Everyone who has ever existed, and everyone living presently has at some point in their life, and probably most of the way through their lives, sought after what is easy. It’s why most people never achieve their dreams or do something as simple as start building strength (not that everyone has to want to build strength, but there are plenty of people who desire it deeply and just never do anything).
And for that reason it’s worthwhile to look at “easy” as not all its cracked up to be. You may not be trying as hard, but the results are exponentionally worse.
But – there’s always a but – making something easy by releasing the pressure of a potentially stressful or difficult situation is a powerful psychological trick you can use to motivate yourself into training regularly and eating more.
The idea is centered on the universal truth:
Commitment is scary.
Therefore, instead of saying “for the next year I’m going to work out 3 times per week at a high intensity” or “I will eat 3000 calories per day no matter what” ease the pressure and commitment levels of these goals such as: “for the next 2 weeks I’ll work out 3 times per week” or “I will eat just a bit more than the calories required to maintain my current wait.”
A few things happen when you ease the pressure in this way:
- Getting started isn’t scary.
- You find your groove and continuing no longer feels like a big commitment.
- The goal becomes a series of small steps rather than one giant leap.
Ease the pressure to make progress and achieve. Big goals can at times fuel desire through ambition, but if you’ve lacked the ability to stick with plans in the past or lack certainty in general you’ll be overwhelmed chasing a huge commitment.
