The start of my new life and up to today…

As this is my introductory post, I’ll start with a little backstory.  I’m a very private person, so this is a very alien endeavor for me.  To externalize my internal dialogue, and to do so in such a public forum, is to go against every instinct I have.  I feel, however, that it is an important exercise if for no other reason than to force me to be more open.

Until recently, my life could be summed up in a very simple equation…. maximum pleasure minimum work.  Many might feel like that is how we all live, with different activities adding more or less pleasure depending on perspective, but this equation lacks a very significant variable…time.  Max pleasure for min work in the moment generally leads to less pleasure and more work in the future, and it certainly did in my case.  Every peanut butter cup I savored in the past now takes maybe 10-15 burpees to get rid of, and let me tell you, 10-15 burpees now are a lot harder than they would have been the day I ate that delicious confection.

The answer, then, seems to be to flip-flop the equation, and put forth maximum work for minimum pleasure.  When you then consider time in the equation, you get max work for min pleasure at present, for less work and more pleasure in the future.  How do I then apply this new, less fun equation?  I work my ass off every morning with my workout of the day (WOD), and I lay off the candy.  I have done this (more or less on the candy part) and the most amazing thing happened.  I put forth max effort, quit eating the easy-delicious-in-the-moment junk food, and I actually felt better.  My overall pleasure level seemed to rise with my work level.  So, I ended up with max work for max pleasure now and in the future.  Science rules.