Commitment, Inertia, Habit, and Addiction

Getting ready to end one year and begin a new one seems like a good time to consider the concepts of commitment, inertia, habit, and addiction. Only one of these is an active choice. The other three are different versions of “but we’ve always done it that way,” which can be good or bad.

This is a useful distinction in so many areas of life, from career to marriage, wellness to cultural change. For a common starting point, here are my working definitions (the limited perspective I am using for this moment for these words).

Commitment:  A solemn, binding promise to yourself to do (or not do) something you have an emotional or intellectual investment in.
Inertia:  the tendency of a body in motion to continue that motion, and resist any change.
Habit:  A recurrent, often unconscious, pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition.
Addiction:  Physical or psychological dependence on a substance or activity.

We need one more limited definition to make this one-sided conversation work. A goal is the purpose toward which effort is directed. A commitment requires a goal. Addiction requires you to think, believe, or feel something terrible will happen if you don’t comply with your addiction; that’s not the same as a goal. Habit can go both ways, serving a goal when commitment has a weak moment or putting obstacles in the path of new commitment. Inertia manifests most often as resistance to new commitments. Commitment must be stronger than inertia for change to occur.

Let’s use wellness as an example. Let’s say you want to do some or all of the following in 2015.

• Lose weight
• Firm up what is left
• Sleep more or better
• Have your doctor say "good job!" after your check-up
• Train for and finish a race or other physical event (running, swimming, biking, dancing...)
• Eat to support the choices listed above and improve your overall health

Commitment to your goal is where you start. Be clear about your goal in order to choose the best steps to achieve it. In choosing your steps, try to include some that can become habits through repetition, e.g., always go to Saturday morning dance workout or always eat a salad for lunch on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Don’t try to change everything at once, or inertia (resistance to change) increases. (Think of Dr. Suess and the oobleck — if you poke it fast it seems like a solid, but if you poke it slow it is soft and pliable.) Once the first couple steps have turned into habits, add the next.

At the extreme, if the activity becomes more important to you than the goal, take a moment to consider it. Is the activity still serving the goal? Is it becoming an obstacle to reaching the goal? Is it impacting other areas of your life negatively? This is where some people talk about “exercise addiction,” when the amount and/or kind of exercise you do starts to have negative effects in your life.

Now let’s make this all about me. I began taking rebound classes in Kangoo Jumps boots because they are a fun cardio workout. I kept going because I was getting better at it. (I do love learning and improving at a new skill.) And…um…the endorphins from jumping were amazing to me.  I became an instructor for three reasons: to share the fun, to share the endorphin rush, and to design a class that allowed more people to have access to the first two. Then came the setbacks: snow shoveling muscle injury, arthritis, and high room rents. Teaching class remained a commitment, but taking class became part habit and part addiction (got to have those endorphins!). That was not a bad thing until taking class became an obstacle to teaching class (inertia to be overcome). From now on, I want to be more in tune with the commitment and more aware of when and how habit, addiction, and inertia interact with that.

Viewed from the perspective of commitment / inertia / habit / addiction, where are you getting in your own way and how will you change that? Let me know how that goes in 2015.

Canceling Class, or Optimism vs. Insurance

First, the outdoor class in Lorton, Virginia, is canceled for this morning, October 11. So stay in the warm and dry location you are in while reading this. Maybe get another cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa, or maybe even go back to bed.

Here's the situation. The radar says we might be clear or in misty rain by then, but the rain will be recent enough that the ground will be wet and there might be puddles, even on a flat or barely sloped parking lot. Insurance companies are not fond of their clients taking risks that do not need to be taken, and jumping in the rain might be that kind of situation. (Might be?)

If you are reading this in Northern Virginia, keep your eyes open for indoor locations that could work for a fitness class using Kangoo Jumps rebound boots, and let me know about them. Winter is coming, and outdoor jumping in very cold weather has to stress the boot materials more, so I won't do it. (Yeah, I don't jump outside when it's too cold to breathe anyway.) The high ceiling is the hardest part to find. When you put a six foot tall person in boots, and they jump two feet off the ground, that adds up to needing at least a nine foot ceiling. A twenty by thirty foot room will work for a small class, and larger allows for more variety of moves or more people. Observe and let me know what you find so we can all jump this winter.

Thanks, and stay safe and warm this holiday weekend!
Loraine

Recertified and Ready to Rock

Some days things just fall into place. For example, my recertification for another two years as a group fitness instructor came today from AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America). I needed that in order to renew my fitness instructor liability insurance, which is due very soon. I needed both of those to continue offering rebound fitness classes using Kangoo Jumps boots to public school employees as a "staff wellness" class the rest of fall and early winter. The timing is working nicely for all this.

It's been a good couple weeks for finding the balance between the business side and the creative side of teaching KJ rebound fitness. I introduced the choreography for four new songs to my students, and they got almost all of it on the first try. I helped a friend find a solution to a boot that couldn't be repaired (and now it IS repaired). That's the creative side. I decided to reorder pink t-shirts and pink hoodies with "Loraine Says JUMP" on them to offer to other people, not just wear them myself like I did the first order. I learned how to offer them in the Square Market (mkt.com/LoraineSaysJUMP). I learned how to invoice students for classes using my Square account. And I started researching locations again, because it won't be that long before it's too cold to jump on my deck for several months.

I've also been in touch online with other instructors licensed by Kangoo Jumps, having conversations where we learn from each other. Not every idea transfers from one situation to another, but sometimes one of us writes something that sparks a new approach for the other. I am sure that's going to be one of the best parts of the Kangoo Jumps Festival in Fort Lauderdale in Florida in October, that exchange of ideas and energy between instructors. I won't be there (other commitments), but everyone is welcome to attend the actual Festival Day on Sunday, October 12. For more details, go to  www.kjfestival.com.

(OK, so I have been sitting here trying to come up with a suitable conclusion for this post for way too long. I am officially giving up and going to get some sleep, in the hopes of accomplishing a lot more tomorrow. Now that I am recertified, I want to be rested and ready to rock!)

There is no book, just watch the video

I look at other instructors' Kangoo Jumps® routines on Facebook, and tell myself that I should post one too. Especially since I have an adult child with a degree featuring video production. So I finally arranged for one of my classes to be videotaped. Then we had so much fun watching some of the raw footage at the wrong speed (trying to locate specific actions), that I decided to post the hyper-speed version instead of something "normal."

This represents my class pretty well because, while I do take my students' safety and fitness as my priority, I don't tend to take myself seriously while doing that. This form of fitness is pure fun to be part of, and I think that shows in the video. I wanted to attach the video link in this blog post, but I don't have time to write the blog AND figure out how to attach a video I only "have" online.

Here's the compromise. Use your favorite search engine to find "Loraine Says JUMP" on Facebook, and look for the video I put there yesterday. (This movie has no laugh track, and you have to bring your own popcorn. Upside: it's short at this speed.)

No Motivation? Start Here!

Wow. It's been two months since I've written here. I wish I could say I've been crazy busy, but no such luck. I have not felt like I had anything to say that someone else needed to read, no new thoughts to share. I was not motivated to write.

I was motivated to cut my lawn and trim my garden, to cut down on the tick habitat. I was motivated to teach my Kangoo Jumps® classes, for the feeling it gives me, and to pay off the dozen pairs of boots, and for the great people who take the classes. I was motivated to take my KJ license to the next level by going through the new process to be listed on the international web site's database of instructors, partly so I would be required to use the ™ and ® with the words "Kangoo Jumps" more often. (Oh, really, that motivates you? Not.) The point is, I accomplished some things because I felt motivated to do them.

I was not very motivated about the following tasks, but kept doing them regularly anyway.

• Taking out the trash
• Taking out the recycling
• Doing the laundry
• Buying groceries for the family
• (Minimally) cleaning the house
• Feeding the cat and cleaning up after his old, incontinent self

In other words, a lot got done without noticeable motivation too. Which leads me to a quote from a personal trainer in Massachusetts, Kelley Coffey. On her Facebook page (Strong Coffey Personal Training), she recently posted this.

          The moment you accept that motivation isn't required to
          take action, the biggest obstacle to making a start falls away.

This is brilliant. It also got absolutely no "likes" on Facebook when I "shared" it to my own page. It's that powerful that no one wants to even admit they saw it. You totally lose "I'm not feeling motivated" as an excuse when you acknowledge that sometimes you have to do what you know will work whether you "feel" motivated or not. Sometimes you want the result but don't "feel" motivated to do what it takes to get there (e.g., I want a house NOT full of trash, so I take out the trash). The emotion of motivation is not required for action to begin. You do not need to wait to "feel" motivated in order to do something. I am guessing you probably can't make a total lifestyle change all at once based on this model, but you can get the incremental steps in gear to eventually get you there.

This model works especially well for people who are depressed, because not feeling motivation for much of anything is one of the hallmarks of depression. You know intellectually that taking a 15 minute walk once or twice a day (outdoors if possible) will improve your mood temporarily, so go do it. After a week of doing it even when you are not motivated, you may begin to look forward to it. Voila! Motivation!

Really, I just needed to write all this so I could say it to myself, because I have been guilty of waiting to "feel" motivated lately on some major projects. If what I've said helps someone else reading this, that's even better. Now let's go start something.

Bring the Sunscreen! We're Jumping Outdoors!

Break out the sunscreen! Take the allergy medicine (or your non-medical alternative for allergies, Amy)! Bring your long socks and let's get a jump on summer!

If you are a dedicated Kangoo jumper, or simply KJ-curious (what is this Kangoo you keep babbling about?), come out to the Lorton Workhouse on June 1st at 9 am to jump with us or just watch and see what this fabulously fun form of fitness is all about. You will find us in a parking lot behind Building 11, home of the Art of Movement.

If you are renting boots, contact information is in the flyer, and you MUST reserve boots your size. Come a few minutes before 9 am to get fitted and do obligatory paperwork.

If you own your own boots, I don't have to tell you how much fun this will be; you already know. You still need to fill out paperwork if you have never jumped in one of my classes before. (If you are just watching, no need for paperwork. We're reasonable like that.)

Questions? Just ask.

Visit a Library

Let me just say up front, this post is not about Kangoo Jumps, in any way at all. Sometimes Loraine Says something besides JUMP! Today Loraine Says visit a library!

I love libraries. They are one of the few things that were always there for me, no matter what else was going on in my life. Not only do I recommend taking your children there, or your nieces and nephews, or anyone else you know, I also recommend going by yourself so you can take your time and savor the experience.

My first memory of being in a library is from kindergarten. There was a library in the basement of the elementary school I was attending. Actually, since it was on a hillside, the front doors were ground level but the other three sides were windowless and underground. I have a clear memory of checking out Dr. Suess books, and can picture myself carrying three out the door on a sunny day. Even at that young age, I knew this was a special place I would want to remember.

By the time my younger sisters were in school also, we had moved up to the public library, and needed a ride to get there. Around the age of eleven, I remember looking through a thick, non-fiction book about child development, trying to figure out if I was normal or not. (I can hear my sweet readers now, wondering if I have figured that out yet or not. No, I have not.)

The year I turned twelve, we moved to a much smaller town. While they did have a public library, it was not much bigger than a large living room in a house. I only remember bookshelves along the walls, not any free-standing shelving. While this was disappointing, they did still have a few things I could make use of. One bonus was that it was within walking distance of my house.

The library in my junior high-senior high school (as secondary schools were called then) was about four times the size of my town library. I think this is when I discovered science fiction, and probably read every sci-fi title they had. I learned later that both of my younger sisters worked in the school library a few hours a week after I graduated. Apparently love of a decent library is in our DNA.

About this time, a relative started buying Reader's Digest Condensed best sellers for our family, or maybe giving them to us used but looking still new. I read all of them too. I was probably the only teenager I knew who actually read Airport, The Agony and The Ecstasy, and other fiction that did not feature children.

The only library I remember from my years in the Air  Force was the USO library on the Navy base in Iceland. That helped keep me sane during a very strange and interesting year. They even took requests! If I gave them the information, they would try to arrange to borrow specific titles from other USO libraries, or try to buy them or get them donated.

When I left the Air Force to go to college, I started at a smaller "branch" campus of Penn State, in Allentown. The entire campus at that time was located in a former elementary school building. The library was about as big as two classrooms. Feeling nouveau riche with the GI bill funding my education, I could afford paperback science fiction on occasion. I still re-read some of these  books like visiting old friends. One of my classes was in the library as well, Rocks on TV (Geosystems). They did not have a teacher for the course at our small campus, so I watched videotapes and sat with a box of rocks in front of me.  Good times!

When I moved to the main campus of Penn State, I found the largest library I had ever seen, Pattee Library. I loved the entire ambience of being around that many books. In fact, I took part in a sit-in at midnight to protest closing the library at midnight. I guess this makes me a true geek, that my only college protest was to keep the library open longer.

After grad school, I had a job and moved from libraries to bookstores to feed my need to read. It was not until I was married with children that I came back to public libraries big time. I found I could bring my three little ones to the library and they would entertain themselves quietly, and leave happily clutching as many books as they could each carry. (That was the rule, you can have as many as you can carry by yourself.) We returned every week or two for more, and more, and more. As they got older, two of them worked in the public library part-time, and volunteered with the library's teen group that performed summer theater for younger children.

Now that my children are all over 21, I still go to the library for many reasons. Sometimes I want a specific title I've read about. Sometimes I need a variety of information on a particular topic. Sometimes I like to find the right area, then browse for books I would not find any other way except proximity to a topic. Sometimes I need an escape (both the fiction AND the time alone in the library). Most of the time I could find the book in a bookstore, but frankly I don't need to keep the book, I need what's IN the book. I do not enjoy reading a screen, and would much prefer to array myself strangely across a chair or couch and hold a book in my hand. Or sit out on the deck. Or read in a waiting room or in line. I just prefer books.

I think I have been to the Library of Congress, but they don't really let most people just wander around among their books, so it was not much fun. When we were looking at colleges, the most impressive thing the tour guide at the University of Virginia said to us was that they are considered the back up library to the Library of Congress, and you can walk through the multiple buildings of their library freely (mostly).

OK, here is the bottom line. Use libraries for whatever resources they offer, because if we don't, someone will think we don't need them and start decreasing their funding, their staffing, their holdings, their resources, and—ultimately—the good they can do you and everyone else.