foothold one foot off the ground.
Think of the times you have remained focused on the top of the mountain. Perhaps you have said I am going to lose 50 pounds and starting Monday morning I am going to workout 5-6 days per week, I am going to follow x, y, z diet, and I am going to be a completely different person. Maybe you started it, maybe you even made it a couple weeks, and then maybe you burned out… stressed, discontent, and dissatisfied. Maybe you went to sleep Sunday evening and thought, I can’t do it. That’s because this tactic is setting you up to think that you will want to wake up Sunday morning and leap the length of a tall building to get halfway up the mountain. It’s an unfair wager we make with the human body and human mind.
Non-striving is trying less and being more. By trying less you can be more. The irony in having no goal other than being yourself is that you already are. This is not to say you shouldn’t have goals and intentions, you should certainly be aware of the top of your mountain. This is to say you can’t get anywhere on the mountain until you fully accept where you are and the immediate task at hand. Your intention is the top of the mountain and your attention is on the step underfoot.
Here’s to looking at the next foothold and just doing it,
Melissa
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