Nearly everyone battles consistency at some point in their life. Whether it's various studies, physical training, budgetary issues eating habits. he more strenuous (and beneficial) the "exercise", the more likely that the person will make the conscious (AND subconscious) decision to avoid it. It's easier and much more comfortable to park ones ass in the recliner with a glass of milk and a stack of cookies when they arrive home from work than it is to change clothes and trudge to the gym and push themselves for an hour or two.
Of course, these people will continue to look at themselves both physically and psychologically as failures and vow to "get back at it" when\if they come to grips with the issue. I must have read it a few dozen times that "the human body is naturally lazy... and will acclimate itself to the least amount of stress". True... however, the human MIND seldom allows people to reach this low without sending them messages every time they look in their mirror, step on a scale or try to balance their checkbook. When people are honest with themselves (as seldom as this may occur) they KNOW there's a problem there.
Sadly, as easy as it sounds to "just do it" the majority of people in this society have no idea what it takes to "just do it". Since they are not accustomed nor conditioned to take control of their own destiny, they see themselves at the mercy of some lackey who hires themselves out as a personal trainer, personal financial consultant or nutrition guru... at $100 per hour. Nice work if you can get it as you're likely to have an ENDLESS line of people willing to shell out their hard earned money to set still while the experts perpetuate the condition that brought them there to begin with.
For myself, I discovered that the only way I can hope to effectively deal with the tendency to take "Laze offs" is by understanding and embracing GOAL SETTING. (Not day dreaming!) Get a solid grasp on the concept and mechanics of realistic and effective goal setting and it then becomes a task to be managed rather than a dilemma. You can no longer be dishonest about why you are unable to motivate yourself. The answer is obvious... you don't really want it all that badly. If you did, you'd kick your own ass and get moving. You would also understand that you are not going to reach the goals that you have set by retracing the same steps month after month.
In the case of strength training, combative studies or any other endeavor that requires protracted and repetitious practice, it should become clear that if the trainee justifies skipping classes or workouts often enough, their progress grinds to a halt, they forget techniques, lose muscle memory and their strength and dexterity deteriorates to the point it was at when they first began. The predictable result of this is that they become less likely to renew their training since it's far more difficult to bring yourself back to previous levels than it is to attain new ones. This seems to be a phenomenon that is both physical and psychological.
Ultimately it is the trainees responsibility. Nobody is going to do the training for you. Nobody is going to set your goals and ensure that you reach them. I remember reading an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger.... (that blathering jackass) where he was reminiscing about how he would verbally deride himself every morning in the mirror if he had failed to meet his training goals the previous day. Some might say that this was too negative and counter productive... but it apparently worked for him. Well... that and the steroids.
Negative or not... that clown KNEW where he wanted to go and plainly refused to allow himself to produce a second best effort. He also KNEW when he was short-cutting. Few people are willing to look at themselves in the mirror and honestly say "You SUCK! You CHOOSE to be weak! You say you want change... but where's the output man!?" I suspect that subconsciously, most people realize this but putting the verbiage into practice and chastising yourself for deliberate choices isn't a popular practice. I believe it's VITAL to do so.
If it is not ones goal to reach a particular level of development I have no issue with that as long as we are honest with ourselves. If you never want to squat 300 to 400 pounds or never wish to reach the level of black belt, that's fine. If you do... but want to take a decade or two to do it... that's okay to. Just be realistic about your goals and you'll be a lot happier.
Set those goals HARD and despite feeling dead at the end of the day, week or month... do it anyhow... and ultimately you will ALSO BE A LOT HAPPIER! You'll also have a hell of a lot more confidence. You'll likely find that you tend to "kick to the curb" friends and relatives whom you previously associated with. Some would say that nothing is worth losing friends over. I'm sure we'll agree that any "friend" or relatives who choose to dissuade or discourage a pursuit for vague or suspect personal reasons (such as their own pathetic insecurity and low self esteem) deserved to be kicked in the crotch in addition to being written off as reliable companions. Look at where THESE people are and how they live their lives. Having a host of friends all existing in universal mediocrity is a commune... not a healthy relationship.
If you're telling yourself that you NEED to accomplish particular tasks or goals or have a level of training, education or skill that you honestly desire to reach... you are going to have to WORK for it. The feeling of accomplishment brought on by staying on course, not shirking training schedules, not allowing laziness (or the personal preference to grab a beer and a burger as opposed to grinding out squats and dead lifts in 90-degree or 30-degree weather (and THEN grabbing a beer and a burger)), engaging the one to two hours nightly in language studies rather than blowing twice that amount of time in online chat rooms or forums will bring rewards and satisfaction that are virtually unparalleled once the desired level has been attained.
At this moment I’m exhausted. I wasn’t able to get to sleep until after 1 AM this morning. Up at 6:30 AM to go to work, I’m now fighting the urge to skip the Combato training to night and go straight home from work to try and get to bed early. I know myself well enough however, to admit that if I skip the class I will most likely NOT get to bed any earlier, but will end up spending more time on Farcebook and other time wasting ventures. So tonight I will go, I will train and despite feeling like I can barely manage performing the techniques I will work to maintain that consistency.
During last nights training, I noted how quickly previously fluid techniques become stiff and are even completely forgotten, even if only momentarily. (Which reminds me... I need to figure out what to do about the eye-glasses taking flight during specific maneuvers like the head-butt. Should I purchase one of those ridiculous looking head straps or just take the bloody things off during training?)
Tomorrow night (Friday night) I will go trough a weightlifting session. I GUARANTEE that I will NOT want to do this. Friday nights are most usually “crash” nights. I pickup dinner, comes home and crash in the living room with the television on. Yes... a huge waste of time. Get the training out of the way and THEN have dinner and relax.
Kill the online gaming! Instead of wasting one to two hours plodding about on Farcebook, spend that time either reading the books you have assigned for Purple belt progression or work on your Spanish studies. You won’t be getting that time back.
*Funny... but I wrote the majority of this on a Wednesday fully expecting my week to end as it normally does. It is now Thursday night - approximately 10:30 PM... and I am STILL at work well into my 15th hour. Tomorrow I shall take the day off. I WILL get my workout in... and possibly “catch up” on some sleep.
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