When I was at the Training for Warriors certification we played a little game to test our knowledge regarding nutrition and recovery. It was called 'The Good/Bad Game'. It went like this; the coach would say a word and we'd have to say if it was good or bad. Here's a sample of how the game was played:
“We know what is good for us and what is bad for us.”
Coach: Twinkies
Us: Bad
Coach: Broccoli
Us: Good
Coach: Get plenty of sleep
Us: Good
Coach: Live on coffee
Us: Bad
Coach: Workout at GSKB
Us: Wicked good!
So, it turns out that we were extremely knowledgeable about nutrition and recovery. We know what is good for us and what is bad for us. So the moral of the story is lack of knowledge isn't the problem for us, but we've got to change our behaviors to move forward toward the goals we've set for ourselves.
So if we know how to eat right and we know that we should get enough sleep and we should workout and by doing that we'll improve a ton of things in our life, then hey that's pretty simple we'll start tomorrow. Yeah, right! Even though the formula is fairly simple there are tons of things that keep us from doing the few simple things that would make our lives better. Let's use food shopping as an example, it is truly just as easy to pick up one pound of veggies and put it in your cart as it is to pick up one pound of candy and put it in your cart, but when we walk by that candy aisle, there's always something calling our name (at least there is mine!), but there's never an eggplant calling my name, not sure why.
“ It’s usually only hard for a short period of time, then it gets easier...”
So even though getting better is simple, it's usually far from easy. But that's not to say that we've got to have a seemingly monastic life of self deprivation. It's usually only hard for a short period of time, then it gets easier, much easier to walk by the candy aisle and not even hear whatever it is that's calling out to us. We get in the habit of feeling good because we're consistently doing the few simple things that make us better and that's a fun place to be!
Here's to keeping it simple (even though it isn't necessarily easy)
-Dan