The age old question……..
Which came first?
The chicken or the egg?
There is actually an answer to that BTW.
I’ll get to that later.
But let me tell you a story that illustrates what I’m talking about.
A few months ago I came to the realisation I was drinking far too much.
Every night there would be at least a glass of wine.
Maybe a G&T or two.
Or more.
Miles over the guidelines.
I justified it with the story of needing to unwind after the day.
The kids particularly were leaving me a bit ‘fretted’ by the evening.
Still are, to be honest!
I also realised I was drinking too much caffeine.
My couple a day and sneaked up, over time, to several.
My justification was I needed it to get going.
Early starts.
Long days.
Needing to be ‘on form’ for sessions, etc.
Then, it a moment of clarity, I came to a realisation.
Part of the reason I needed alcohol to unwind was the effects of the caffeine.
And part of the reason I needed caffeine to get going was the effects of the alcohol.
Just trying to cut down on the the alcohol hadn’t been working……..
Because I hadn’t addressed the ‘egg’ that caused it – the caffeine.
So I hugely reduced my caffeine consumption.
No regular ones – on waking, between sessions, etc.
Maybe one as pre-workout if I feel I really need it.
Maybe one for a long drive if I’m concerned about my concentration levels.
And, you know what?
The interest in the booze has dropped hugely.
Still crosses my mind, but much less of a ‘need’ for it.
Next to none in the week.
Only really having it at the weekend if we’re socialising.
No having it “Because it’s Friday”.
It wasn’t easy dropping the caffeine.
But it was much easier than dropping the alcohol without addressing it’s ‘egg’.
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This might sound familiar.
But, if not, there’ll be some other chicken and egg situations in your life.
What are you concentrating on doing where you’re looking at the wrong ‘bit’.
Is having an early morning workout actually the problem?
Or is the setting of your alarm the night before you need to work on?
Is doing a workout after work really the issue?
Or is it the packing of the workout gear in the morning and / or the choice of which way to turn out of work that needs mastering?
Is what you chose to have for a meal holding you back?
Or is it want you chose to put in your basket?
Or whether you chose to pick up bits throughout the week rather than do a big online shop (with less temptations) on a Sunday night?
Is it actually any of the decisions you’re faced with?
Or the time you chose to put into challenging your thoughts and beliefs before those choices need to be made?
You get the message.
Struggling in some area, like I was with the drinking?
Work backwards until you find the true cause.
The bottleneck that needs addressing.
And sort that 🙂
Much love,
Jon ‘Chicken Tonight’ Hall and Matt ‘Still cracks my eggs the night before’ Nicholson
P.S. Here’s the answer. It’s the egg. From an evolutionary perspective there was a first chicken at some point. We’ll never know when. And it would look pretty much identical to its parents. But some slight variation would mean it was, technically a chicken whilst it parents were whatever was the ‘version’ before what we call a chicken. Like Homo Erectus and Homo Sapiens. So, that chicken came from an egg, which came from something that wasn’t, technically a chicken. So, egg!
P.P.S. It’s the find-out-more meeting next week now. Enjoy Christmas this week. But start to put things in place to get in shape in the New Year, if you haven’t already. myrise.co.uk/briefing-meeting for more info 🙂
