"IF IT TASTES GOOD, SPIT IT OUT”

The title of this article, a quote from legendary fitness icon Jack Lalanne, is both a great strategy for ensuring longevity, fitness, strength and badassedness along with a testament to how we as a species aren’t designed to achieve physical greatness.  Humans, by their nature, are lazy, covetous and stupid, and as a result our approval over any practice or principle is of no worth.  In fact, it is quite possibly the opposite reality, in that the very fact we as a species find something agreeable is in actuality a testament to its lacking value.  Instinctively, we will be drawn toward those ideas that appeal to our inherently flawed nature, and in turn we will reject those ideas that are founded upon toil, work, effort, and thus, success.

Prove me wrong

We cannot trust out instincts when it comes to self-improvement, for we as a species are geared to survive, not thrive.  What this entails is that we pursue optimization, seeking the maximal results for the minimal amount of effort expended.  This, however, is a receipt for mediocrity, not greatness, for greatness necessitates inefficiency, suffering, agony and injury.  Becoming bigger and stronger is an affront to our very species and nature, and in turn requires us to deny our heritage in order to become something greater than ourselves.  The positive here is that, since we have figured out survival and no longer need to concern ourselves with our basic needs like shelter, food and security (at least, I assume you have done so if you are spending time reading this blog), it means we can afford the luxuries of suffering in order to become more than human.

However, market research indicates this guy makes up 80% of my readership

We must realize that which we consider “good” ideas most likely are the ones that will not result in success.  The very fact an idea has mass appeal indicates that it lacks value, for those ideas that become popular must in turn be those ideas that appeal to the majority of humanity and thus human nature’s desire for mediocrity.  In turn, I argue that even those ideas that are advocated by successful people may be lacking if they are found favorable among the general populace, and it is in fact those few ideas that people consider “crazy” or “wrong” from successful people that are the only ideas with any value.  We may even have a very effective metric here in gauging which ideas are of any worth by simply explaining all of one’s training principles to the population and seeing which ones are agreed as being “correct” and therefore the unsuccessful principles.  What is found favorable is most likely what is holding us back, for the general population fails at getting bigger and stronger when they pursue it, so clearly to emulate their methods and ideas will result in the same.

What’s bad is now good, and we must in turn seek out the bad ideas in order to progress past those following the good ones.  We must combat our instincts, understanding that those ideas we find undesirable speak towards their value, for these are the ideas that are undesirable toward a weak and lazy creature.  Through understanding the reality of existence, we realize that there are significantly more unsuccessful people than successful, and this indicates that those ideas not readily adopted by the greatest majority in turn bear the greatest chance of actually being successful.  The very fact we think an idea is wrong is the exact reason why we should pursue it.

For instance, we all come together as a people and considered THIS a good idea

Being different from the majority necessitates acting differently from the majority.  The reason why average is “average” is because being average is easy, and it is also why those who maintain the average are so unremarkable.  Those who are successful in any endeavor are not those individuals who simply maintained the status quo for the longest period of time, but were instead those that took radically unsafe risks and wildly deviated from the gameplan everyone else was following.

What’s bad is good, and vice versa.