1..2…3…4……9….76…345…978...Phew. One more push and I will be done for today. 2000…Yes…. I did it! One more step to my goal of building a fit muscular bod.
The Struggle With Fat Burning
I wouldn't be surprised if the first thought that came to your mind on reading the first sentence was what kind of body exercise I was working on.
With the current craze for fitness goals, it’s easy to think that any physical push is directly related to hitting the gym, burning out those fats and building those much-needed muscles. (#fitfam, anyone?)
However, on a deeper note, there are muscles that really need more working out from us than our muscular system – our mind and brain.
By the way, I’m not rubbishing the enormous amounts of efforts, time and money people expend on being physically fit. I’m currently struggling with the slow accumulation of fat and laxity of my muscles.
Being a freelancer and determining one’s schedule certainly has its own demerits. Perched on a chair staring at the laptop all day is a sure way to accumulate those unhealthy fats.
That’s why I’ve been taking some timeouts recently to hit the gym and get my college bod back. ;)
War Of Art
One of my best books ever is Steve Pressfield’s The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, an insightful book on the struggles creative face in shipping works that matter. And also how to fight those “brainy fatty demons”.
A play on the title of the classical and very famous Art of War by Sun Tzu, Steve’s book is a must read for everyone. For those who haven’t checked the book, here are some amazing quotes that will push you to burn those fats:
“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.”
“Fear doesn't go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.”
“The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work. The professional concentrates on the work and allows rewards to come or not come, whatever they like.”
Gaining Weight is Easy. Building Muscles is Hard
Everyone know this is super true :) Just a couple of munchies, pizzas and drinks and you can feel those rolls of fat slowly building up. You remember the hours spent on previously burning the former ones and you roll your eyes. Hours filled with pain, sweat and sometimes blood.
At that point, you've got 2 options: Hit the ground running, reduce/cut those sugary yummies and keep fit OR turn a blind eye, revel in the high level you are on the satisfaction curve and make friends with the couch.
The true creative who is concerned with shipping out life-changing stuff embraces the struggle, braces herself, burn those brainy fats and keep building those creative muscles.
A Sure Way To Build Creative Muscle - Being An Idea Machine
Trapeze, Parkour, Yoga….. There are hundreds of exercise touted by ‘experts’ as fast ways to burn fats and build muscles. However, there some very common and highly effective ones like ab crunches, cycling, and weightlifting.
This situation also applies to the art of building one’s creative muscle. A quick google search and you will find hundreds of strategies and systems by ‘acclaimed’ productivity/creativity experts on how to be hone one’s creativity.
Personally, (and for thousands of other avid readers I know) James Altucher’s Guide on being an Idea Machine is an amazing way to build one’s creative muscle.
10 ideas a day:
Here’s a brief summary:
How Does This Whole Analogy Affect Me?
For many who have read my (few) personal posts, you will recognize my constant struggle with gaining perfection in two skills I love so much: Writing and Coding
Coding is hard
It’s easy to see so much fanfare around coding and conclude that coding must be very easy. But in reality, coding is very hard.
Personally, as an Infovore, I've gone through several “learn how to code’ platforms and course – freeCodeCamp, Coursera, Udacity, EdX. All in a bid to get the best form of material to coast through a learning point. Some stages I breeze through. Some stages I spend more normal time on it.
Here’s a favorite picture of mine that beautifully illustrates my struggle:
I’m slowly plowing my way through the desert and the ocean of abundance is near.
Writing
We all are writers. All it takes is to string a couple of letters into meaningful words and we’re done. But to get to that stage when your writing makes a difference takes consistent burning of brainy fats and building the creative muscles.
I have literally gone through tons of articles, books, and courses created to help aspiring writers grow their art. And this is the best advice I’ve come across:
Following Through and SteemMag
It’s no doubt that Steemit has greatly helped tens of writers rediscover their love for writing. A great incentive is it.
One of my favorite projects on Steemit is that of @surfermarly’s The Everyday project. It’s so nice seeing people publicly hold themselves to account. I look forward to having her on SteemMag soon.
SteemMag
One of the several reasons why my personal posts are few is the fact that I want finding previous editions of SteemMag easy. I created @steemmag a while ago but I lost the keys to it unfortunately due to a mishap.
Just created @steem-mag and hopefully, it’s gonna be hosting consequent editions of SteemMag.
The fats have been slowly accumulating for too long. It’s time to build those muscles. Again. For good.
……..Parting Note
Remember when your physical muscles hurt and you tell yourself, just one push and you will gain that physical body you desire.
The same principle applies to building your creative muscle. You can literally feel your brain screaming at the stress you are putting it through. Keep on. Push. Make The Brain Sweat. And someday, one day, you will get that sharp creative muscle.
Small incremental gains.
Worthy things take time and effort to blossom. Hang on
…….( A Note To Myself)
A Parting gift:
Over to you…..Would love to hear from you…
What’s one creative habit you’re struggling with and trying to build?
Yeah, coding can be hard! But with practice and proper motivation, goal step by step building works best. Also just like exercising, coding is exercise of determination!
You're right. As with everything in life, practice and motivation goes a long way. Seeing guys like you constantly shipping things out everyday makes me excited.
Thanks bud for dropping by.
coding is hard @p0o tried teaching us here
and I thought I'd manage to keep up till my head hurts haha
as for
what have you been eating? must be your food? or your body metabolism?
but good luck with your work outs
cheers for a fit and healthy muscled bod !
Nice Article!
Thanks.
What helps me getting my muscles in shape (body and mind) is @steemit-health. I make a resolution and then if I f*?= up I feel bad. Try it!
Anything particularly useful for learning coding stuff related to blockchains and/or steemit?
@goodkarma or @jesta might help you on that. @timcliff is also familiar with the codebase.
Excellent post!
Thanks @team101. Glad you dropped by.
Nice post! i just followed you
Never stop learning, never stop dreaming - this leads to success and contentment. Our minds are amazing, keep them young by playing every day. Very much enjoyed your article.
Thanks. You're right. Its amazing how we can jeep the mind and brain sharp and young just by consistently doing things that matter.
nice photo!ahaha
:)
Semangat !
Wow great ideas,Inspiration,motivation and advice all are together to make all steemit user perfect but the condition is to................follow.Great sharing i Resteemed the post.
True that. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post.
Welcome sir and my pleasure.
Great thinking. Not only good for those people who think they are fat but also for those people who are considered thin and want to gain muscles..
Nice catch. That shows optimisim! Everyone can gain results . We all lack in something, nobody's perfect.
Vunderbar!
I love that working out brain photo :)
Me too. I just had to use it.
Wow! What an epic post @infovore!!! Thanks for sharing all this wisdom and information with us all. Good to see you back behind the keyboard...
Namaste :)
Remember when your physical muscles hurt and you tell yourself, just one push and you will gain that physical body you desire.
The same principle applies to building your creative muscle. You can literally feel your brain screaming at the stress you are putting it through. Keep on. Push. Make The Brain Sweat. And someday, one day, you will get that sharp creative muscle.
That's exactly what's happening to me right now. I'm glad I found Steemit and some people who inspire me here like you @infovore. Excellent post
Congratulations @infovore!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following categories:
Wow this is a great post, I must say.
The mind and brain are the best muscles you build because they can also affect your physical muscle.
Absolutely true.
This is a great write-up @infovore, I feel motivated already.
My struggle, hmmmm, ability to write posts without much stress (smiles), like how @slowwalker, @jerrybanfield and many more do.
Informational post! Very nice
Superbly written article, this one is gem. I LOVE STEEMIT!!!!!!
Nice :)
i dint now that writing was my thing, not until i discovered steemit , and my urge to write and comment on peoples articles which i find to be very interesting.
Its funny how i always end up coming with better articles when i dont feel like writing. i believe am in the process of self discovering.
Kindly follow back.
Thank you.
Came for the fitness talk haha
Stayed for the fine points
Owh I was expecting something completly else.
None the less, it is inspiring . Great!
There are companies in my country which offers 6-18 months courses with aguarentee of landing you a job in the industry or a cashback. I wonder if it's possible for an average joe.
Hard work pays... little dedication needed!!
Yes, my son (lol). You said it. Now let's have our shortbread and talk about all the calories we burn in this game of life. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Perfectionism takes over and we can be so cruel to ourselves if we don't measure up to impossible standards of success - usually self-imposed. And everyone else seems to have no problem churning out project after project when I would like to curl up in a ball most days - at least recently. But we must go on because we have stories to tell. Your project chart is a perfect example - a cross section of the creative process. Thank you for sharing, and make sure you continue to eat your greens.
Very interesting Article my friend.
The brain is simply a muscle with allot of nerve tissue and just a little muscle tissue.
Great post. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this awesome post! It took me on an important journey and made me realize that I am on the right path.
You see, I have let many of my muscles weaken. I lost nearly all my strength to fear and depression. Due to being overworked every little move, physically and mentally seemed to hard. So for some time I have been advised to take a softer approach. To not be so hard on myself.
I followed the advice and it helped me. The fog lifted but I did not feel strong. I felt soft and weak. I felt stuck. Until I could not bear it anymore!
I wanted to feel in control again and I did the first thing I could think of. I started to ride my bike again. What seemed like a small step made all the difference. Now I even want to concur my fear of driving and get behind the wheel again.
Thank you so much for making me realize I can also strengthen my creative muscle as well as my bravery muscles. I will write a post about this epiphany and name your post in it. A big hug from Germany.
Great post my friend! It toke me a lot to read it but was nice :D how things? Finally I am back on the road
The motivation to carry on at the moment, I used to train a lot but injured myself severely and was out the gym for years. Now Everytime I push myself to go I can't get past that first month and the reality of being unable to do what I was capable of doing made it all the more difficult. I know persistence and complete determination is the answer I just have to go do it.
Wish me luck
Good article. I liked it when mentioned creativity and productivity as way to finding a way to motivate ones self.
The key for everything you do is persistence and perseverance!, 😉 Good article 👌
wow a very great post @infovore...that for all you have done for me..
Your voice makes me want to listen. Thank you for reminding us to move! This is fantastic!
Awesome post, very helpful, I love it! thank you for sharing your post. ;-)
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I couldn't have agreed more with you @infovore, you have put all in one. As for me,am trying to get myself more to do simple exercises that ease up stress... trust me sometimes I feel tired and sometimes am just not in the mood to handle the pain that comes after. But my parting word everyday is ... "Go Gloria you can handle this." You are strong...you are courageous...you are brave. So I commend you for this work and am looking forward to seeing more.