Once when my great-grandson was dawdling over his spinach, his mother really wanted him to eat his greens. She said,"I bet I can finish my spinach before you can finish yours." Zap! Zap! All his spinach disappeared completely!
Dr. McGonigal in her blog "The Science of Willpower" (followed on my blog page) writes about a high correlation between effort and a feeling of benefit. Sounds related to the idea that what you measure or otherwise attend to is what you "get" or "is what improves". It is not easy to eat spinach or broccoli or whatever is supposed to be good for you but is not interesting or attractive. One logical analysis says that if A is not easy, and B is not easy, then both A and B together will not be easy. Yet, my great-grandson ate his spinach AND won in the challenge offered by his mother when he was unable to just eat the vegetable.
Our lives are shot through with challenges and contests designed to increase motivation to reach goals that are lackluster or mundane. Men and boys thrive on competition and love to see if they can win. Some highly competitive guys will announce to others that they have won when nobody knew there was a contest going on. Telling jokes in class? I will outclown you. Or, lacking jokes to use in the contest which I just invented, I will outclass you, draw more attention than you, with tear-jerking stories or dozens of push-ups. Anything to win! Anything to win in any way, any contest. Why? You know, if you have to ask.....
My Filipino gym teacher memorably said about 60 years ago that for every ten people who can stand adversity, there is one who can flourish in prosperity. I took that as a challenge worth accepting. So, when I have many compliments or lots of money or a good stock of books or hopes or whatever, I remember that I can just accept that good turn of events, that happy circumstance.
When the physical therapist tells me not to go ballistic, she means to accept the simple gentle exercise as the most beneficial one and not to try to improve on the prescription with extra effort or speed or number of repetitions. I do try to remember and apply her idea, partly because it is a challenge to be able to do so. But, sometimes it's easier when it is harder.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
