I remember walking up the escalator to the bottom at Macy's in Cape Cod Mall.
My mom, calmly riding the escalator up like a normal human being, would say I was going to hurt myself (possible) or make a scene (true) or interrupt people trying to get down to the escalator (also true).
Sometimes, I would make it to the top, exhausted and out of breath, while my mother arrived at the same time laughing at how hard I had to work.
Spend enough time at an airport (or travel with young children), and within a few minutes you'll see kids trying to run down a people mover moving in the other direction. Exhaustion for them and entertainment for us.
See where I'm going with this?
My friend Mark Manson put the following up His newsletter this week:
“All the determination, perseverance and motivation in the world won't do you any good if you're working on the wrong thing. In fact, it will do the opposite.”
Which brings me to today's question…
Where do you take the escalator down?
Earlier this year, I remember having a conversation with Coach Matt from the NF about that Customer training Who succeeds and who struggles.
- Those who find success: They determine that the escalator is moving in the right direction, and they work hard to get there. Each step actually amplifies their efforts.
- Those who struggle: They continue to spend their energy, will, and effort on changes that don't move the needle.
I bet you've had moments where you wondered if all the effort was actually worth it, or why progress seemed harder than usual.
Here are some examples of trying to climb the escalator to the bottom:
- Spending a lot of money on expensive supplements (no prescribed by a medical professional).
- Switch to organic, gluten-free, or low-carb keto snacks Alone On the latest trend.
- Try complex diets that don't do this In reality Reduce the amount of food you eat.
- Exercising that you hate Exclusively For reasons of weight loss.
Running (and anything else considered cardio) is great For heart and lung health. But so are running and cardio Much less effective for weight loss Than we think (unless we also adjust our feeding strategy as well).
My guess is that you want to look more “toned,” which means you not only want to “lose weight,” but you also want to maintain the muscle you have and lose the fat on top of it.
If these are our goals, focusing on the right lift is key.
Here are examples of climbing an escalator:
Show me someone who eats mostly protein, fruits and vegetables, and strength exercises (with progressive overload) for 30 minutes a few times a week, and I'll show you someone who climbs the right escalator.
Here's the thing: Humans are not hardwired to love exercise. Nor are we designed to thrive in a world where delicious, high-calorie, nutritionally empty foods are always available.
Which means if we are going to spend valuable brain power and energy on work something, We may also choose the right things to trick ourselves into doing.
Yes, there's a whole “life vs. behavior” change element to this too (which I covered in a previous newsletter about Controllable vs. meaningful). But deciding, “How quickly do I want to take these meaningful steps” is a better question than asking, “Why am I not making progress even though I… Work hard?
Get off the wrong elevator and get on the right elevator.
This effort might as well be put to good use!
-Steve
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