Legalism mindset

I don’t love lifting weights. (I don’t love lifting anything heavy, for that matter.) But I’ve been forcing myself to lift weights recently, just to fill out my physique, and bring more balance to my fitness routine beyond running. 

Trying to motivate myself to lift weights is difficult. I get legalistic about it. I make bargains and cut deals with myself to do fewer reps, to lift less weight, and to stick to lifts I’m comfortable with. All this to say, I don’t love the process. 

Why am I so petty about my sets? Aren’t I the one who wants a more balanced fitness routine? Why am I negotiating with myself? I think it’s a long-ingrained mentality from growing up in school. When faced with an assignment I didn’t want to do, I looked everywhere for excuses and caveats. 

I wrote about this the other day, but I think the level of success we see is proportionate to the level of pain we’re willing to endure. Just because I signed up for this painful journey in which I don’t love the process, doesn’t mean I’m not resistant to the pain. But the sooner I can accept the pain, the sooner I can ditch my “do as little work as possible” mindset that I picked up in school.

Acceptance is a super power—in this case, turning bad habits into good ones.