You're More Like "The Dude" Than You Think...

 "Well that's just like your opinion, man" 

If you haven't seen the Big Lebowski, you are probably a bit confused right now. For those of you who have, and are familiar with Jeff Lebowski, you might have more in common with The Dude than you think. So how exactly does this relate to fitness and personal development?

One of the strategies I developed to help break bad habits and form new positive ones was to think of my mind and body like The Dude. The Dude does not like change. He loves his routine of taking it easy, sipping a white russian and firing up a joint in between his league bowling games with Walter and Donny. Life is good, life is predictable, and that's the way he likes it. 

Enter the carpet pissers. The carpet pissers are any new habit you try to instill on your body or mind. This could be a diet change, choosing to rise early, starting a new exercise routine, etc.  It could also be a bad habit you are trying to break. The point here is that you are rocking the boat and The Dude most certainly does not abide. 

On a physiological level, we are all programmed this way. It's called Homeostasis. The body inherently does not want to change. This is a survival mechanism resulting from thousands of years of human evolution. Your body does not naturally want to lose fat or gain muscle, it wants to stay the same. This is why transforming your body can be such a challenge.

The same thing applies to your mind. Adopting new thought processes, committing to daily meditation or affirmations, and consciously choosing to spin things positive over negative for the first few weeks is just like pissing on The Dude's rug.  And that rug really tied the room together. 

But don't be discouraged, because after all you can use The Dude to your advantage. Once you have committed yourself to making a change in these areas you will find after about 3 weeks that The Dude now abides the new routine. 

By thinking about it this way not only does it make it easier for me to adopt new habits and break bad ones, it adds an element of humor that helps keep me motivated to see things through to the end. 

Don't be afraid to piss on a few rugs as you work to improve yourself. Before you know it you will be sipping on a white russian of success with The Dude himself.  And I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that.