Put A Leash On That Inner Extremist
You know those people, all or nothing, live or die, starve to be skinny, forget about life to get money. I myself am currently one of these people (if you haven't been able to pick it up from my other posts). Extremism has gotten me to a lot of places in my life that I would not be at otherwise, but it has also gotten me in over my head.
I am lucky enough to be surrounded by good "grounding" people who pull my head down as it starts to float away. In the life of an extremist like myself (and probably you since you're reading this) there is a perfect balance somewhere in the middle to be strived for. The balance is the place where we can stand firmly, go after what we want, without losing sight of everything else in our lives.
You've seen those "holics" people. Gambaholics and Alcoholics. These are all horrible forms of extremism. The good thing about these extremists (the "hoics) is that it is easily catchable and shunned upon by society. Now there is the other group that is extremist because of society. That few percent of society who try to conform to society so much that they give up the balance in their life.
Everything I have done up to this point in my life has always been All or Nothing. This is a good mentality but only when applied in the right circumstances. A key example of this for me would be healthy eating habits. When I first started planning my meals and calorie counting, I went completely OCD on it. I had to count every single calorie and plan everything else or I felt like I was not at maximum efficiency. Now a days, studies show that the more extreme you are with your diet, the less likely you are to keep it. There was a time when i dropped from 17% body fat to 9% from being extreme with my health behaviors. It was a good thing that I was able to reach that low of a body fat percentage in such a short time but the sad thing was, I did not keep it. 3 Months later my body fat % was up to 20%(+3 % from when I initially started) and I was 10 pounds heavier! The extreme diet that I had put myself on did not work. I could not keep up 2X a day of Cardio and 6 fully cooked meals per day.
Fast Forward to Now a Days. I am at a comfortable 11.6% body fat and a good weight. I've eaten Chipotle a few times this week and don't pay too much attention to my meals. I just simply keep in mind what is okay, excellent, or bad food. Instead of writing down what I ate exactly I just keep that in mind. I make the time to work out but I'm not spending 4 hours in the gym any longer (I'm spending at most 30-45 minutes a day 4 days a week). This healthy lifestyle that I live now I can do with my eyes closed. Instead of having to go extreme I just live life normally how it is supposed to be and get the good results.
This analogy applies to all aspects of my life. Now my life belief is to find something that will progress me as a person, but instead of going all out at it, just chisel away slowly at a comfortable pace. What would've taken the old extremist me 4 hours a day, 7 days a week in the gym to get results but then to lose them now takes me, the "comfortable life lover," 30 minutes a day 4 days a week.
The answer is always balance. Whenever I feel like I am heading too much in one direction of life and forgetting about the other important factors, it is time to stop, look around, and throw a leash on that inner extremist.
...Click here to read the rest of the article!I am lucky enough to be surrounded by good "grounding" people who pull my head down as it starts to float away. In the life of an extremist like myself (and probably you since you're reading this) there is a perfect balance somewhere in the middle to be strived for. The balance is the place where we can stand firmly, go after what we want, without losing sight of everything else in our lives.
You've seen those "holics" people. Gambaholics and Alcoholics. These are all horrible forms of extremism. The good thing about these extremists (the "hoics) is that it is easily catchable and shunned upon by society. Now there is the other group that is extremist because of society. That few percent of society who try to conform to society so much that they give up the balance in their life.
Everything I have done up to this point in my life has always been All or Nothing. This is a good mentality but only when applied in the right circumstances. A key example of this for me would be healthy eating habits. When I first started planning my meals and calorie counting, I went completely OCD on it. I had to count every single calorie and plan everything else or I felt like I was not at maximum efficiency. Now a days, studies show that the more extreme you are with your diet, the less likely you are to keep it. There was a time when i dropped from 17% body fat to 9% from being extreme with my health behaviors. It was a good thing that I was able to reach that low of a body fat percentage in such a short time but the sad thing was, I did not keep it. 3 Months later my body fat % was up to 20%(+3 % from when I initially started) and I was 10 pounds heavier! The extreme diet that I had put myself on did not work. I could not keep up 2X a day of Cardio and 6 fully cooked meals per day.
Fast Forward to Now a Days. I am at a comfortable 11.6% body fat and a good weight. I've eaten Chipotle a few times this week and don't pay too much attention to my meals. I just simply keep in mind what is okay, excellent, or bad food. Instead of writing down what I ate exactly I just keep that in mind. I make the time to work out but I'm not spending 4 hours in the gym any longer (I'm spending at most 30-45 minutes a day 4 days a week). This healthy lifestyle that I live now I can do with my eyes closed. Instead of having to go extreme I just live life normally how it is supposed to be and get the good results.
This analogy applies to all aspects of my life. Now my life belief is to find something that will progress me as a person, but instead of going all out at it, just chisel away slowly at a comfortable pace. What would've taken the old extremist me 4 hours a day, 7 days a week in the gym to get results but then to lose them now takes me, the "comfortable life lover," 30 minutes a day 4 days a week.
The answer is always balance. Whenever I feel like I am heading too much in one direction of life and forgetting about the other important factors, it is time to stop, look around, and throw a leash on that inner extremist.
Labels: General, Health and Fitness
posted by Randy at 1:07 PM
1 Comments:
I cannot believe I have finally found another person who has dealt with the same crazy all-or-nothing traits I've dealt with my whole life. I'm 30 years old and am just now realizing the all or nothing behavior has burnt me out. I cannot go on with it any longer and I am committed to more balance. Thanks for sharing this.
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