(no subject)

[vicarz]

I think I put together some of what I failed to say yesterday. I heard that Will Smith speech "Running and reading," and noted he talked about the voice in your head telling you to quit, and how to beat that voice. I thought about how I quit, then unquit.

There is always a reason to quit. There is also always a way to go on.

Cheesey motivational speaker aside, the same advice I give to others works for me (hence my advice lexicon). Calling me a pussy doesn't anger me to overcome, it just pisses me off. Trying not to quit doesn't work. Saying I'll take the pain x times more doesn't work. Telling me the pain will end...it's like dieting to lose weight. That's not a goal, that's an anti-goal, a negative goal. I will lose x, I will deny myself y, I will resist z. Losing weight isn't a goal, and what fun is it to sit in front of a cake and not eat it. I wonder how this applies to not cheating on a partner?

I will do this. I will run hard up to that lampost. I will continue to run until I'm panting through my mouth. I will pant through my mouth until it hurts my lungs. I will slow but to a slower run. I am going to speed up on the hill. My quads hurt but I can lean on my calves. My calves hurt so I'll push off more with my quads. I'll stop bouncing and make all my motion push forward. I know I can do this. Push harder on X. Reach for Y. Do Z. That works for me.

I am...proud. I don't care about goals - I have some weightlifting goals, but they don't matter. I will reach them, but then I'll have others. It doesn't matter if I learn to grapple better, strike harder, evade more. Fighting, winning, losing don't really matter. My job level doesn't matter. I'm not sure constantly setting goals really matters. Someone will always be faster, stronger, and more skilled than I am. But I will be better than I am.

Working towards goals matters. I'm proud of the fact that it's February and I'm running fast when last year I ran slow, and the year before that I didn't run at all when it went below 50. My 2 year ago is no longer acceptable - I've progressed beyond it. I'm working towards more, but what's important is the fact I'm better than I was. Your level doesn't matter, and that I'm sure I could have done more doesn't matter. I did this, with this, and I like it.

Not so proud of law school as I am of running up a hill in the cold rain.

Comments

[vicar.livejournal.com]

Yeah I'm not sure the analogy works everywhere. Is "staying faithful" a positive goal? I tend to think that it's better to cut off the "need" in the first place, rather than fight it. I don't quite get it...I used to want, but over time I've found I have no urge to cheat. I think cheating is just some gaping hole of need that people are unable to fill.

Perhaps achieving real goals fills in the hole that makes you long to fill it with fucking. Who knows. Perhaps analogies have limits.

[panthergirl.livejournal.com]

Probably. Romeo is Bleeding comes to mind. Lines in it always remind me of my divorce, some of the unsaid things that certainly aren't there, and that's the point, yes?

Pheromone research comes to mind as well. It's a fascinating subject. It makes me consider the subject in light of 'species survival'. On one hand, we are rational beings, and we choose our mates with our heads. On the other hand, we are animals, and we choose our mates based on immune response. Using these two generalizations as ideals, where does that leave the majority of the populace? Settling somewhere in the middle between an ideal mate based on rational thought, and an ideal mate based on pheromone response? (I know, the idealists will hate me now.)

This is not to provide an excuse for broken promises once made, from the sublime (love you forever, I'm not cheating) to the small (I'll call you), some people just have a pattern of breaking promises. It is only my attempt to intellectually "grok" experiences I've had that defy all my attempts to rationalize them. Although they do say that women have a "better" sense of smell than men, so perhaps we are more susceptible? What do you think?

[vicar.livejournal.com]

I think that all studies on phermone reactions in humans have been disproven by sounder research methods, but the very idea is compelling to explain those things we haven't yet measured or are difficult to track as of yet.

I'm afraid it's more about the mind, and basic behavior patterns.