Life-Changing Montony
Years ago, when I was working for Bubba Gump, I used to run something called Train the Trainer.
I was in charge of the training team here in New York with one other guy, and twice per year we had to host an all day training seminar to train the new trainers.
It was always a great experience, but great because when this other guy and I got together to run a training workshop, it was the perfect mesh of art and science.
He picked the theme, the games, the icebreakers, the prizes, the happy shit.
I did the paperwork. I called and organized where to get the space. I managed the budget. I managed the files for the employees, the tests, the power point, the slides, the AV setup... If it was grunt work, I did it, and did it happily.
I've always enjoyed monotony. Boring tasks. Rote repetition. Doing it "over and over and over again."
It's what makes me a great runner. I'll get to that later.
I wrote an email back in March on Shiny Object Syndrome.
This other guy understood that people want the information to be iced like a cake in order to consume and embody it.
He knew people would want this to be a shiny object, because people love shiny objects. What's the new thing?!
While this works for something like a training seminar, it doesn't really work in every day life and habits.
Life is not going to be filled with shiny objects every day, or even most days.
If you require a shiny object constantly, that's pacifying behavior for your mind. The mind craves relentless occupation. So when you start something new, you hit the two-week point and your motivation to continue basically drops down to nothing. The mind is tired. "What's the new thing!?"
I'm sure there are things you do every day, but those are things you've learned to embody.... probably things you embodied a long time ago, when you were younger and your neural pathways were less calcified.
None of this is your fault. You've just been conditioned to want it to be much sexier than it is all the time.
You have a Western, dopamine-drugged brain.
You don't even know how to be centered in inner quiet because your brain is already thinking about how you can spice up your lunch. You've planned every weekend until August. You're stacking your days, loading them with "fun things" constantly. Everything that's cute and new and nifty! Every single burst of excitement.
You and this Western, dopamine-drugged brain. This saturated, sick, soaked, sorry, dopamine drugged brain.
Yes, we do need "reward." But "reward" all of the time is not good for anyone.
It dulls your senses. Look at smokers, sucking their "reward" all day long. Do any of them feel good? Not really. They just stink, and look sick.
Or people trying to get their health in order and every meal is a fucking culinary art display. (I see this all the time with friends going on diets. "ALLLLLLL THE COOKING I'M GONNA DO!" Then two weeks later they're so tired and over it they can't stand it.)
That's not sustainable. Do we really need everything to be Michelin Star gustatory experience? Are you that uncomfortable with "I need protein. I will consume two hard boiled eggs."
Monotony.
I ran a 10-mile PR this weekend in Philadelphia. 1:17:40. 7:46 average pace.
When I started running four and a half years ago, that pace was more like 11 minutes, and I was much, much heavier and much, much weaker. And I smoked.
I don't have a fancy training program.
I don't try "new things." I don't "spice it up."
My watch is almost four years old. My shoes are old. I haven't bought shorts in years. I wear the same crap race shirts over and over.
And I did nothing "special" or "shiny" or "fun" or "exciting" this year to lead up to that PR which overwhelmed me and left me in tears.
All I did was run every day. Thump thump. Down the same roads at a slow pace. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
Over and over and over and over and over again.
Slow pace. Thump thump. Same roads. Thump thump. Same roads. Slow pace. Over and over and over again.
This, to your Western, dopamine-drugged brain probably sounds like hell. But it isn't. For me, it fills my life with love, light, and energy. I'm happy so much of the time. And I'm strong and I look great 💁🏻♀️
I have learned to fall in love with PROCESS, which is a whole other way to continue to be motivated. The love of the PROCESS is where it's at.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE CAN TALK ABOUT during any Friday this month during a POWER HOUR session.
Power hours-- these are 90 minutes, very powerful, where we will dive into ONE AREA of your life where you can't seem to budge.
DURING that 90 minutes, you won't learn what to do, but rather, how to operate YOUR BRAIN differently.
Because you already know what to do. Obviously.
You just are running some outdated software upstairs.
Here's the link. Check it out.
Email me if you have questions.
I hope you're having a great start to your week.
Stay Beautiful
Andee
