
Stop Taking Yourself So Seriously - Peteris
http://danshipper.com/stop-taking-yourself-so-seriously
======
rmATinnovafy
I would add:

-Stop over-analyzing things. Stop thinking things through and just jump into it. -Focus on making a habit out of exercising/coding/whatever. Once the habit is done, you will do it without much trouble. -Don't tell people what you are going to do, and just do it. Talking about your plans is the worst thing you can do. -Do the smaller things first. Small goals are easy and allow you to gain a bit of momentum. Think of big goals like ladders, and each small goal is one of the steps. -Get some momentum going. The snowball effect just works. Every time you might want to quit you will look behind you and see this huge snowball of acocmplishements following you. This helps a lot.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Could you edit this comment and double-line it so it's readable? Thanks!

~~~
ricardobeat
\- Stop over-analyzing things. Stop thinking things through and just jump into
it

\- Focus on making a habit out of exercising/coding/whatever. Once the habit
is done, you will do it without much trouble

\- Don't tell people what you are going to do, and just do it. Talking about
your plans is the worst thing you can do

\- Do the smaller things first. Small goals are easy and allow you to gain a
bit of momentum. Think of big goals like ladders, and each small goal is one
of the steps

\- Get some momentum going. The snowball effect just works. Every time you
might want to quit you will look behind you and see this huge snowball of
accomplishments following you

------
jmitcheson
"I become a workout-planning god. I research routines, buy supplements,
construct a schedule and pick a start date. Then I go to the gym every day.

By the end of week two I invariably give up."

Does this remind anyone else of developers who constantly start too many
projects?

"I became a software-planning god. I research scalable server stacks, buy a
subscription to Mixergy, construct a release plan and pick a launch date. Then
I code every day.

By the end of week two I invariably give up."

Incidentally creatine (which is mentioned in Shipper's post) is a great mental
performance enhancer[1]. It gives endurance to muscles but also has a similar
effect on mental endurance. Especially helpful for the problem of having no
energy to do any work after your day job.

[1]
[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168010202...](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016801020200007X)

~~~
Random_Person
I'm a procrastinator, yet I get a lot of stuff done. So much stuff, that
people ask me how I get so much stuff done. Remember, I'm a procrastinator.

How? I take on too many things. Invariably, I procrastinate doing whatever by
doing something else. As long as I constantly have a revolving list of
"something elses" that need done, stuff keeps getting done. Sure, some things
will never get done, but I find that when I have a big list, I am able to
prioritize the level of procrastination I apply to each item. Thus, the things
that never get done are things that I don't really need to do anyways. I try
to force myself to work on those things... then I start procrastinating and I
get all sorts of other stuff on the list done.

Maybe this doesn't work for everyone. That's fine. But not having enough
projects is a terrible fate for me... because then nothing gets done.

------
Swizec
Best fitness advice I ever got:

1\. Find a sport you like and enjoy

2\. Have fun [often]

~~~
plf
I've considered this for the summer. I'm still deciding between swimming,
climbing or thaiboxing. Do you know any other fun ones that might make you
grow muscle?

~~~
AnthonBerg
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is really interesting. Started a training course two weeks
ago. It's quite the full-body workout - sore muscles after every session. Core
muscles, arms, legs, back. Sparring really makes primal instincts kick in, so
there's never a motivation problem. Everyone's exhausted after an hour
session, and it's the good kind of exhaustion. Very intense and varied
experience. BJJ was explicitly designed to minimize the advantage of larger
and heavier opponents, so it revolves around technique to a significant
degree. Therefore, sparring with someone way bigger than you is completely
different from sparring with someone much lighter; Both are incredibly
entertaining. Best session I had was against a female partner, probably 15cm
and 15kg lighter. She had a very keen sparring instinct and easily
outmanouvered me. Felt the quick intellect behind every move. Amazing
experience. Something in it that's missing from the average modern life ...

Climbing is the One True Sport for me though. Do try it! The climber's
physique is quite attractive and confidence-inspiring. There is a minimum of
technique that I hope people will be aware of. I don't want to make it seem
complicated though, it isn't.

In the climbing process itself, the minimum technique is this: Become
efficient. Get a feel for your balance on the wall, make stable triangles on
the holds to free the fourth limb to go to the next handhold/foothold, and use
larger joints/muscle groups rather than smaller; Most people's instinct tells
them to to pull the body up with upper-arm strength, but generally one can
keep the arms straight and use legs, waist, torso, or shoulder muscles to gain
elevation.

And climbing is not a trivial load on the body. One can climb injury-free, but
this does require a minimum technique or form. Always warm up, always perform
the proper stretches (about 8 main forms of stretches, takes 10 mins or so
after practice and really kickstarts the post-exercise well-being). Listen to
pain: Usually, pain comes from imbalance in the muscles, or tendons or
cartilage not being ready yet. Back slightly off and learn the quite simple
exercise designed to put that joint and that muscle group back into balance.
Climbing stresses tendons and cartilage, which by nature strengthen and heal
slower than muscle.

------
Peteris
I agree with the general principle. Interestingly though, for fitness, the
opposite worked for me. I threw myself into P90X, which is on 7 days a week,
sometimes even two workouts a day. I've been exercising with similar or higher
intensity ever since. The integrity of the program and the trust you can have
knowing you will get better if you stick to it makes it hard to quit. If you
start slow, you'll just lose time.

And there is nothing like seeing and feeling results three weeks in to take
one through and beyond.

~~~
chubs
I've got a couple friends doing p90x as well, and i'm concerned that it'll
simply make them look like endurance runners, eg skinny as rakes, unless
you're on steroids. What's your thoughts on that?

I'm personally trying the reg park system (pre steroids style powerlifting,
through stronglifts.com) because i'm aiming for a bit of bulk (i have no
illusions of becoming mahoosive).

~~~
Peteris
I've always been quite skinny and my metabolism drives it very well, I sweat
fast, etc. And I'm tall too, which means more muscle mass to get the same
size. I also did the P90X doubles version, which starts at month 2 and adds 3
more endurance workouts weekly. All that taken into account, I still managed
to get good functional muscle growth.

It is very easy to modify the program to suit your needs. If your friends do
not care that much about endurance, I would suggest not doing the doubles
version, keeping rep counts low (eight or less) and trying to increase the
weight from week to week. They should also take in enough protein, perhaps
through whey protein supplements, but definitely no steroids.

What's more important than anything of the above is how much effort you put
into every workout. If they push themselves hard enough during the resistance
training parts, there will be nothing to worry about and there's plenty of
massive after-pictures from P90X online to prove this.

P90X will give you massive performance improvements for almost every physical
activity. If you just want to bulk up, look up hypertrophy training. That will
be much easier mentally if you don't necessarily care about fitness.

~~~
Detrus
I've seen a few hundred P90X before/after shots from real people and didn't
see much size growth. Skinny people got cut, which makes them look bigger and
fitter. Doesn't mean they are heavier when they weigh in. Maybe added 5-10 lbs
of muscle in a year. Full people got cut, also looks bigger and fitter in most
cases. When you work out the whole body your bodyshape changes, shoulders get
bigger so the perception is that you are bigger

A lot of hollywood actor training uses these principles. Actors need to get in
shape quickly for various roles and trainers focus on getting the ripped P90X
look instead of forcing real growth in such short timeframes. Ripped will look
better naked than adding 10 lbs of non-ripped muscle. For example Bradd Pitt
was maybe 160 lbs in Fight Club but looked much bigger because of muscle
definition and upper body shape.

But if you really want to go from skinny to big/normal, not just ripped, heavy
weights are the long term solution. 30 lbs of new muscle will look better than
ripped. I don't know the details of P90X but recommended equipment is 50-90lb
dumbells and a pullup bar. Most people use 50 lbs max and that's not going to
cut it.

~~~
Peteris
That's probably true. As a rower, I didn't need to be much heavier, just
stronger. I put on about 4kg (almost 10 lbs) during those 3 months not even
counting the fat I burned. And I didn't have the option to increase weights
much, didn't eat that much either.

------
karolist
For me the key to not quitting was going there with a friend - peer pressure
if you will, but it helps finding the motivation to go to the gym on those
lazy days.

My advise for anyone considering amateur body building and workouts (I'm not
pro, take it with a grain of salt and see what works best for you):

* find a training partner, you need someone to spot bench presses anyway

* find a 4 day workout program, going to the gym everyday is damaging as your muscles need time to recover. 3 day weekly workout should be a bare minimum if you want results.

* stay there for an hour on average, including your warmup. I recommend 10-15 mins of steady pace on treadmill for your warmup, some stretching afterwards. Running will control your fat growth and cardio in general will increase your stamina and overall good feel. 30-50s breaks between repetitions - stay in the zone, don't let the muscles to cool down and don't waste time chatting with training buddies.

* Start with small weights, lots of newbies feel ashamed to put too little weight but nobody really cares. Too much weight will damage you at worst, slow your progress at best.

* The only supplements you should buy are whey protein, creatine and vitamins - that's all you need and that's all that worked for me or my friends, everything else is money wasting.

Keep on doing that and you will see results after 2-3 months, then results
itself will be enough to motivate you not to quit.

~~~
lusr
I think you're excited to share your experiences and want to encourage others
in the hopes they will enjoy similar benefits, but I think you've gone into
too much detail in what's a complicated area. You've told people to take your
advice with a grain of salt but you haven't identified the qualifiers which
unfortunately makes your post bad advice. For instance:

* 4 days vs 3 days: for hard gainers, this can be very bad advice. 3 days is the limit for me or I lose weight.

* 10-15min warmup: again for hard gainers, you don't want to do too much cardio and you're better off splitting your training into muscle gain months and fat loss months because trying to do both at the same time is nearly impossible.

* 30-50s breaks between reps: all depends on your rep scheme; if you're doing 8-6-4-2 you need much longer rests (I've tried 90s vs 180s and my level of performance is radically different); if you're doing 10x10 to break through a plateau then a short rest makes sense

* weights: it's not random, you shouldn't even need to _think_ about this: you simply need to pick the weight that matches your rep scheme... if you're doing 8-6-4-2 you need weights YOU can ONLY lift 7-8 times, 5-6 times, etc.; it amazes me how many guys wander around gym randomly picking stuff up

Point is most of this depends on the body type of the individual AND their
goals. I'm naturally skinny and struggle to eat a lot. So I found a guy like
me (literally, physically) who achieved the goals _I_ want and worked through
his book and so far that works _for me_.

There's nothing wrong with finding a role model you just need to be clear on
the variables; Arnold may be a good role model if you want to become a pro
bodybuilder and you have a similar body type, he's not if that's not your goal
or your starting point.

~~~
karolist
Thanks, you're definitely right on the points you make and surely this area is
too complicated to provide "works for everyone" advise though I've tried to
slap a disclaimer for it.

Bulking vs cutting is too much for someone amateur/starting out, I just
moderate my fat with cardio and proceed with normal workouts. There are guys
doing it for 4 years in my gym, if someone asked if they weight lift or are
just fat I'd have a 50% chance to pick the right answer - I think most guys
just bulk all the time ignoring cardio whatsoever, minority (pro/competition
ready) do it right with cut/bulk phases, but I choose this middle ground for
now.

I'll refrain from giving fitness advise in the future as there are indeed too
many unknowns for someone reading it at the other end of the cable.

------
jugglinmike
"Showing up every day is very interesting because it’s the least visible
indicator of success. No successful person tallies how much they show up every
day. Well except maybe this guy."

I really expected this link to point to Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret.
The story has made the rounds at this point, but in case anyone missed it:

[http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-
se...](http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret)

------
siege
"The big ideas you have leave you feeling so small" (Henry Rollins).

"Imposition of Order = Escalation of Chaos!" (Principia Discordia).

------
dools
I like the sentiment in this article but I don't think that the NDA analogy is
particularly strong.

The concept I believe that is being addressed is that of Cargo Cults[1] and I
would say that a much more typical example of how this plays out in the
entrepreneurial space is with people obsessing over company culture, hip
technology choices and other instances of premature optimisation.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that purchasing Creatine before you really
need to repair your muscle proteins any faster is a perfect example of
premature optimisation!

[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult>

------
iceberg
Starting out in a new field (gym in this case) with unrealistic expectations
(unrealistic training plan) and trying to meet these unrealistic expectations
can quickly deject ones efforts. The issue is with setting unrealistic goals,
and NOT asking for advice / direction from experts (gym trainers in this case)
early on. It's the same problem faced the world round for anyone starting out
in a new field with unrealistic expectations and lacking patients.

Yes, going to the gym with no set plan and allowing this plan to evolve will
encourage you to go more often if you are the type of person who sets
unrealistic goals and gets dejected by not meeting them. But this, _I_ think
is NOT the best way to go about achieving your goals, it's a slower path,
asking advice from experts will shorten your path.

And taking Arnold Schwarzenegger as a role model is not a fair motivator for
ones efforts. Trying to emulate the efforts of someone who's already long into
their career without knowing all the "tricks of the trade" namely anabolic
steroids is unfair to you. For _me_ a better role model would be someone who's
just a bit ahead of me who's already taken on advice from experts!

------
andyakb
i agree that you dont want to jump in and do too much from the start and get
burned out, but by not planning and hoping to just naturally develop the drive
to want to work out more, you arent taking yourself seriously enough. it comes
down to discipline and motivation; if working out is something you want to do,
then do the research, develop a plan and follow it. spending a few weeks
getting acclimated to the gym and routine is ok, but you arent accomplishing
much during that time and you are essentially telling yourself that you arent
able to commit to anything without mental tricks.

figure out what your goals are, what you truly want. if you want it enough,
you will do what it takes to get there. if you have to trick yourself to
develop the motivation, then your priorities arent in the right place and you
should re-evaluate your goals.

------
claudiusd
I suggest checking out the 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss:
[http://www.amazon.com/The-4-Hour-Body-Incredible-
Superhuman/...](http://www.amazon.com/The-4-Hour-Body-Incredible-
Superhuman/dp/030746363X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338126947&sr=8-1)

The book describes efficient, sustainable ways achieve changes in your body,
the premise being to make changes with the smallest amount of work possible. I
put on 10 lbs of muscle in 2 months following its weight gain advice. My
girlfriend tried the slow-carb diet and saw no effect, but I have heard that
working for a few people. It's an interesting read nonetheless and will change
your perspective on diet and exercise.

~~~
wdewind
Agreed 1000x. There are some completely questionable pieces of advice in the
book and Tim Ferris is kinda sketchy, but the major message is not "here's a
diet you should do" it's "you should experiment, here are a few of the vectors
and here's what I did - try it, and then try some other things." The
strategies are suspect, but he does a great job laying out the moving parts.

------
caublestone
The NDA example isn't so good. The problem wasn't that he went and bought
creatine. The problem was that he was working out with the intent to be the
next Arnold. This is like the many entrepreneurs that fantasize about being
the net Zuck or Jobs instead of starting with something small and practical
that they know. So entrepreneurs try to establish structure, culture, vision,
valuation, work flow - before they even build a basic product. Instead of
building the next facebook, build that snake game or group album sharing. Get
hungry, keep shipping.

------
hnacc
Regarding body workout:

No no no no no. If you are bodybuilding newbie, DO NOT start bodybuilding by
reading articles from the web. Create your workout plan with your instructor,
your gym should have one. Stay healthy.

~~~
Hates_
There are plenty of set plans that will work for anyone starting out. Starting
Strength, Strong Lifts, New Rules of Lifting etc.

Personally I tell people to steer clear of personal trainers. If only I could
recount the amount of crazy (and sometimes dangerous) things I've seen them
get their clients to do, all in the name of "getting fit". Stick to big
compound movements like squat, bench and deadlift and that'll be more than
enough past just the starting out stages.

~~~
wdewind
Yep, I agree (and wondering if you are a fellow fittitor). Unfortunately the
fitness industry is filled with jackasses. It's an evolutionary problem:
considering that most people don't actually need long term fitness advice,
great trainers would quickly make themselves obsolete.

------
akandiah
The secret is to make your own way there. It's good to be inspired by others,
but trying to imitate them generally leads to disappointment.

------
firesofmay
One of the best reads ever. I've faced this issue so many times. Even the gym
example has happened to me and i've failed for over 2 years. Slowly I learned
it on my own as I was learning programming and understanding that I am over
optimizing at start. And this post hits the nail for me. Awesome. Thanks for
sharing.

------
Giacomot
I think this can be applied to students as well(or at least I've applied
similar principles to my academic success.)

~~~
slantyyz
I would go further and say this can be applied for just about anything.

The availability of information via the Internet is a huge enabler of the "I
take myself too seriously" condition. In the old days, you'd have to spend a
lot of money and time on books and magazines to get the types of information
to get the types of minutiae knowledge to get obsessive about golf,
photography, coding, whatever.

I see a lot of means-end inversion going on with people who take themselves
too seriously. For example, I'm a photography hobbyist, and in a lot of camera
forums, you find plenty of photography buffs who have essentially become
camera buffs who seem to spend more time on camera specifications more than
the act of photography itself. Quite often, you'll see hobbyists who have more
stringent camera requirements than actual working pros. Mind boggling.

------
Glogin
I think anyone can fall into the habit of taking themselves too seriously
unless they develop a certain mindset. Of course individuals who enjoy what
they do, no matter how challenging, wouldn't really need to notice if they're
taking themselves too seriously or not since enjoyment mellows people out.

------
rguzman
doing ineffective things is not the same as not taking yourself seriously.

in general, what sort of physical activity is good for you, how to get
started, how to progress, and so on are all pretty well understood. not only
that, it is all pretty straight forward.

whether at working out or anything else (e.g. learning to program or learning
the banjo) you should worry about doing it effectively. get the brush strokes
of that right -- it is much easier to stick to something you see yourself
improving on.

taking yourself seriously are things like thinking that if you miss a workout
day your regime is ruined, obsessively counting your calories, etc. avoid
that.

------
bearwithclaws
Or, you could get a workout buddy.

------
wissler
He's got a good idea but has summed it up not only incorrectly but in exact
contradiction to the actual truth.

Taking himself seriously is precisely what he IS doing, by recognizing that in
order to actually succeed at becoming more fit he must take into account
certain facts about his own nature.

It is the person who tries to (say) mindlessly copy Arnold S. who is not
taking _himself_ seriously, because by mindlessly copying Arnold's methods he
is not taking into account what methods are appropriate to himself; instead,
he's only taking into account what methods were appropriate to _Arnold_. I.e.,
he'd not be taking himself seriously.

------
nerdfiles
I believe programmers et al. should attempt to play more futball. Just play
through the pain of it. You will quickly develop a grammar (like in vim!)
which helps with establishing Flow.

Do not work out for your "health" or by dietary theories (which are largely
based on Western dietary habits anyway). Work out to understand how Flow can
be expressed beyond typing at a keyboard. (Consider that in most contexts
where we talk about "Flow," studies involve sedentary activities: playing
video games, typing/programming, flying a simulator or an actual air-vehicle,
driving, etc.) What is with the given assumption that Flow involves
Hands/Brain? Why not Feet/Brain? Imagine being able to establish Flow
immediately while engaged in a physically exhausting activity. How far will
you go? For how long will you play?

In short time, your body will naturally develop into the kind of fitness
appropriate to the limits of your mental limitations. Moreover, you may
develop a grammar for your feet which is analogous to the grammar of your
hands (in the context of a keyboard -- consider that we all type relatively
uniquely to ourselves, a typolect, if you will, despite "Standardized"
keyboard formats; in the context of vim -- verbs, nouns, modifiers, sentences,
paragraphs, etc.): Foot Grammar (might allow for "propositions" of the foot
which demand a fitness level (performance criterion) to express them.

You type through the pain of the monitor against your eyes. You type and think
through fluorescent lighting. Carpal Tunnel. Etc. This is why we suggest
getting up and stretching, walking about, to combat these minor physical
impairments which involve attrition over time. So many physical analogues
exist which naturally make playing futball a sensible, and moreover social
(!), activity for programmars.

I type through wrist pain and learn a new framework. I kick through foot pain
and learn a new tactile passing system.

