Behavioral Modification Part 2

As I mentioned before, the key to my behavioral modifications (exercising daily, writing, drawing, and not spending money) lies in the system that I designed for myself to make it happen. The first thing I added to the mixture was a bit of instant gratification in the form of dropping different colored glass beads in a mason jar. 

I chose this system for a couple of reasons. First, I already had plenty of jars thanks to my Mom's love of canning, and I had plenty of glass beads used for counters for Magic the Gathering and boardgames. I didn't have to go out of my way to get started. I am not exactly lazy, but the easier it is for me to get started on something the more likely I am to do so without procrastination. Would I have liked to used marbles? Kind of. Marbles are cool. I just didn't have marbles in a big one gallon ziploc bag that were just begging to be sorted out the way I did glass beads. Two birds one stone. 

Is this the most visibly appealing system I could have contrived, no, but there is no arguing that it is visual. It also has a very satisfying audible component. *CLINK* goes glass beads into a glass jar. In theory, I am conditioning my brain to interpret moving that bead around as a reward for completing these non preferred tasks. I am Pavlov's Dog. The bead is my food after I hear the bell ring. I don't know what sound dopamine makes when it whisks through my brain but insert that here. Between endorphins from the exercise and a quick dopamine hit from the bead drop I have to admit that I am feeling pretty darned good. 

I am also tracking my progress to some extent. I have "Blog Post Due" as a to-do item on my calendar for both Monday and Thursday. I drop my completed artwork in the same pile each time I am done so I can always see my most recent piece. Most importantly, I am charting my exercise. Monday afternoon as I was pacing on the treadmill I considered for the first time in many years actually investing in a scale. Even that thought is quite a quick change of mental investment in this process. 

I feel like I am making some very solid moves. I keep my supply of sketch pages right next to my desk where I like to work. My pencils and markers are in easy reach. I keep Word open on my laptop with the outline I am currently working on open. I think I am going to compile some of my other notes and related stories into it later tonight. 

My smartest moves have been in making exercising fun. Sunday when I finally got myself resigned to starting this exercising thing I pulled the exercise bike next to my desk. I cranked the desk up a bit so that it was in easy reach without me having to stop pedaling. I dropped a graphic novel and Atomic Habits on my desk next to the laptop. I finished the last two chapters of Atomic Habits pretty quickly and spent the rest of the time I was riding that bike to nowhere trying to play Final Fantasy V before realizing this was a waste of effort. 

Monday I was more prepared. I dropped Crucial Conversations on my desk next to my laptop and sat my Xbox controller with it and booted up Steam in Big Picture mode. After reading a chapter of the book I dropped it on the desk and booted up Castle Crashers. It is a game that I have completed on 3 different systems, but for some reason I still bought it on Steam. I could probably play Castle Crashers through in my sleep, but it is still really entertaining for me for some reason. That was the point. I made the rest of my pedaling fun and when I switched over to the treadmill for a cool down I found out that I can walk, chew bubble gum, and slay barbarians all at the same time. 

It really helps me to make things fun. I turn lots of things that are challenging into a game. When I pull art for the podcast I challenge myself to guess what Garin will be pulling and then score myself on accuracy. If you want to see that game in action watch any of the footage on our YouTube page for most of the last year before we took our break in September. I also don't hurt as much during a work out if I am not focused on how much I am sweating (unpleasant but a desired side effect) or how out of breath I am. 

Tuesday I set out to do things in a different order. After I took my daily multivitamin, drank some water, and knocked through a few games of Magic on Arena I jumped on the treadmill and started walking. I had the laptop set up for Castle Crashers and I did finish the Thieves Forest, the Mill, and the River including defeating Catfish. I found myself pausing the game repeatedly to focus on my stride. I was keeping my balance fine, but I found myself thinking back to the first major journey I had about 7 years ago. 

I worked at a place that had great gym facilities. I finally decided to use them and was shocked to find out that I could not maintain much of a pace for any length of time. In other words, I did not realize at that time how really badly out of shape I was. It scared me. 

My reaction to this was to get extremely determined to do something about it right or wrong. The next day I came to the gym ready. I was resolved. I was going to walk five miles on the treadmill or die trying. I meant it literally. I was going to keep walking until I hit five miles or died in the attempt. 

I made the five miles. I kept doing that day after day for a while. First I aimed for distance. Then I started trying to improve my time. Given that five miles took me a few hours at first improvements weren't all that difficult. 

I eventually got bored with the treadmill and tried out a variety of other machines and exercises. I got outside and started using the greenway around the job to get my miles in. Eventually, I started jogging. I started boxing a bit... and then I had a scare with my heart misfiring and had to take a break and reassess. I have to admit looking back that I made the wrong choice at that point. I quit exercising and changed jobs which made working out more difficult. 

I worked retail and ate like garbage for a few years. I changed jobs again and sat around on my butt still eating like garbage. I put on all the weight I had lost plus more until right after my Mom passed away. That experience was horrible from every aspect, but realizing that her weight had a part to play in her dying young was a good wake up call. 

I did a few things right in the wake of her passing. I learned to ride a motorcycle which is extremely relaxing. I got quite a bit of therapy and some great tools to help myself continue to grow, mature, and improve my life. Then there was the best thing. Dad and I found the mountain. 

We went over and walked part of the way up House Mountain. I loved it and it started a trend for me. Over about a year and a half I went up that mountain almost every weekend. Sometimes I went several times in the same week. 

When I started walking there I couldn't make it all the way up one side. Just before I broke my mountain climbing streak I was able to do the whole trail without stopping for a break. Covid-19 closed down the mountain... and I didn't do anything to replace it. I also didn't run back to the mountain as soon as it was reopened. I have gone back a few times this year and the mountain can kick my ass again hard. 

Tuesday on the treadmill is the first time I have really craved the mountain in a long time. I started talking to myself about it. I am going to work my endurance up on these daily workouts for a bit and then I am taking the fight back to the mountain. Even having that as a goal feels healthy.

I am much further behind in my fitness than I was when I made my five miles or die goal. I figure five miles now would just about wipe me out and my half hour miles would make it a long unpleasant ordeal. 

The deal Tuesday was get to a mile. I did it. I huffed, puffed, sweated, and had to sit down and cool off after. A few minutes of rest and I pedaled out a bit over five miles on the bike. All that felt good. 

What feels better is stringing together day after day of meeting the goals I have set for myself. I have written an hour or more each day. I have exercised an hour or more everyday. That inspired me to push more into my diet and drop bread and sweets again. I am drawing daily. I haven't even considered skipping anything, 

I realize I am only 4 days in. I am also encouraged that I can do all of this well. I keep getting more complete systems in place to support what I am trying to accomplish. I started tracking my exercise beyond just completing the hour. I am figuring out best schedules to get everything done. 

Other than some sore legs I am really digging this,