Gym: minimum
Dec. 2nd, 2012 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackThis week I spent most of my time worrying about house stuff and did what I told myself was my minimum gym routine (at least twice, at least one session of running or other machines not swimming and preferably two).
I feel proud I made the sensible decision: I think if I'd told myself I'd always go four times no matter what I would have failed this week and lost my motivation, but instead, I feel pleased I did the minimum, and eager to get back up to a higher standard.
I think other people motivate themselves with other psychological tricks. I keep expecting people to jump out of the bushes and yell "you must set yourself unrealistic unachievable targets or how will you motivate yourself to improve?" And maybe that's best for some people. But I don't think it actually does help me, I think it comes from a couple of reasons:
1. What's an unrealistic achievement for me might be a normal day for many people, so in an attempt to jolly me along, they pretend I can do as much as they can, which just makes me depressed.
2. If I say "I'll do this every week" (except when I'm away), I mean "I'll do this every week". I think other people might assume my absolute minimum is a minimum for a week when I just don't feel like it, and there's an implicit exception for "but I'm moving house" or "but I'm getting married", on top of that. But no, I mean, that minimum amount is what I do when I'm stressed out. Of course, often I'm stressed out all the time because my life is a bit of a mess some years, but that's the way it is. If they say "the minimum is three times a week", then I'll think "I know I can't do that when I'm extremely stressed and need to spend every evening doing X, so I've already failed, so I might as well not start".
In fact, people have been remarkably good at being encouraging and not judging me in annoying fit neurotypical ways, so, um, yay friends family and everyone else, thank you, you really really helped!
(In fact, I should have another except for actually being too ill to move, I forgot that).
I feel proud I made the sensible decision: I think if I'd told myself I'd always go four times no matter what I would have failed this week and lost my motivation, but instead, I feel pleased I did the minimum, and eager to get back up to a higher standard.
I think other people motivate themselves with other psychological tricks. I keep expecting people to jump out of the bushes and yell "you must set yourself unrealistic unachievable targets or how will you motivate yourself to improve?" And maybe that's best for some people. But I don't think it actually does help me, I think it comes from a couple of reasons:
1. What's an unrealistic achievement for me might be a normal day for many people, so in an attempt to jolly me along, they pretend I can do as much as they can, which just makes me depressed.
2. If I say "I'll do this every week" (except when I'm away), I mean "I'll do this every week". I think other people might assume my absolute minimum is a minimum for a week when I just don't feel like it, and there's an implicit exception for "but I'm moving house" or "but I'm getting married", on top of that. But no, I mean, that minimum amount is what I do when I'm stressed out. Of course, often I'm stressed out all the time because my life is a bit of a mess some years, but that's the way it is. If they say "the minimum is three times a week", then I'll think "I know I can't do that when I'm extremely stressed and need to spend every evening doing X, so I've already failed, so I might as well not start".
In fact, people have been remarkably good at being encouraging and not judging me in annoying fit neurotypical ways, so, um, yay friends family and everyone else, thank you, you really really helped!
(In fact, I should have another except for actually being too ill to move, I forgot that).
no subject
Date: 2012-12-02 09:16 pm (UTC)Yes, it's a psychological trick, but it's a trick in which I define "success" fairly low, and be glad that I will usually do more than that if I do that much. Not one in which I tell myself "this is what normal people can do easily" or "it worked last time, it should work this time."
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Date: 2012-12-03 12:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-02 09:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-03 12:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-03 08:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-02 11:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-03 12:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-03 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-12-03 03:36 pm (UTC)My minimum is "go to the gym every day I'm in Cambridge and not climbing, parkrunning, or racing" - but I do mean "go to the gym" not "work out", if I go to the gym and feel shitty I'm "allowed" to do nothing, or just a bit, and go home again. And if I'm too sick to go to work then I'm too sick to go to the gym; because you need a rule for that 'cos don't work out when sick. Also I didn't actually make it to the gym on Sunday because I crashed my bike into a wall; so I'm clearly a terrible excuse maker.
no subject
Date: 2012-12-03 04:31 pm (UTC)I think "my transportation failed" counts as a valid unforseen problem :)