On Gym Discipline - by Omar Elbaghdadi - Omar’s Newsletter

Going to the gym, or doing any form of exercise for that matter, is something we all know we should be doing, but somehow always seem to put off. I'm no different.

It's time-consuming, requires energy, and the rewards are not immediate but only observed after longer periods of time. This has made it very difficult for me to consistently go to the gym throughout my life, the key word here being consistently.

I have my good stretches, where I will do pretty well for half a year or so, but then I’ll cave in and stop again. Something always seems to come in between: going on an exchange abroad, starting my first full time job, and so on. These events would cause my "rhythm" to completely change, and I would stop going for months or years.

The problem: once you stop going, it's much harder to get back into this rhythm of going, or flow. The converse is also true: once you're in the flow, it's much easier to keep going. This is a problem we experience with any habit. The question then becomes: if we want to keep going consistently, what can we do to prevent ourselves from leaving this state of flow?

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