I struggle with self-discipline just
like anyone else. Today’s problematic
topic is, exercise. I have the desire to
have a cut and ripped body, but the issue at hand is my sheer laziness. I sit here trying to convince myself that I
need to go and exercise, but the negative side of my thought process is trying
to find justification in not working out.
Such negative justifications are, I’m too tired, I should work on my schoolwork,
and I won’t have time to play my video game.
These are just a few of the negative thoughts combating my positive self-talk. Allow me to address each.
I am too tired is a common excuse
for everyone, but the fact of the matter is, your too lazy. It is recommended that you get between 7 and
9 hours of sleep (this particular fact used to be 6 and 8, the reasons for the
change, could be numerous).[1] That gives you 17 hours in the day to
accomplish additional tasks, and if you allocate your time appropriately for
your other tasks, everything is more than likely to fit.
I should work on my schoolwork is
common only among students. This
particular debate on, “I have to much schoolwork” can easily be nipped in the
butt. The CDC says that you need between
150 minutes to 300 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic activity per week as
well as 2 days of muscle strengthening per week, these breaks down to about 30
minutes to an hour per day out of 6 days.[2] Considering the quality of food everyone eats
today, you might want to lean more towards the 300 minutes. So, lets assume all you need is one hour out
of your day for 6 days a week, that really isn’t that bad. Now lets see where you might find that hour.
The
following are statistics found on Dr. Norman Herr’s website, a professor at
California State University:[3]
According
to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches 4 hours of TV per
day. This translates into 9 years of
wasted life in a 65-year life.
Furthermore:
-
Number
of hours of TV watched annually by Americans: 250 billion
-
Value
of that time assuming an average wage of $5/hour: 1.25 trillion
This
has become an epidemic and I invite you to look at the further related statistic
on this website as I have provided the link.
People lack making a schedule for there daily lives, which can cause not
getting things done. Make a schedule and
stick to it, but that doesn’t mean you have to live a meaningless drone like
life, just get things in order and you will be able to mix things up while
getting everything done.
I won’t have time to play my video
game is an absurd excuse and an intolerable one at that. My train of though in this excuse is that I
won’t have any down time or fun time before I have to go to bed. Trust me, I understand everyone needs time to
relax, but that time can be scheduled as well.
There is nothing wrong with a daily
schedule, especially if you’re a busy person with a lot to do. Analyze what is truly pertinent to your day
and what can wait until you have completed all that you must do. Reading the paper or reading a book in my
mind is not more important than my goal of reaching a ripped body, hence forth,
I choose the hour of physical fitness as my task to be completed and reading as
my leisure activity. If you find
yourself tired and constantly overwhelmed, it isn’t because you’re too busy all
the time. It is because you have not
created a structure for success and accomplishment.
Everyone
must schedule time in his or her days to relax, because without a wind-down
time, you will become overwhelmed (this time typically needs to be before you go
to sleep). There is no shame in living
by a schedule, it is a matter of self-discipline reinforced with
self-talk.
At
the time this particular segment is being written is a difficult time. I am in a deployed environment, which is
stressful. To further enhance my excuse
making, I work 12-hour shifts 6 days a week, and at the end of those 12-hour
shifts I have another hour of mandatory PT.
I have now consumed 13 hours out
of my 17 hours just by going to work (I work 78-hours a week, you probably work
no more than 40). Now let us break this
down further. After my 13-hour day, I
proceed to the gym for one hour of exercise that will help me towards my goal,
14-hours. Afterwards, I attempt to kill
to birds with one stone by talking to my wife and eating dinner at the same
time, and I always talk to my wife for an hour, so, we now stand at
15-hours. At this point I only have two
hours remaining if I abide by the National Sleeping Foundations
guidelines. So, I have one hour of
school work and sometimes that will be less, which is good, that can roll over to
free time. For my 17th hour I
must study for the board so that I can get promoted. Due to my current situation of being
deployed, I have to find time to walk to the showers and do personal hygiene,
yet another hour down. Then finally, my
one hour of down time before going to bed, yet I have gone over this 17th
hour and have now been awake and busy for 19-hours. Okay, so maybe I have gone over the allotted
time before the NSF says you should go to bed, but I realize that in order for
me to reach certain goals, certain things must be done and excuses won’t help
me get there. Now I am not going to lie
about anything and tell you I am never tired, but I will say my days are probably
more productive than yours. Some days
are harder than others, but that is what makes me human. The difference is the mindset in which you
reside. If you are always down on
yourself and never practice positive self-talk, than you are doomed to never
reach any goal set forth!
The
concept of self-talk may seem idiotic or amusing to those who don’t practice it. The idea of talking to oneself has often been
associated with people with imaginary friends or people who are a little more
special than you or I. The reality is,
we all do it. The problem lies in that
you don’t do it consciously; rather, you do it sub-consciously. Your subconscious is very powerful when
reinforced with self-talk. I am not
telling you to walk around and talk to yourself aloud, but I am telling you to do
it consciously inside your head, all the time.
