Hello, darlings, it's Monday again, and here comes the weekly note～ Today, I want to recommend what I call the "Power of Reverse Persistence."
1#
Sometimes I find that the more I want to stick to something, the harder it becomes. As the saying goes, "Once you set a flag, it will fall."
For example, the " Challenge to Learn to Cook 100 Dishes That My Girlfriend Wants to Eat " flag I set last year, planned to complete in two years. But the reality is, I only learned 8 dishes in a year, leaving 92 dishes, which I estimate will take another 9 to 10 years to complete.
Another example is the " Start a New Day with a Little Sweat " flag I set recently, planning to wake up half an hour early every workday for exercise. But in October, I managed to exercise early 22 times, and by November, it dropped to just 13 times, with each session getting shorter.
2#
So what should I do? Should I easily give up?
My suggestion is to "give up." But not the big goal, rather the specific process I set for myself.
- Let's talk about "learning to cook." The big goal is actually to control my diet and enhance my sense of happiness by creating a homely atmosphere.
However, I added the task of filming short videos to the cooking process (if you're interested, you can check it out on my video account), which made it so that as a kitchen novice, I had to pay attention to camera angles and shooting perspectives while cooking, extending my cooking time by about an hour. After eating, I also had to prepare video editing, add captions, and do post-processing, which took at least another 2 hours.
At first, I could stick with it, probably because of the novelty of cooking and making videos. But gradually, I started to feel that the input-output ratio was too high, and just thinking about editing a 2-hour video made me feel overwhelmed. For a while, I preferred to eat out casually, and that was indeed the case.
Later, I adjusted the cooking process: first, I gave up the additional short video task, and second, I stopped buying raw ingredients and opted for pre-cut and pre-made meals (I really admire pre-made meals for handing over the most satisfying part to the user). I mentioned in Weekly Note #2 how to cook efficiently, managing to keep cooking time under 20 minutes.
After lowering the difficulty, it became very easy to stick to cooking on weekends, and I didn't deviate from our big goal.
- Now let's talk about "waking up early to exercise." The big goal is actually to promote going to bed early and relaxing my body.
The plans I chose on Kxxp were either for intense abs workouts or various burpees, and after finishing, it wasn't just a little sweat; I usually needed to take a shower.
At first, I could stick with it, probably due to the novelty and sense of achievement. But gradually, I began to feel that it was too time-consuming, taking about 40 minutes each time. For a while, I just woke up early but had no intention of exercising, and because I thought I would exercise the next morning, I had an excuse not to go to the gym that night (I really tricked myself there).
Later, I also adjusted the early morning exercise process: first, I shortened the workout time from 30 minutes to 15 minutes, and second, I changed the type of exercise from muscle gain and fat loss to gentle relaxation, such as shoulder, neck, and back stretches.
Surprisingly, my early morning workouts have returned to a normal frequency, and the big goals have been achieved one by one. Moreover, since the morning exercises are stretching and relaxation training, I had no excuse to skip the gym in the evening.
3#
This is what I recommend as the "Power of Reverse Persistence." For things we can't stick to, we can try to give up part of the process, lower the difficulty, or even take a break from persistence for a while; don't burden yourself too much.
Just like an iron pestle can be ground into a needle, compared to short-term grit, long-term gradual persistence can more effectively transform something hard to stick to into something easy to maintain.