"Listen" to your body or not?
You have probably been exposed to both sides of this.
One side, especially, training addicts or the "no day rest day" crowd,
will tell you to not listen to your body.
They will say that feeling is a lie.
That you ought to follow your "training program" to the tee,
no matter how beat up you feel.
Then on the other side, more "balanced" trainees or "wellness" enthusiasts
will tell you to listen to the body.
They will give you reasons and benefits of listening to your body
instead of some set in stone "training program".
They will repeatedly coin phrases such as "overtraining" or "underrecovery"
to stand alongside their stand on the matter.
What is the Truth behind this argument?
What is one ought to do - listen or not listen to their body?
The answer?
It does not matter.
You will stay where you are and reach what you are aiming for - mediocrity.
Why?
You see it is not so much about what folks on either side of the argument say.
As long as you pay attention to such arguments, you will stay doubtful.
The doubt will cause angst.
The angst will force you to say "Fuck it" and follow one of these paths.
No matter which path you take, you will hit roadblocks continually.
These roadblocks will need SO MUCH of your time, resources, and attention,
that you will be distracted from your MAIN path.
And when one is not on The Path towards superiority every single day,
without spinning their wheels dealing with roadblocks,
where will they end up?
They will end up being mediocre.
It is guaranteed.
Yes.
The question is not whether to listen to the body or not.
The question is not which argument to listen to.
For there is no shortage of arguments.
For there is no shortage of mediocre people busying themselves with such arguments
It is a fact.
More than 99.99% of the athletic population will be mediocre for life.
It ultimately boils down to WHY you listen to them.
It ultimately boils down to if you are okay with being mediocre - TODAY.
Knowing the answer to one is enough.
For if you are okay with being mediocre TODAY, you will keep listening to them.
And you ought to stop reading the rest of this post.
It does NOT apply to you.
If starting TODAY, you pledge on not being mediocre,
pay special attention to what is revealed below...
The crucial thing is not whether you listen or not listen to your body.
The crucial thing is the medium through which you do so.
The Body and the Mind are separate entities.
But you have taken them for one and the same.
Because of this, when you "listen to the Body",
you are essentially listening to the Mind.
Because the medium or the channel or the middleman in/of the conversion between
you and the Body is...
...your majesty Mind.
Here is how the "conversation" looks like for you today...
Body <-> Mind+YOU
And you know something else?
The Mind ALWAYS lies, ALWAYS.
So it is not that the "body is lying to you".
It is that you are not even LISTENING to the Body!
You are listening to the Mind.
And ITS JOB is to lie.
For the "conversation" to look more like this ...
Body <-> YOU <-> Mind
do you know/see what needs to be done?
You have got to separate yourself from the Mind.
Only then will you realize - LISTENING to the Body is the only way.
For the Body is the Truth.
The Mind, a lie.
Thank you.