or Chapter III from Marti Soosaar’s e-book *A New Beginning*
“5-4-3-2-1—Go!”
When we engage in physical activity, we often have a goal in mind, and that goal is frequently some external motivator that seems far away. If you follow Tiia Kaare or Ott Kiivikas on Instagram every day, but what you see in the mirror is a middle-aged, slightly overweight man or woman, then that contrast is a bit too stark. Unless your self-confidence is like Katuse-Karlsson—who would say that, despite everything, he’s a perfectly fat man in his prime—then we’re more likely to be struck by the reality that we’ll never have a body like that.
Actually, we don’t necessarily need a body like that, unless we want to compete in the World Fitness Championships. Even if we do, it makes sense to set our sights much closer to home.
Let’s focus on the beginning—stepping out the door. Putting on your running shoes. If you started but didn’t become Kiivik, that’s definitely a much better achievement than not starting at all.
Yeah, I guess there’s even some scientifically backed logic to the idea that (the human) brain, as a single-threaded processor, prefers to avoid switching from one routine activity to another whenever possible—the brain’s internal instincts resist the switch, and you have to overcome that. At the same time, once the switch has already taken place, it becomes easier, and once you’re “in the zone,” it’s no longer even a source of resistance. In this sense, it’s true that this knowledge alone could help: the psychological discomfort lasts only for the time it takes to start the activity, which you just have to endure. Therefore, the advice to just get your butt out the door is sound—after that, things will take care of themselves, without needing any extra motivational tips.
Asko Seeba
, co-founder of the software company Mooncascade
We’ve also shared previous chapters from Marti Soosaar’s e-book; you can read them HERE. To download the entire book, go HERE.
