Why you definitely need to keep training diary

Living in Michigan three guys. They eat together, socialize, celebrate. Absolutely normal guys, not counting the fact that they live in a psychiatric clinic. How they got there? Everyone considers himself Jesus.

Madness in its pure form, but nothing new. Throughout the world, the mentally ill from time to time declare themselves gods. But none of these three will not be convinced that the real Jesus - it was his roommate. Each of them tells a different version of events. And do not listen to any logical argument that can destroy a theory. None of the therapists or the gods from the neighboring bed.

Each other perfectly, they find errors in reasoning. And in the course of changing their testimonies to plug the holes found interlocutors. None of them will never admit that it is not right. And will continue to tell stories, proving why they are something very real.

These guys narrative disorder. You and I have too.

For those who are in the tank: a narrative - a narrative. Our brain is so constituted that perceives the world in a narrative form. Roughly speaking, the narrative - it is everything.

Our ability to explain life through narration - part of a complex process. Such a complex that we do not even realize what we're doing. We have convinced ourselves that we are being rational, logical, capable of making the right decisions.

What does the training?

Oddly enough, it is more often seen in health and fitness.

Every day, people break the diet and do not reach the goals of the training process. On the street overturned truck with gingerbread, I did not have time to get to the room - a million reasons.

When something happens, we try to build a picture of the event in his life. We tell ourselves, as we have done, how much tired, we explain why we can not get to the gym. Adapt its narrative, to find an excuse. Familiar?

And the funny thing is that one we do not forgive anything like it. If your friend who wants to lose weight, eat a piece of cake, you will criticize it. And will loudly indignant, listening to her pathetic excuses. Count how many hours she spent on the series and recall each jar of cola she drank.

And it is necessary to do so in relation to itself.

On stage there are three gods again to teach us something. Brain deceive thee, intentionally using mistakes in the narrative. It is an evolutionary mechanism that distinguishes us from other animals. If we have a choice, the brain prefers to receive the information in a narrative form.

Structured stories are perceived better than the data.

Our brain consists of 85 billion neurons. Compare with the cat (a cat - the most vicious beasts), in which only one billion nerve cells. Through neural circuits passes a lot of information every second. And we need it as something to organize. The brain creates history.

We experience the world in the form of stories.

So where do the training?

And now let's move back to fitness. Think about the last goal that you set before the start of training, but failed to achieve. And what kind of story do you then told to justify. They were busy? Too much bulk?

Now, remember friends, who aspired to the same, and did not reach the goal. They themselves told the same story, but you have seen some of their side, and noticed all the excuses, lost hours, and the mistakes they made.

See people lying to themselves - the daily routine.

David Mack Reni, writer and author of books about the features of brain development and

You can recognize the lies and tricks, but only for other people. This narrative disorder in all its glory: in someone else's eye we see the speck, without noticing the beam in his.

Battle hemispheres

our brain are fighting with each other to tell stories. It is a functional antagonism. The unusual situation in which you have got, the stronger the opposition hemispheres, because they are fighting for control of thought processes.

The left side is responsible for the stunning story. It behaves like a guy who went to Vegas and tells everyone what he is cool. He, of course, the most ordinary, but he was pleased to feel important.

But when the situation gets out of control, the right hemisphere begins to shamanic dances with a tambourine, trying to regain a sense of reality left. The right-side then knows that in fact It happened in Vegas.

The left hemisphere - a double agent who sabotages all your efforts.

When, in life there are unexpected turns, you are looking for any way out. On these tracks, and die in a good cause treacherous clutches of the left hemisphere.

It starts with procrastination. You decide to think about it tomorrow. And tomorrow is shifted to the next day.

How many people and did not follow a diet, because they were going to start on Monday?

The game narrative disorder! It will tell you why not get started today. Tomorrow, it will repeat the story. And the day after tomorrow. And posleposlezavtra. Other people see us through, and we can not. Because we are at the mercy of our own personal narrative.

The road to success - connect the right hemisphere.

How will training diary

One of my favorite ways of dealing with narrative variations - record your stats. I have a blog with all of its characteristics, which once would cost millions.

When I set myself any sports goal: reducing the percentage of fat in the body up to a certain amount in powerlifting competitions, half-marathon - I'm starting to record everything.

• I bring the intensity of workouts Fitocracy.
• I find the receipt and consumption of calories MyFitnessPal.
• I keep a diary.

Why am I doing this? Next, the data write your narrative.

If someone sits eight weeks on a diet and not see results, devilishly hard to explain why this is so, if there is no information for analysis. But if recorded as received material into the body, then there is something to work on.

Look at the numbers, draw conclusions.

If training does not give results, it is necessary to overestimate the program. If there is nothing to be evaluated, then you are in flight. If I look at your log in the application and see what worked enough, I have in the hands of objective information. And I start to train more.

And what about subjective feelings, well-being? There will blog. Reread the diaries help to get into the old skin and see what I thought three weeks ago, when the exercises. Such an analysis is very necessary, if there is a long-term goal and you want to determine progress. Dumbbells seemed heavier than usual? It revealed an old injury? It was hard to stretch? This information is invaluable.

Narratives are important. It is easy to say that the ability to tell stories makes us different from apes. But, if you allow them too much, you can spoil everything. They were led to believe that the failures can be something to explain that it is normal. Do not give in. And the fourth neighbor will go to the House of the gods.