On a Roll

I've had this ongoing theory for a long time. I know right? Me having a theory? Crazy talk..

Anyway, I truly believe that life works in spans of being on a roll (or streaks if you will). Any activity or habit in life can come as a streak or roll very quickly. It's kind of like that snowball effect that everyone talks about, where it gathers more snow and velocity the further it rolls down the hill. If I get in the habit of not spending a lot of money for a week, it becomes harder for me to just spend money on whatever I want (believe me, this is coming from one cheapo to the next). Take something like working out. You ask anyone who has ever had a work out routine, and they'll tell you that it was easier and easier to work out the more that they did it. In fact, most people find that once they get into a workout routine, it becomes harder or makes them feel worse to miss a workout.

This week I've been trying to become more active and goto the gym more often. Coming up to today, I had worked out for the last 2 previous days. And even though I didn't have the time or motivation to do a workout tonight, I couldn't let myself break my streak. So I started my workout at 12:15 in the morning, when I'd usually goto bed. Also if I'm start spending money on all of my wants that aren't necessarily needs, I can justify just about anything in my mind shortly thereafter. (right Clarence?)

The tricky part about being on a roll is that it can also work the other way around: bad habits also come in streaks. The chain of drugs or alcohol abuse becomes a harder thing to break the further you get into it. It eventually becomes something that you goto without even thinking about it, and then you've got a real problem. Like tonight, if I had been on a lazy streak, there would have been no way in hell that I would keep myself up just to do a workout. The good news about it all is that if you're aware about a slump that you've hit, it's easy to break out of it with determination. They say that it only takes 21 days to break an addiction (they being Google that is :P ).

I think the secret to it all is self-reflection. The most successful people in the world always stress the importance of setting goals. Although I've never been one to really follow this, I can see the validity of goals and the purpose behind it. Goals make you look at where you want to be versus where you are, while giving you a finite time to achieve that.

And of course in the end it's all about balance. Too much of anything is a bad thing (including working out), because another aspect suffers eventually. Everyone has a different sense of priorities in life and therefore different sense of balance, so I can't say too much about this. I will though reference one of the most interesting textbooks that I've ever had the pleasure to read for a post-secondary course. The following is a description of a system archetype that occurs in business and in real life. Its from the book "The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization" by Peter M. Senge (man, 5 yrs in post-secondary and I still don't know how to properly cite my references :S):

Success to the Successful

Description: Two activities compete for limited support or resources. The more successful one becomes, the more support it gains, thereby starving the other.

Business example: A manager has two proteges that he wishes to bring along equally into the firm. However, one of the two ends up getting preferred treatment over the other who is out sick for a week. When the 2nd protege returns, the manager feels guilty and avoids the person, thereby giving still more opportunity to the 1st protege. The 1st protege feels the approval, flourishes and therefore gets more opportunity. The 2nd protege feels insecure, does less effective work, thereby receiving less opportunities, although the two had equal ability in the beginning. Eventually the second protege leaves the firm.

Other example: Trying to balance home and work life, a worker gets caught working overtime so much that relationships at home deteriorate and it gets more and more 'painful' to go home, making it more likely for the worker to neglect home life in the future.