I remember racing down the escalator at Macy’s in the Cape Cod Mall.
My mom, calmly riding the Up escalator like a regular person, would say I’m going to hurt myself (possible) or I’m making a scene (correct) or disturbing people trying to get off the escalator (also correct).
Sometimes I get to the top, very tired and out of breath, while mom comes laughing at my hard work.
Spend enough time in an airport (or travel with kids), and within minutes, you’ll see kids trying to outrun a People Mover moving in the opposite direction. Fatigue for them, entertainment for us.
See where I’m going with this?
My friend Mark Manson posted the following Thehis newsletterThe this week:
“All the courage, persistence, and motivation in the world won’t do you any good if you’re doing the wrong thing. In fact, it will do the opposite.”
Which brings me to today’s question…
Where are you running up and down the escalator?
Earlier this year, I remember talking to Coach Matt from Team NF about Theinstructing clientsThe who succeeds and who struggles.
- Those who have found success: they recognize the escalator moving in the right direction, and try to get on it. Each step really enhances their efforts.
- Those who struggle: they continue to expend their energy, courage, and effort on changes that don’t move the needle.
Surely you have moments where you wonder if all the effort is really worth it, or why progress seems more difficult than usual.
Here are some examples of trying to run up a descending escalator:
- Spending a lot of money on expensive supplements (no prescribed by a medical professional).
- Switch to organic, gluten free, or low carb keto based snacks only on the latest trend.
- Trying complicated diets that don’t actually reduce how much food you eat.
- Exercise you hate exclusively for weight loss reasons.
Running (and anything else considered cardio) is great for heart and lung health. But running and cardio is Theless effective for weight lossThe than we think (unless we also adjust our approach to nutrition).
My guess is that you want to look more “toned,” which means you don’t just want to “lose weight,” but keep the muscle you have and lose the fat on top of it.
If these are our goals, then focusing on the right escalator is key.
Here are examples of walking up the escalator:
Show me someone who eats mostly protein, fruits and vegetables, and trains strength (with progressive overload) for 30 minutes several times per week, and I’ll show you someone who moves to UP on the right escalator.
Here’s the thing: Thepeople are not wired to love exerciseThe. Nor were we designed to thrive in a world where high-calorie, nutritionally empty, delicious foods are always available.
That means if we spend valuable brain and energy on doing something, we can also choose the right things to trick ourselves into doing.
Yes, there is a whole “life vs behavior” change part here (which I covered in a previous newsletter about TheManageable vs MeaningfulThe). But deciding “how quickly do I want to implement these significant steps” is a better question than “Why am I not making progress despite working hard?”
Get off the wrong escalator, and get on the right one.
Might as well put that effort to good use!
-Steve
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