Ditching the “Sabretooth Tiger” Mentality
No matter who you are or where you come from, life can be extremely difficult. I’m not the smartest guy in the world but if I’ve learned one lesson in life so far, it’s that every single person you come across is going through experiences or problems that are completely unique to them. There are so many different things to distract you on a daily basis that it become very easy to arrive at the headspace of “I don’t have time to take care of myself the way I would like to”, or “I can’t rationalize wasting energy on improving myself when I have so many other responsibilities.” Those thoughts are very understandable, and it can be hard to escape them once the years start to roll by and your routine becomes more concrete.
Achieving physical fitness is almost universally regarded as desirable, but few people are able to cultivate the habits necessary to work towards it. According to the CDC, only about one-quarter of adults in the U.S meet weekly physical activity guidelines on a regular basis. That contrast naturally leads to the question, what is preventing people from working out if they know that it’s so beneficial for them?
While the answer to that isn’t black-and-white, I believe there’s one aspect of it that doesn’t get talked about enough. Our society places much greater emphasis on instant gratification than it does on long-term rewards. Almost everything we do on a daily basis is framed around the idea of “how can I get this done as quickly as I can, with the least amount of effort, and get results as soon as possible.” The ways we like to eat, socialize, work, and spend our leisure time are usually motivated by this sentiment whether we realize it or not. People love to blame this solely on the boosts in available technology in the past few decades (don’t get me wrong, it has 100% amplified the situation) but the truth is that this pattern of seeking out the path of least resistance has been ingrained in us since the Paleolithic age. Our brains are designed with survival as its top priority, and back in those days, focusing on instant gratification led to much greater chances of survival. Our ancestors had no guarantee that they wouldn’t wake up the next day and get dragged into the forest by a sabretooth tiger, so there was never too much of a reason to consider what consequences their actions would have on their future selves. Even though our civilization has managed to escape those circumstances (thank god), we’re still hardwired the same way. Our brain can’t differentiate modern-day challenges from the ones we faced while living in caves, so it makes sense that most people have a hard time breaking out of comfortable behaviors. After all, it’s in our DNA.
If we can internalize that fact and keep it in mind when going about our daily habits, we can utilize it to our advantage. There’s a direct correlation between doing difficult things and experiencing progress. The majority of life’s most worthwhile rewards require consistency and willpower to achieve them, whether it’s with work, family, fitness, or anything else that we face.
With this realization in mind, we can show compassion for ourselves when we don’t do exactly what we know we should, but more importantly begin forging the discipline and mental fortitude that will help us achieve our goals. With fitness in particular, this is paramount. There’s an all-or-nothing mentality that has corrupted the fitness industry, but the fact of the matter is that we don’t need to be perfect. Progress is relative to each individual, and as long as you’re trying your best to break free from unhealthy habits within the constraints of your circumstances, then you’re moving in the right direction. Reaching your fitness goals is a mental marathon, not a sprint. Even if all you can do in a day is take one step towards the finish line, then you should consider that a win. All that matters is that you kept moving forward.
Short-term gratification will always be tempting to some degree, but the longer we maintain our focus on resisting it as much as we can, the easier it will become to make better choices. With the right attitude and a focus on maintaining positivity, we can begin to fortify our mind. Sustainable progress is what we’re chasing, and the best way to achieve that is by shifting our emphasis away from “what do I want now?” and towards “how will this decision effect me later?”. Sabretooth tigers aren’t around any more, so its probably about time we started making decisions with our future in mind.
