Everything You Believe is Wrong: Harnessing the Power of Data

In a picture above you see two tables. Now tell me, which one is longer?

The one on the left of course.

Wrong. Actually they are exactly the same length. Measure them if you don't believe me. Let's take a look at another picture.

How about this one: which one is bigger, the guy on the right or the guy on the lower left?

Uh, the one on the right?

Wrong again. They're exactly the same size. Damn the tricky perspective!

What is Going on?

Okay, now you know that the tables are the same length and the guys are the same size. Now scroll back, take a look at them again and tell me what you see.

The same as before.

The table on the left still seems longer and the guy on the right still seems bigger. You already know the truth but you're still wrong. And we're not talking about making the difference between the smell of coriander and the smell of cumin here. We're talking about your God damn eyesight; the sense you trust and rely on the most!

So, your eyes are both easily tricked and uncapable to learn. What does this tell us about the human nature? Our comprehension fails.

Harness the Power of Data

Is your strength training program making progress? How about your weight loss? Are you losing bodyfat or muscle? Are you eating too many calories?

What about the illustrations above: visual was clearly unreliable, so you did a double-check, right? You measured by metrics.

What I'm saying here is; collect data and use it. Track your progress to judge if your methods are working or not. Your vibe about something is not enough and in most cases, it's just plain wrong. Measure your bodyfat%, weight yourself, write down your gym results... Just measure something. Anything is better than nothing. There are countless amount of options.

You see, numbers are like hips; they never lie.

How to Walk the Talk: Keep Your Goals to Yourself

There are a lot of people, who constantly make a big fuss about their goals. They might be on a mission to quit smoking, lose weight or gain muscle or whatever they are into at the moment. If you are not one of them, you most certainly know some of them.

I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that!

And what happens? They never get shit done. Well technically, they do get started with a massive amount of enthusiasm but never actually finish anything. What they probably should've done, is keep their mouth shut. Let me explain.

Talking or Doing?

It's a good thing to tell people about your goals and intentions, isn't it? Apparently not. Some studies have been made and some books have been written about the subject. To cut the story short: telling someone your goals makes them less likely to happen.

Human brain isn't always very clever. Seemingly, it often can't make a difference between talking and doing. Telling someone your goal and getting aknowledged of that tricks your brain to think, that it's already been done. Because of that feeling of satisfation, you end up less motivated to actually do the dirty work.

Your brain is after the reward and it doesn't really mind, whether it comes from actually walking the walk or just talking the talk.

So, keep your goals to yourself and just do the work.

For more information, see a 3 minute TED Talk by Derek Shivers titled Keep Your Goals to Yourself.

How People Around You Shape You

A pic of the awesome poster made by Hannu Saarinen.

Earlier today I was sparring submission wrestling with a friend. To me that meant a full hour of proper ass whooping. My poor performance kind of pissed me off, but after a while I ended up thinking about something that's been rolling in my head for a while now.

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

Above is a quote from Jim Rohn.

If you want to grow and move forward, it's crucial to have inspiring and skilled people around you.

Are the people you spend time with the people you admire? Do you spend time with people who bring you down or people who enable you to take the next step?

Quoting Steven Winterburn.

Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.

In sports, moving to the next level often means getting your ass kicked every now and then, but so be it. Let it elevate you.

Resonate With People With Traits You Aspire To Have

Meet Patrik, a friend of mine who I first met few months ago. Soon after, he started to pay attention to his eating habits a bit more and go to gym with me. In three months he dropped over 28 lbs (13 kg) of body fat and got a whole lot stronger. Sadly we didn't take proper before/after -pictures so you'll just have to settle for these. Click to see a larger version.

Patrik's 3 Month Transformation.

Lesson of the Day: If you want to be fit, start hanging out with fit people. If you want to be smart, start hanging out with smart people. If you want to be a great cook, start hanging out with great cooks. You get the idea.

Oh, and just in case, if you start hanging out with people with shaved heads, you just might end up shaving your own one day. You've been warned!