This entry is about the week from the 12th of April to the 18th of April.
What?
I have failed miserably. I really have (at least for this one week). For those of you who have been following the blog, here is the truth. I have not taken to using a journal of any kind; as a matter of fact I have not even been running. Actually, to be fair, I ran at least once - on Thursday the 16th and in total, roughly 5 miles were completed. It follows then, that four out of the five workouts were skipped. In terms of delivering reinforcement/punishment I failed to abide by the rules of the program. As a negative reinforcer, stress did not seem to be a motivating factor since I dealt with it perfectly and managed not to go insane. As a positive reinforcer, the runner’s high could not lure me into repeating the behavior, running. In fact, as the week passed I found myself sitting in a desk, in the living room, in the classroom, in the library… constantly trying to summon the will to run. But I couldn’t do it. Perhaps the program is an utter failure or it may be that I no longer enjoy running. This is a scary thought, at least to me it is.
Why?
One of the reasons the plan has failed so far is obvious to me, and to Winston I would say, and to any one who loves the Daily Show. (“30 million…it’s a logistical nightmare” – John Oliver). Yes, impulse has taken over reason. I should also mention that I watched all the episodes broadcasted during the week, all FOUR of them ...without any consequences! Thus, relying entirely on a journal as a means to administer punishment was a complete disaster. I definitely need to come up with something better. There are other reasons why the program failed. The mere fact that I have been trying to do it alone, for instance, might explain the lack in progress. A third reason is the amount of schoolwork I’ve been working on. Most of you would agree that this class by itself is a huge load…and then some among us have an urge to read about other things just for the sake…of…learning, no names need be mentioned (Phylicia, Mehwish, Bethany and others…? right?...etc.). Overall, it is inconclusive but I think lack of exercise has led to procrastination, even though this should be an incentive to run. I’ve noticed there is this trend = Rate of exercise goes down, procrastination goes up. Hmm... At least I only delayed posting by one day.
Hmmm….
So, the program failed during the week (12 April to 18 April). This current week, which began on Sunday 19 April, has been steady so far, but I will report this in next week’s entry. Having said that, I do plan to make some adjustments to the program, pull some levers here and there to prevent a downturn in exercise from happening again. I will at least try to do the same amount for every week that remains and see what comes of it.
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4 comments:
Let's run. =]
Aww the beginning of that blog was so sad!! (failed miserably) At least you got one good run in. Hmm, maybe you can alternate each day you decide to run. Instead of just trying to go for runners high just start off by trying to go for a mile or two one day, then three or four the next day, then go back to one or two. If not that then run for an hour or something. :[ I hope you didn't lose the love of running; maybe the stress of college is just blocking it. I do think a running buddy would help a lot though. Having someone constantly nag you to get out and run with them should help. Another thing you can do is make a game out of it. ;] like lets see how much further or longer I can run today, to kind of test yourself. I hope the adjustments you plan to make go better for you.
Hi Jose, I think your failure is actually a sucsess, if that makes any sense. From what I read on this assignment, we are not supose to use will power of any kind. The punishments and reinforcers are supose to be the only tools. Meaning, if you did not run, then maybe your punishments and reinforcers are not strong enough. Think about it: the rat pushes the button and gets food. If he is really hungry, the reward of food is a pretty strong reinforcer for pushing the button. I think this means your reward should outweight the effort of running, and it would morelikely work if the reward is instant. This is the exact same problem I am having; I just can't think of a reward that I want more than my bad habit, or a punishment that is severe enough to make me quit. So, don't be hard on yourself. Maybe just try to think of better rewards. Good Luck. Lisa
Jose! You're your own worst critic. Look at it this way: You failed the first week, now you have the remainder of weeks to get back on course and change that behavior!
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