Don’t Be Lazy. Don’t Be Stupid.

I keep returning to this quote from Michael Blevins of nonprophet. Blevins, for those that don’t know, trained Henry Cavil in Superman. His approach however, is very different from a typical celebrity trainer. He spends far more time postulating on the philosophy of change than selling workout programmes and weight loss shakes.

Regardless, there is great wisdom in this:

“There are two rules to working out.” He begins. “The first is don’t be lazy. The second is don’t be stupid”.

If we are honest with ourselves, we probably identify closer towards one end of the spectrum. The over-trainers – don’t be stupid – or the under-workers – don’t be lazy.

As the New Year commences, I think this is an important conversation to be revisited.

New Years is a great excuse to not be lazy. To set lofty goals and grandiose expectations. It’s a time we don’t need to remind ourselves to be consistent or stay disciplined because most of us are still riding the dopamine high of celebrating the commencement of another year.

But it’s about this time that things might start to waver – statistically speaking, most people have abandoned their New Year’s Resolutions three weeks in.

It’s also a great opportunity for over-workers to burn out. Committing to extra training, doing more and more accessories, and slamming down an extra shot of coffee or two to support this.

I’m not proposing a right or wrong way of doing things. This is not an article about how to navigate this effectively. I think most of us have enough information, motivational content or reminders from our favourite influencers to help with this problem. This is an anti New Years resolution thought experiment.

A fleeting moment of inspiration – the setting of a goal or New Years Resolution – does not reflect who you are.

But what you consistently do does. Not just the one month into the New Year, but the eleven months following.

Ask yourself: which direction are you consistently inclined? Have you been traditionally inclined to stupidity? Are you prone to overtraining? What will you do about it?

Or…

Do you err towards being lazy? Why do you think this is? Do you have a list of awesome excuses as to why you can’t show up? What have you done to rectify this?

If it is about this time that most people are quitting, then it’s an opportunity for us to introspect. It starts with an honest assessment. Then consider the following advice: “Don’t be lazy. Don’t be stupid”.

Happy New Year’s Resolution Quitting Week!