Since stepping out of my Fortress of Solitude several months ago, I’ve been getting myself into conversations with real human beings again.
Some trends and patterns are becoming clear to me.
One such:
So many people are unable to focus on a single target to the point of completion.
The problem of scattered attention pre-dates the age of the smart [sic] phone, though the handheld demon-screens have undeniably made matters worse.
I’ll talk to a person about what they want to achieve and I’ll get back something like this:
I want to put 50 lbs on my squat. Oh and I want to get my sprint times down. And I need to cut some fat so I can see my abs. I’m also training for this marathon in a few weeks, too.
At this point, head buried safely in my hands, I realize what a battle I am fighting to even get on the same turf as the people I am supposedly helping.
We’re not even able to communicate with each other about the essential facts.
You know that old story about the dog chasing two rabbits and losing them both?
One darts left, one darts right, and our hapless canine stays put, unable to commit on a single course of action.
Divided attention is powerless.
Decide on ONE thing.
Throw all your efforts into that ONE thing.
Ignore everything else.
That’s how you make real changes. Distracting yourself with 12 goals and never sticking to any of them for more than a week is how you wreck any chance of doing anything worthwhile.
This is a fractal law. It applies at all scales. You might be surprised at how much junk and filler occupies most time spent at the gym even in a single workout session.
There is a reason that I am a ruthless simplifier about my own training. Everything from the exercises I do (and DON’T do) to the number of sets to the rep ranges… I’m always looking for what is not paying off so I can cut it.
If you saw my workouts you’d find the most boring, simple, straight to the point meat-and-taters scheme you can imagine. You can’t cut a slice of fat off of my workouts because every piece has a purpose. If it doesn’t, I toss it in the trash.
Yes, I preach doing a certain kind of “too much”. What I teach is focusing a lot of energy into a small number of high-leverage actions with a tremendous return on investment.
My “too much” is not the same kind of too much that you find in the unfocused gymbros and broettes constantly adding more and more. More bloat, more junk, more wasted energy, more goals that will never be realized.
Lean is sexy, and not just on your vein-covered midsection.
Lean up your attention for sexier results.
Small bites, small moves, small steps.
You get the big-boy results when you stop focusing on the big-boy results.
Trying to tackle everything in one mouthful is how you choke. You’re teaching yourself to fail.
Go small, go slow. That’s how you teach yourself to win.
If you’d like more help winning, you might like this.
Matt Perryman