Sweat and the Pursuit of Happiness

"The secret to getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." - Mark Twain

I'm reading a book called The Athlete's Way by Christopher Bergland and it is really resonating with me. I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to dig deeper into the pursuit of goals. Why some people are able to take the steps necessary and others just never get started. The author has done some pretty extraordinary things such as Ultramarathons and Ironman triathlons so he is clearly an overachiever. But he breaks down the psychology of performance in such a way that it applies to all things in life.

Here is a sample:

"The most valuable lesson that I've learned about the athlete's way is that it isn't just about the outcome, it really is about what happens along the way. The trick is to set goals and achieve them, but to take it down a thousand. To keep the bar high but stay very relaxed. You need to demand the most for yourself, but cut yourself some slack. Don't be a control freak, or try to be perfect-but still try to be the best you can. This is that tightrope walk of the athletic paradox."

"The pursuit of happiness is the prime motivating force in most people's lives. Athletes like to exercise because it makes them happy. If you are someone who thinks of exercise as a suffer-fest, a disagreeable, unpleasant experience to be avoided, the key is going to be for you to flip your perspective to associate physical activity with happiness...Athletes consider working out to be rewarding and pleasurable because they intuitively incorporate the four tenets of athletic bliss into every workout:

1. Presence of positive emotions
2. Physical pleasure
3. Meaning/Significance
4. Sense of achievement

If you can make even one of these a part of your exercise experience, you will be on your way to enjoying working out."

"Set a goal and don't quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don't quit until you reach it. Never quit." - Bear Bryant

So if you have extra bandwidth in your day and can afford the time, this is a very good book to help you either get started or to reinvigorate you if you have plateaued.

Chris Scully