It happens so many times. With exercising as well as with writing. I decide what I am going to do on the previous evening and when I wake up and seem to be ready to step out for exercise, or get on my desk to write, my mind plays truant.
It keeps giving me stories. You have already done two days in a row. You should take it easy (especially now that you have crossed 50!!). What’s the point – your weight doesn’t move much anyway. In any case, food is more important than exercise for good health. And so on and so forth. The number and kinds of stories are unbelievable. In fact, they are believable. The mind is a smart cookie.
I have trained a counter-mind so to speak which is like the opposition leaders in any Parliament. This counter-mind is supposed to counter everything that the mind says, but not aggressively. Only with passivity, so that the mind doesn’t feel intimidated.
So this counter-mind says, Ok – you may be right. But let me just walk one round today. Or it says, yeah – perhaps you are right, but one set in the gym shouldn’t do any harm. Sometimes, it says, but I have already changed into gym clothes. Or it persists softly – yeah, you are tired, but try wearing shoes and stepping out. And see what happens.
The funny thing is every single time I have tried this – the counter-mind turns out to be right. You won’t believe the number of wonderful, really tough workouts I have finished when the mind has been telling me to stay home.
The same has happened with my writing. The mind keeps making its arguments, and the counter-mind slowly pushes itself. Maybe you can open the laptop and stare at it for a few minutes, it says. Or try typing a sentence or a paragraph though you don’t feel like it. And see what happens. Almost always, I end up writing a good blog post or a scene or even a complete story. Even if I don’t finish it, I start. And that is enough.
Whether it is exercising or writing, the mind plays its games.
The counter-mind is a good practice. All it takes to silence the mind is one step. And then just see what happens.
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