“There are no outs. Even if someone else would call it an extenuating circumstance and forgive me for giving up, I’ll just get it done anyway.”
This post and Extenuating Circumstances aren’t literally contradictory, but their implications seem to point in opposite directions. I would like to see more discussion of when to apply this mode of thinking and when to apply the Extenuating Circumstances mode of thinking.
Right now I’m interpreting the difference as being that if you really want to lose weight, you shouldn’t accept “I have an inconvenient metabolic set point” as an excuse not to do so, but you should realize that it will shift which routes are easier than others and take that into account when planning your best strategy for weight loss. So you might try devote effort to finding some clever trick instead of trying to steamroller ahead with sheer willpower.
Maybe I’ll do a longer reply later… The basic answer is that you can do the impossible but it comes with a price. Burn down every obstacle, sacrifice whatever it takes, devote any amount of time and any amount of energy required? You only get a few shots of that magnitude. Sure, if I made it the one priority in my life and gave up that FAI stuff, I could lose weight.
Burn down every obstacle, sacrifice whatever it takes, devote any amount of time and any amount of energy required? You only get a few shots of that magnitude.
Also, different people get different numbers of such shots, and with different maximum magnitudes.
Sure, if I made it the one priority in my life and gave up that FAI stuff, I could lose weight.
Even if you had to check yourself into a bariatric (is that the right word?) clinic for drugs and doctor’s supervision, it’s not like they’re going ban you from having a computer or visitors.
Even if you had to take time off, how long would it be for?
Have you even asked that question?
What other questions haven’t you asked about this yet?
Maybe I’ll do a longer reply later…
Don’t. You’ll be better off not spending more time writing your way into deeper rationalization and justification of an already damaging belief.
My wife went through years of off and on dieting, trying every damn thing that came out and not getting anywhere, and despairing that she’d ever be able to lose the weight. Then, she made a change in her beliefs… and the very next thing she tried—something she’d previously ruled out as an option—worked. She’s lost over 100 pounds so far, with the most fun and least problems of anything she’d tried before.
The point of which is not that you’ll necessarily find something that works that quickly. The point is that what you believe about what’s possible or what’s wrong with you or what’s useful to try, is much more likely to be a FAR greater limiting factor on your ability to lose weight than anything about your metabolism, unless you’re actually diabetic or have some sort of diagnosable glandular disorder.
So if you really think you’re metabolically challenged, go to a doctor, for goodness’ sake. Preferably one that specializes in problem weight-loss cases, who doesn’t just prescribe-and-run. Medicine in general may not be all that great, but they do have some cool test equipment. Might as well take advantage. ;-)
(Post-downmod edit: In case there’s any confusion, I’m not arguing that beliefs directly affect weight loss; only that beliefs can prevent you from seriously investigating an option that might work for you… especially if that option seems “too hard” or “too much work”.)
There are plenty of things I could try with more money. But for this either SIAI needs to be more successful with fundraising or my career as a speaker needs to take off… which I can only help make happen by swapping effort to making more money, which gets us back into that “diverting effort from FAI” business.
I find it hard to believe that you haven’t thought about the following, but you haven’t mentioned it so I will. Conventional wisdom says:
1) Being at a healthy weight/having a ‘healthy lifestyle’ will (accidents and terminal genetic disorders aside) result in you living a longer life. This means more time to work on FAI stuff.
2) Exercise and good diet tend to increase feelings of well being and energy levels. This means better/more effective work on FAI stuff.
Discounting physical health and concentrating on intellectual life seems to me to be a status symbol for many intellectuals. But I would think that spending time and mental energy on physical well being would give larger benefits, in the long term, to one’s intellectual endeavours.
This post and Extenuating Circumstances aren’t literally contradictory, but their implications seem to point in opposite directions. I would like to see more discussion of when to apply this mode of thinking and when to apply the Extenuating Circumstances mode of thinking.
Right now I’m interpreting the difference as being that if you really want to lose weight, you shouldn’t accept “I have an inconvenient metabolic set point” as an excuse not to do so, but you should realize that it will shift which routes are easier than others and take that into account when planning your best strategy for weight loss. So you might try devote effort to finding some clever trick instead of trying to steamroller ahead with sheer willpower.
Am I on the right track?
And this is to say nothing of “Shut Up and Do the Impossible”!
Maybe I’ll do a longer reply later… The basic answer is that you can do the impossible but it comes with a price. Burn down every obstacle, sacrifice whatever it takes, devote any amount of time and any amount of energy required? You only get a few shots of that magnitude. Sure, if I made it the one priority in my life and gave up that FAI stuff, I could lose weight.
Also, different people get different numbers of such shots, and with different maximum magnitudes.
Even if you had to check yourself into a bariatric (is that the right word?) clinic for drugs and doctor’s supervision, it’s not like they’re going ban you from having a computer or visitors.
Even if you had to take time off, how long would it be for?
Have you even asked that question?
What other questions haven’t you asked about this yet?
Don’t. You’ll be better off not spending more time writing your way into deeper rationalization and justification of an already damaging belief.
My wife went through years of off and on dieting, trying every damn thing that came out and not getting anywhere, and despairing that she’d ever be able to lose the weight. Then, she made a change in her beliefs… and the very next thing she tried—something she’d previously ruled out as an option—worked. She’s lost over 100 pounds so far, with the most fun and least problems of anything she’d tried before.
The point of which is not that you’ll necessarily find something that works that quickly. The point is that what you believe about what’s possible or what’s wrong with you or what’s useful to try, is much more likely to be a FAR greater limiting factor on your ability to lose weight than anything about your metabolism, unless you’re actually diabetic or have some sort of diagnosable glandular disorder.
So if you really think you’re metabolically challenged, go to a doctor, for goodness’ sake. Preferably one that specializes in problem weight-loss cases, who doesn’t just prescribe-and-run. Medicine in general may not be all that great, but they do have some cool test equipment. Might as well take advantage. ;-)
(Post-downmod edit: In case there’s any confusion, I’m not arguing that beliefs directly affect weight loss; only that beliefs can prevent you from seriously investigating an option that might work for you… especially if that option seems “too hard” or “too much work”.)
There are plenty of things I could try with more money. But for this either SIAI needs to be more successful with fundraising or my career as a speaker needs to take off… which I can only help make happen by swapping effort to making more money, which gets us back into that “diverting effort from FAI” business.
I find it hard to believe that you haven’t thought about the following, but you haven’t mentioned it so I will. Conventional wisdom says:
1) Being at a healthy weight/having a ‘healthy lifestyle’ will (accidents and terminal genetic disorders aside) result in you living a longer life. This means more time to work on FAI stuff.
2) Exercise and good diet tend to increase feelings of well being and energy levels. This means better/more effective work on FAI stuff.
Discounting physical health and concentrating on intellectual life seems to me to be a status symbol for many intellectuals. But I would think that spending time and mental energy on physical well being would give larger benefits, in the long term, to one’s intellectual endeavours.