The Winning Streak
Someone, I don’t remember who/where had some post or something talking about being on a streak. About how powerful a motivational tool it was because (s)he didn’t want to end their streak of good behavior. And, that’s gotten me thinking. You know, the stuff that simmers in the back of your brain somewhere, you not even realizing it’s there… then one day POW… it kinda all clicks.
I think that’s what I had before. When I was very successful. To have gone a week, month, etc with an insanely perfect eating and workout record… It was hard to ignore that for the temporary (and usually not as great as you were hoping for) satisfaction of a snickers. It wasn’t a matter of will, it was a matter of pride. I mean, 55 days of eating well… Why spoil that with a piece of overly sweet crappy-assed cake? It was, of course, part of a greater picture, but it was a large part of it.
But it’s hard to start a streak. It’s hard to be the 1st through 5th day in. Because it isn’t epic yet, it seems to have less importance. It’s not “I’ve been perfect for 4 months”…. it’s “I wasn’t bad yesterday.” There’s a definite advantage to the epic proportions of the large/long streak.
Starting a streak… there’s the tough part. Is it because (in part) of the epicness of the reverse-goal streak? The, “I’ve been bad for months, why change now?” perspective? If streaks provide momentum, perhaps that’s it. One’s streak of misbehavior is keeping one on that track because of momentum? Because, after a while, you’re fooled into thinking that nestle makes good chocolate (OMG they so don’t), and so you want some more? and more, and more?
In the beginning, it’s not about streak. It’s about overcoming inertia, about willpower, about motivation. The streak doesn’t become powerful until it’s gained enough momentum because of other starting factors. And, since we’ve not necessarily examined this idea much before, we don’t know how long it takes before a streak becomes epic enough to have enough power to help us overcome the temptations of laziness and sorry excuses for chocolate.
Which, I suppose, comes back to the point of wanting it badly enough. Because that’s all the streak is. Just one more thing proving you can do it and that you’ve wanted it badly enough. It becomes part of what you’re striving for: a healthier body, a fitter body, a longer streak.
Maybe the reverse is also true? Once you wreck a streak, it seems all that bigger a downfall… all that bigger a failure? Does the guilt start to get us? Do we then decide we’d rather not fall so far, and so the streak never comes back?
Achilles was like a god. Fuck the damn arrow… he lived well, did he not? How much better is he who can be struck by the arrow and still rise again to epic proportions?