During my younger days, bursting with physical energy and synapses firing at stun, I used to "keep fit" a lot. Decades later, now, I feel that that all that previous activity, life style, has stood me in good stead, so that I'm, at least, not in bad shape and an relatively healthier than some "younger folk" i see around me. Never have been obsessed about a particular lifestyle, "regimentedly" dominated by compulsion. One doesn't have to follow, like, crowds, groups, slots of people, slots of activity, slots of...basically...bullshit.
Relax. Take it easy. Deep breath. Stop. Look at the flower. It's not a weed. Trust me. Look at its tiiiny resident. At the smallest globule of water - rain or dew - near that critter...the colours, the ambience...the amazing mini-universe...cogitate...not on the next endless flex, on the next endless contortion, not on that one more press...relax, not obsess. Watch, listen, see, hear...birds, insects, flying, crawling...
(pigeons walking across the zebra-crossing with you!!?? Nice, that!) ***I'm just thinking aloud here...don't mind me. Thank you for letting me intrude upon your space. Much love from London 🙏🙏🧘🌌
I’ve had something similar happen with planning and tasks and habits, where I went on an organization and tracking kick starting maybe twelve years ago. It helped immensely, but in recent years I’ve felt more “prisoner” to it, where it takes a lot of my energy and makes me feel anxious, yet I’m afraid to let my “system” go for fear of never doing anything I want.
I feel like many things in life (fitness trackers, organizational tools, religion even) are like training wheels that help us get started but which we eventually outgrow to the point where, if we cling to them, they hold us from the next “stage” of “growth,” whatever that means.
Anyway, much respect for having the courage to experiment fitness without what helped you get started!
I know exactly what you mean! I similarly tried apps like Habitica and Trello but never lasted long for me! It feels so awful to have a long list of things to do, even if they are things you genuinely want to do anyway.
I think what changed for me was sitting down and having a really good think about what I believed about myself - if I let the voice of the boss in my brain quit, did I really believe that I would waste my life on mindless tv and games? Or was it more true that eventually, when well rested enough, I would get sick of the tv and have my own intrinsic motivation to get interesting things done and to work on projects.
I think I thought I had to be harsher with myself than I really did, I needed to trust myself more & change my relationship with rest 😊
Plus I realised that maybe I won’t do certain things “everyday” but 2 times a week or 4-5 times is often enough, depending on what it is 😊 I work more in cycles and ranges over time now than on a daily schedule.
That’s wonderful Mahesh! I feel I’m still working on building a base of muscle but I agree the goal is to focus on enjoyment and the experience rather than an obsession
During my younger days, bursting with physical energy and synapses firing at stun, I used to "keep fit" a lot. Decades later, now, I feel that that all that previous activity, life style, has stood me in good stead, so that I'm, at least, not in bad shape and an relatively healthier than some "younger folk" i see around me. Never have been obsessed about a particular lifestyle, "regimentedly" dominated by compulsion. One doesn't have to follow, like, crowds, groups, slots of people, slots of activity, slots of...basically...bullshit.
Relax. Take it easy. Deep breath. Stop. Look at the flower. It's not a weed. Trust me. Look at its tiiiny resident. At the smallest globule of water - rain or dew - near that critter...the colours, the ambience...the amazing mini-universe...cogitate...not on the next endless flex, on the next endless contortion, not on that one more press...relax, not obsess. Watch, listen, see, hear...birds, insects, flying, crawling...
(pigeons walking across the zebra-crossing with you!!?? Nice, that!) ***I'm just thinking aloud here...don't mind me. Thank you for letting me intrude upon your space. Much love from London 🙏🙏🧘🌌
I’ve had something similar happen with planning and tasks and habits, where I went on an organization and tracking kick starting maybe twelve years ago. It helped immensely, but in recent years I’ve felt more “prisoner” to it, where it takes a lot of my energy and makes me feel anxious, yet I’m afraid to let my “system” go for fear of never doing anything I want.
I feel like many things in life (fitness trackers, organizational tools, religion even) are like training wheels that help us get started but which we eventually outgrow to the point where, if we cling to them, they hold us from the next “stage” of “growth,” whatever that means.
Anyway, much respect for having the courage to experiment fitness without what helped you get started!
Love the idea of these systems as training wheels
I know exactly what you mean! I similarly tried apps like Habitica and Trello but never lasted long for me! It feels so awful to have a long list of things to do, even if they are things you genuinely want to do anyway.
I think what changed for me was sitting down and having a really good think about what I believed about myself - if I let the voice of the boss in my brain quit, did I really believe that I would waste my life on mindless tv and games? Or was it more true that eventually, when well rested enough, I would get sick of the tv and have my own intrinsic motivation to get interesting things done and to work on projects.
I think I thought I had to be harsher with myself than I really did, I needed to trust myself more & change my relationship with rest 😊
Plus I realised that maybe I won’t do certain things “everyday” but 2 times a week or 4-5 times is often enough, depending on what it is 😊 I work more in cycles and ranges over time now than on a daily schedule.
That’s wonderful Mahesh! I feel I’m still working on building a base of muscle but I agree the goal is to focus on enjoyment and the experience rather than an obsession