Structure

In our previous article, we talked about the benefits of consistency, and how it relates to positive results. Today, we take a step back and talk about something that needs to precede consistency. We dissect a foundational step we all take when we firm up (or don’t) our goals.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, all the way back to our school days. Depending on who you ask, the school time was the best or the worst time of their lives. Getting up at the same time everyday, going to school, meeting friends, getting beat up by the principal (No? Was it just me?), well you get it.

More often than not, I have seen people talk about fondness for after school time as well. For me, it was watching Pokemon at 5 PM, and immediately as it ended, 5:30 was the rendezvous time for all us friends to play cricket outside.

We used to play till the sun went down and then some, focussing our eyes on the barely visible, green coloured tennis ball, at which point it was time to call it quits for the day and discuss how the games were. After this rich evening session, we used to disperse, to do it all over tomorow.

Now, why did we take this trip down memory lane? Do I hear nostalgia as a response? Well, not really, but nostalgia just happens to be a happy coincidence. The facet I want to draw attention towards is the structure we used to have during school days.

As we grow up, we get more and more control over our lives. Whether it is through a job or a business, we love to be complete incharges of our calendars. As a matter of fact, in the modern world, the primary goal for anyone who has reached a decent financial status is freedom to spend time.

Therefore, if you speak to any “fun loving” adult, you will get an idea of what true entropy means. No plans for the night whatsoever till the night actually arrives. And no memory of the night after the night is gone.

However, as much fun as it is, we can all agree that this kind of a lifestyle doesn’t yield a lot of health benefits.

It is interesting to think that children, who have the most entropy amongst all walks of life, are so good at following (and enjoying) structure. However, if you ask any school going child, most of their primary thought is to “enjoy” entropy. As adults, the structure deteriorates and we get to live every child’s dream.

There are two questions that stem from this. The first one is obvious: is structure actually enjoyable? And the second one is, how are children so much better at enjoying structure, while as sensible adults, we have such a hard time to enjoy the same thing over and over again.

Let’s take both these questions one at a time.

Is structure actually enjoyable?

From our conversation so far, it is an intuitive conclusion that structure might actually be enjoyable. Well it turns out, it is not only true, it has great upside. The human brain loves structure, and consequently, following a structured approach to your day can lead to a great deal of enjoyment.

As for the upside, we all know about a number of rampant lifestyle diseases that the world is facing today. All lifestyle diseases occur due to a consistently bad lifestyle. Following a consistently good lifestyle has shown to even reverse most lifestyle diseases.

Does this all sound too daunting? Well, let me ease your mind. An interesting insight is that the structure is a subjective construct, and you are free to follow any structure that you deem right and aligns with your goals, which conveniently brings me to our second question (or a paraphrase of it).

As a fun-loving person, how can I enjoy structure?

Well, there are two things I want to bring attention to again.

Structure emerges from chaos.

Unless you are sick of the entropy and chaos around you, you would not find following a structure enjoyable whatsoever.

Now, let’s say I’ve grown sick of chaos. How do I achieve structure, which I can eventually find enjoyable?

Here comes the second point.

Creating structure is easier when we turn our arbitrary “visions” into simple, achievable goals.

Here’s what I mean. Let’s say you have grown sick of eating crap everyday because of which you have put on some unwanted weight. The first thought you’ll have is “man, I need to lose weight”. That is an arbitrary vision. Structure stems in goals.

So when the “lose weight” turns into “drop 10 kgs of body fat”, you’ll not only start to see a structure emerge, but also enjoy the process of doing it, well, for the most part.

If you stuck around this far, thank you for your time. If you enjoyed this, share this with one friend of yours whom you think will benefit from reading this. Thanks for reading, and I will see you in the next one. 🙂