Underload

The desire to continuously improve is what holds many of us back. There is an innate part of us that asks, if the goal is to continuously improve what is the point of improving. The message we are telling ourselves is that however much effort we put in, however much improvement we make, we will never improve on our currently level of dissatisfaction.

Another part of us asks, can I not do this simply for the enjoyment of doing it. People in England (and maybe the West in general) have a wonderful, uncanny ability to sap the pleasure out of everything, even pleasure. We overload on the pleasurable until it becomes anything but.

I don’t know, maybe Capitalism has something to do with it, with it’s continual need for growth.

Overloading is stressful, tiring and dispiriting to most. You beat yourself up when you plateau, even though plateauing is continuing forward at a steady pace. The desire to always push for Personal Bests, to lift heavier weights, to be more productive becomes draining at some point.

Underloading is beautiful. Underloading is the idea of regularly doing far less than you are capable of. Underloading reminds us how far we have come as we easily lift the lighter weights that just a year ago were at our limit. It’s amazing how quickly we reset our expectations and get disappointed when we don’t meet our new expectations even though they far exceed our previous ones.

Underloading takes stress off our minds and bodies.

Underloading stops us from quitting.

Underloading when combined with overloading gives us the variety to which our physiology best responds.

Ultimately underloading makes progress easier than you ever imagined.