1. Running become easier.
2. My pace had significantly decreased by the end of 12 days.
3. I needed a much bigger breakfast to feel satisfied.
4. I arrived at the office feeling more “on the ball” and ready to work.
5. I accomplished more in the day and found myself search for extra work to do.
6. Despite being a sound sleeper, I slept even more deeply.
7. Experienced absolutely no jet lag, despite the 3 hour time difference.
8. Felt really good about myself.
9. Three people who I see often said I looked younger.
10. I thought I looked younger.
11. I definitely felt younger.
2. My pace had significantly decreased by the end of 12 days.
3. I needed a much bigger breakfast to feel satisfied.
4. I arrived at the office feeling more “on the ball” and ready to work.
5. I accomplished more in the day and found myself search for extra work to do.
6. Despite being a sound sleeper, I slept even more deeply.
7. Experienced absolutely no jet lag, despite the 3 hour time difference.
8. Felt really good about myself.
9. Three people who I see often said I looked younger.
10. I thought I looked younger.
11. I definitely felt younger.
It was awesome. The first morning on a work trip to Marina Del Rey California I woke up at 6am and went for a 25 minute run. Nothing much. It didn’t even tire me out but it felt spectacular.
The next day I did the same. And, the next and the next, and every day until I packed up and headed back home to NYC, 12 days later.
Even though I really enjoy running, it was my longest streak, by at least 10 days, since the year 2000.
A Screeching Halt
I rode the momentum, basked in the glow of the positive feelings and continued to run every day, right?
Nope. Not even close. As quickly as I had started the streak (I could even call it a short lived habit), I ended it.
In the first week that I was back at home, I ventured out to run one measly time.
I had hoped to keep going.
And, why wouldn’t I. The results had been 100% positive. There was absolutely no way that the streak had negatively impacted my life. Even the time it took everyday felt like it paled in comparison to the jump I experienced in productivity.
Why?
Something common happened. More accurately, something didn’t happen and it was my own doing.
I didn’t plan or prepare for when real life situations challenged my “fantasy life’ running streak.
Technically, I was on a work trip but in reality it was a vacation from my normal reality. My obligations were simply to work and be ready to work hard the next day.
I found myself relieved of the usual work of being a responsible husband and member of my community.
Sometimes we just fall into patterns that make life good, without even trying.
That’s what happened to me. A novel set of circumstances freed me to temporarily live a fantasy life where running every day was a piece of cake.
Patterns that evolve out of these fantasy life experiences almost never become lasting changes. At some point, the new pattern just bashes in to old patterns and the old patterns win.
My case is just another example. Odds are you have a couple of stories your own.
What could have turned the tables
Failure doesn’t need to be the result when old patterns collide with new ambitions.
This applies even when we luck into a behavior change or good habit unexpectedly.
What is needed is a plan for the day when the luck that got the ball rolling, runs out.
With some forethought, we can transition things from our fantasy lives into real life.
The conventional wisdom is that real and enduring change takes focus, attention and planning. It’s almost guaranteed to be hard sometimes.
And, most of the time we don’t want hard (unless maybe it is a 30 dollar spin class or silent meditation retreat where we have money and time the line and a soundtrack to keep us distracted).
***A funny side-note to this story is that last January, I put together a video series called “Restart Your Resolution.” The purpose of the series was to step by step develop a mindset and environment so that anyone can make big life changes, even when we have failed before.
I wanted to make a quick and easy guide. That idea is funny in retrospect. Turns out that quick and easy and mindset change don’t really go together.
Making life changes stick is something that I am more than mildly obsessed with. RYR as I called it ending up being crazily gun ho…and more time consuming than expected.
The result was a 10 part series of videos and exercises.
If you like the long challenging route to long term change try it out. It’s free! Try it here.***
Back to the story…
Because I didn’t have a plan for continuing when I was back in my daily routine, I didn’t continue. Like yours, my real life is full of stuff to do and if I don’t find a way to prioritize something new, it’s not going to happen.
I always say that having a solid plan and amazing motivation is what it takes to stick with something new.
I’ve even been know to say that even a so-so plan will probably succeed with the right motivation but even an amazing plan that lacks the proper motivational component will go down in flames.
That’s what I usually prescribe to people I work with. The slow methodical, conventional approach.
But, it’s not the only method.
The Brute Force Method
Brute force isn’t my favorite way to make a change but many successes have resulted from this method.
We could probably also call it the manly method because it’s a default for many of us guys.
In a nutshell, the brute force method is just the wisdom of the old Nike commercials that employed us to “Just do it.”
No need to overthink things. Just do it.
Tired. Just do it.
Wearing the wrong shoes. Just do it
We just decide to do it and then we do. Pondering motivations and cost/benefit analysis and fun is completely unnecessary.
Schedule Brute Force
The reason brute force often fails is that one needs an all-in attitude.
If I’m tired or sick or something more fun comes along, I still need to act.
The motivation that can be garnered by methodically preparing the mind before implementing a new habit is stripped away. There is no ten part series on how to use brute force.
If you are the type of person who can do something simply because you say you will do it, brute force has a chance working.
Pick a time for whatever it is you want to do, put it on the calendar and “Just Do It!”
Brute force is on my calendar at 6:45 on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday is an appointment to run for 30 minutes. It even has a reminder set for the night before.
Can Brute Force Go the Distance?
It is possible to make lasting changes through brute force.
Often, if we do something long enough it does become a habit. Sometimes we even start liking it and taking pride in it.
When that happens, we get all of the benefits of developing a new habit without the time spent preplanning (that I usually encourage).
The draw back is that forcing ourselves to do things can be soul sucking. For most of us, soul sucking is not a precursor to success.
Some people, though, like my good friend Dave, find the discipline of the brute force method attractive.
If you are that type of person, you may get a strange satisfaction and a does of success by employing brute force.
Should You Try It?
If employing brute force is the difference between starting and not starting, then the answer is YES!
Let me know how it goes.
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