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In fact one of the very common risks is to mix up goals and boring advice. Say, you wanna score in a soccer match: just receive the ball, get rid of defenders i

In fact one of the very common risks is to mix up goals and boring advice. Say, you wanna score in a soccer match: just receive the ball, get rid of defenders in case, and kick the ball in the net——which is both true and useless. Eating fewer calories is not happening in a vacuum. It means giving up food, which is, broadly speaking, the joy of life for many people. Exercising means committing to spend time in an environment and doing an activity that many do not like at all——it thus means going against their desires for months, years etc. And I am writing from the position of someone who is in shape, fit, does boring things that work, but had, like many, very limited success in persuading others to follow boring advice.

alexslobodnik 5y ago
There's the white knuckle approach to life. Grinding through the pain. Alternatively, you can search for things you actually like. In business, finding work that you like. In fitness, finding workouts that you enjoy. In health, finding foods you like that are good for you. Lastly, you can't make people want to change. You can only guide them once they show that they want to change. This is different from wanting a result. Someone who wants to be more successful is very different from someone who wants to learn how to work more effectively. Focus on process over end goal.
kiba 5y ago
Eating fewer calories is not happening in a vacuum. It means giving up food, which is, broadly speaking, the joy of life for many people. Exercising means committing to spend time in an environment and doing an activity that many do not like at all——it thus means going against their desires for months, years etc. I love food. Wouldn't give it up for the world. I can also tolerate not eating anything for two days very well. It's not really going against my desire. Ditto for exercise. The hard part is actually starting. Once you start, everything becomes easier.
- borroka 5y ago
  "The hard part is actually starting. Once you start, everything becomes easier." - For whom? These are those types of nuggets, and I say it as mellowly as I can, that sound good ("starting is most difficult part"), but have very little empirical, or even anecdotal, support. Starting is on the other hand easier than sustaining calorie reduction or consistent exercise because enthusiasm makes the operations initially easier (see the subscription boom that gym every where have in September and January), but then when people start telling themselves that this was not as easy as they expected to be when unsupported by the initial enthusiasm, they quit.

alexslobodnik 5y ago

There's the white knuckle approach to life. Grinding through the pain. Alternatively, you can search for things you actually like. In business, finding work that you like. In fitness, finding workouts that you enjoy. In health, finding foods you like that are good for you. Lastly, you can't make people want to change. You can only guide them once they show that they want to change. This is different from wanting a result. Someone who wants to be more successful is very different from someone who wants to learn how to work more effectively. Focus on process over end goal.

kiba 5y ago

Eating fewer calories is not happening in a vacuum. It means giving up food, which is, broadly speaking, the joy of life for many people. Exercising means committing to spend time in an environment and doing an activity that many do not like at all——it thus means going against their desires for months, years etc. I love food. Wouldn't give it up for the world. I can also tolerate not eating anything for two days very well. It's not really going against my desire. Ditto for exercise. The hard part is actually starting. Once you start, everything becomes easier.

borroka 5y ago
"The hard part is actually starting. Once you start, everything becomes easier." - For whom? These are those types of nuggets, and I say it as mellowly as I can, that sound good ("starting is most difficult part"), but have very little empirical, or even anecdotal, support. Starting is on the other hand easier than sustaining calorie reduction or consistent exercise because enthusiasm makes the operations initially easier (see the subscription boom that gym every where have in September and January), but then when people start telling themselves that this was not as easy as they expected to be when unsupported by the initial enthusiasm, they quit.