何かを続けるにはどうすればいいのかというお話/story about continuation
English follows after Japanese[Japanese](背景)Ohne Hast, aber ohne Rast (急がずに、だが休まずに) - ゲーテ宇宙飛行士、考古学者、スポーツ選手、画家、医者、歌手、、情熱を求めて努力を継続した人は沢山いて、彼らが自分の目標を追い続けたように自分も何かを続けて結果を残せればかっこいいな、そうなりたい！と思うことがある。って言っても人生はフェアではないというのは重々承知。9000m級の山頂がゴールだとして、生まれたスタート地点がもう既に山頂まで数mの人と、谷底9000mまで様々(悪気はありません)。というか生まれたらゴールライン超えてたわって人もいそう。能力もそう、たまに知能には差がないから頑張ればいいという主張も見かけるけど、一般の軽自動車がランボルギーニに速さで勝てないように、知能にも絶対差があるというのが自分の考え方 (もちろん絶対に追いつけないとは言わないし、追い越すこともできると思う。人生は長距離レースだから、ランボルギーニが休んでる間に軽自動車が距離を稼げばいい)正直俺は昔から何も続かない人間だった。今も本質は変わってないと思う。気を抜くとさぼりだす。サッカーを始めれば走るのしんどいからさぼり、剣道は防具が熱いから嫌だといい、新しい参考書だったら続けられる気になって買ってくるが、それも最初の20Pで難しくなったらすぐ飽きる。社会人になってから始めたジム通いも3ヵ月もたなかった。そんな自分も最近2年くらい筋トレ(自宅)とランニング(軽め)を継続していて、継続って結局どうやったらできるのか?を考えてみた、今回はそんなお話。（結論)たまに本や記事を読んでて結論どこやねん！って思うことが多々あるから長くなる前に結論からいうと、「スモールステップ」を取っていくことが大事だと感じている。それも超スモールステップ。筋トレでいうと、10回 3セット続かないなら、5回 3セットでいいし、それも続かないなら極端に1回 3セットでもいい。毎日続ける必要もない。週3無理なら週1で。意味ないじゃん、と思うかもしれないし、最初はあまり効果は見込めない。だが、習慣化することが大事なので、習慣化には意味がある。意味ないから10回 3セット、週3回くらいはしようと張り切ってもいいと思うけど、今まで挫折したことあるならおすすめしない。まずは習慣化を優先するのが大事。俺は10回 3セット 週3回くらいから始めた。けど筋トレの種類を増やしすぎて、次何やればいいんだっけ状態になり、何か面倒になってきて挫折しかけた。そこで漫画読んでて、ワンパンマンチャレンジから着想を得た。腕立て伏せ100回、上体起こし100回、スクワット100回、ランニング10kmを毎日やる！ってやつ。勿論100回はできないので10回くらいとランニング抜き、週3回で。継続のためにはハードルを極端に下げることが必要だと感じた。ちなみに今は腕立て伏せ57回、上体起こし47回、スクワット37回を3セットで行っている。(後書き)朝の満員電車や駅の混雑を見てて、年配の男性、女性、老若男女が早起きして毎日会社行っててすごいなと思う。特に年配の方を見ると、これを40年近く続けて来たんだな、、、と考えるとそれだけで畏敬の念を感じざるを得ない。この世界は能力の高い人々が作ってきた世界で、標準装備の自分には少々敷居が高い。今でこそ週４勤務が取りざたされているが、先人の方々にもっと楽な世界を作ってほしかった。。もちろんそうすると今までの発展なくなるけどいいの?、、っていう意見もあるだろう。だが最後に俺は声を大にして言いたい、、「全員がランボルギーニちゃうんやで！」[English](Background)Do not hurry, do not rest. - GoetheThere are many people who have pursued their passions — astronauts, archaeologists, athletes, painters, doctors, singers, and more. Sometimes I think it would be amazing if I could set some goals, work towards them, and see results, becoming one of them. However, I deeply understand that life isn’t fair. Imagine a 9,000-meter-high summit as a goal. Some people are just a few meters away from reaching it, while others start at the bottom of a 9,000-meter valley. There are even those who are born across the finish line. The same can be said for our abilities.There are claims that we should hustle because there isn’t much difference in intelligence among people, but my view is this: regular vehicles will never outrun a Lamborghini in terms of speed. (Of course, I’m not saying that ordinary vehicles can never catch up with a Lamborghini, or that they can't overtake it. In fact, they can pull ahead aslife is a long-distance race.)To be honest, I’m the type of person who hadnever been able to stick with anything. I believe my personality hasn’t changed even now. If I lose focus, I tend to slack off. When I started playing soccer, I ended up slacking off because running felt too tough. I didn’t enjoy kendo because the protective gear was too hot and uncomfortable. New textbooks would give me a temporary boost of confidence to study, but by the time I reached the twentieth page, I’d get bored. It didn’t take more than three months before I quit the gym I joined after graduation.Even someone like me has managed to stick with muscle training (at home) and light running for about two years now. So, I’ve been thinking about what it really takes to maintain consistency. This is the story I want to share.(Conclusion)Books and articles often make me think, "Where's the conclusion?!" So, to cut to the chase: the key is to take "small steps," or rather, "very small steps."When it comes to muscle training, if you can’t do 3 sets of 10 reps, then start with 3 sets of 5 reps, or even just 3 sets of 1 rep. You don’t need to do it every day. If you can’t manage 3 times a week, then once a week is perfectly fine. Some people might feel this is pointless. You might think, "What's the point?" and at first, you probably won't see much of an effect.But the key here is establishing a routine. Your actions, no matter how small, are meaningful because they help form a habit. I think it's fine to be ambitious and aim for 10 reps, 3 sets, about 3 times a week, but if you’ve failed in the past, I wouldn’t recommend starting there. Habit formation is the most important thing to focus on first.I started with 10 reps, 3 sets, about 3 times a week. But I ended up adding too many different exercises, and I got to a point where I didn't even know what to do next (i.e. I forgot my excercise routine), which made me lose motivation and almost give up. Then, while reading a manga, I got the idea from the One Punch Man Challenge. It's the one where you do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and run 10km every day (Very simple, you never forget)! Of course, I couldn't do 100 reps, so I scaled it down to about 10 reps, and I left out the running, doing it 3 times a week. I realized that to maintain consistency, I needed to drastically lower the bar. By the way, now I do 57 push-ups, 47 sit-ups, and 37 squats, 3 sets each.(Afterward)When I see the crowded morning trains and the hustle at the station, I’m impressed by how both older men and women, young and old alike, wake up early every day and go to work. Especially when I see elderly people, I can’t help but think, 'They’ve been doing this for nearly 40 years...' and just that alone makes me feel a sense of awe. This world has been built by people with high abilities, and for someone like me, who's just the 'standard issue,' it feels a bit daunting. Now, the idea of a four-day workweek is being discussed, but I kind of wish our predecessors had created an easier world. Of course, some might argue that if that happened, all the progress we’ve made would be lost, but... Well, in the end, I just want to say loudly: 'Not everyone’s a Lamborghini!'
