"Today is the day - I am going to change my diet, exercise and do the things I love".
A phrase that is easier said than done, I am sure we can all agree!
I am going to try and explain, from a thermodynamic point of view, why lifestyle change takes a lot of energy, and continual effort.
I am sure you have all heard the word thermodynamics, maybe you took some thermodynamics in college, or maybe you learned a little bit about it in high school. Here is a little refresher;
What are Thermodynamics?
Thermodynamics, simply put, is the relation between all forms of energy; chemical, mechanical, electrical etc.
It consists of three laws:
- Energy cannot be created or destroyed
- There is no such thing as a perfect system
- All systems, eventually move to zero, or nothingness
Let me just quickly elaborate on these laws:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed
That means the only way to give or receive energy, is that it must be transferred. Energy must come from somewhere - your food, coal, the sun, wind etc. It doesn't just appear from thin air!
There is no such thing as a perfect system
No matter how hard we try, we cannot insulate a system perfectly. Think of a thermos, even with all the insulation, eventually your coffee will get cold. It may take longer, but it is still inevitable. Let's zoom out from a thermos and look at a bigger system - your room - whenever you clean it, it will eventually get messy again until you clean it up.
All systems move toward zero
This is an eerie one, it basically says that the whole universe, is eventually moving to nothingness, where everything will cease to exist. This is referred to the cold death of the universe. Do not worry, it is a long, long way from here.
However this law sort of ties the first two laws together.
Lets say we consider the universe as one big system, energy within this system is constantly being transferred from one place to another, and some energy is being lost along the way. Why? Because the second law of thermodynamics states that there is no perfect system, and energy will always be lost. For example, your car engine, if it were a perfect system, would make no noise, and would generate no heat - it would simply cause your car to move. That means that no energy from your fuel is lost during its transfer. We all know that this is not the case! Energy is lost from the noise, and heat that it generates.
My next point is where I am trying to go with this article.
Lets go back to your room. If you clean your room, what are you actually doing? You are not just cleaning. You are giving your energy to the room. It takes energy to organize, sweep, dust, do the bed, do the laundry, etc. You get this energy from the world around you; your food, your outlets and many other places that we don't even think about!
Now that you have transferred your energy to the room, its energy level has increased! Hold on though, the second law of thermodynamics states that there is no perfect system, and the third law states that everything moves to zero.
This is exactly why, over time, your room will get messy if you do not use more energy to keep it clean.
Do you see where I am going with this?
With this knowledge in your tool kit, you can relate to everything in your life.
Relationships
It takes effort to maintain a relationship, if both parties do not give their energy to the relationship, it will inevitably lose its energy and move towards zero. This is why so many relationships fail. People become complacent, and they take things for granted, and do not continue to give their energy to the relationship.
Knowledge
We all know what it is like to learn something, and then forget it a while later. This is because if you do not occasionally take some time and effort to transfer some energy to this knowledge, it will obey the laws of the universe and move to zero.
Health
Humans aren't lazy, they are efficient. This efficiency is what causes "laziness". In our DNA exist things that tell us to conserve our energy, and consume as much energy as we can, because we don't know when our next opportunity will be! This is not the case in our society, because we have access to food almost 24/7. This is why obesity is rampant, people simply cannot fight their basic natural instincts, and they become addicted to all the wrong foods and portions.
If you begin a new health regime, it is hard. Eating healthy is hard. Why? Because your body craves quick and easy sources of energy - Sugar and carbohydrates - The napalm of energy for the body.
You start with a lot of motivation, going to the gym, eating lots of fruit and veggies, while staying away from processed foods and sugar. Sometimes, people continue, they break through their barriers, they achieve their goals, and all is fine and dandy. Unfortunately, most of the time this is not the case.
This is because people approach the problem in the wrong way. To improve your life, is not a chore that you have to do once in a while, it is a lifestyle change.
I will try and paint this in an easy to understand portrait.
Lets create a random person - Jimmy.
Jimmy is your average Joe - He works, eats, sees some family and friends.
Jimmy, like all of us must adhere to the laws of thermodynamics. He has recently decided he is going to take control of his life, and improve his health and his relationships.
Current Jimmy
He wakes up in the morning with 100 points of energy. Throughout the day, he must choose how he spends this energy. Lets say he uses his energy in the following ways:
- Work: 40 points
- Watching TV: 25 points
- Goes out for a drink: 15 points
- Social Media: 10 points
- Sleeps: 10 points (There is no perfect system and even in your sleep you lose energy)
Now Jimmy has to wait for the next day, for more points because he used them all!
Healthy Jimmy
If Jimmy wants to improve his health and his relationships, can we all agree that Jimmy needs to spend his energy in different ways? Everyone needs to work, well almost everyone I guess, so unfortunately 40 points go to work, it is up to Jimmy how he spends the remaining ones.
- Work: 40 points
- Exercise : 25 points
- Grocery shopping (healthy things): 15 points
- Cooking healthy meals: 10 points
- Sleep: 10 points
Obviously we can swap how many points go where, and what things he uses his points on, but I am just trying to say, we all only have so much energy and time in a day. We need to make conscious decisions every on how we spend this energy.
If you want to become more fit, then every day you need to give your energy to your cause.
If you want to improve your relationships, between maybe your spouse or your friends, then you need to give your energy to those relationships.
If you want to start a hobby, or continue a hobby you just haven't had time for, you need to give it your energy. You need to make time, even though it seems like it can be hard. You need to decide how and where you spend your energy.
So, here are some methods you can try for success when you are working towards a goal.
1. Allocate your energy
If getting fit takes 3000 points of energy, and you can give 15 points of energy to this cause per day. Then it will take 200 days to achieve this goal (15 points per day * 200 days = 3000 points)
2. Maintenance is a thing
Now that you have 3000 points of energy in fitness, but will slowly lose it - why? You know this now! The second and third laws of thermodynamics. Your fitness energy level will try and go to zero, as it obeys the laws of the universe. Now you need to maintain your fitness, by keeping it at 3000 points. This requires commitment, and the transfer of your energy every day. It requires maintenance! However since you are at 3000 points, maybe you don't need to give 15 points every day, maybe now you only need to give 5 points.
3. Work hard
Yes, this one is obvious but it is important. Now with your new knowledge of thermodynamics you know exactly why it is important. Humans want to conserve energy, and take the path of least resistance. Unfortunately most of the time, this path does not lead you to your goals. You need to consciously fight, every day, to stay on the path that will lead you where you want to be. You need to fight, because if you don't, you will lose steem (no pun intended ;) ) because that is just how the world works..
Hopefully, you can apply this knowledge to your life, and improve in the ways you want to.