I remember racing down the escalator at Macy's at the Cape Cod Mall.

My mother, as she calmly rode up the escalator like an ordinary person, would say that I would hurt myself (possibly), that I was making a scene (correctly), or that I was disturbing people trying to go down the stairs (this is also true).

Sometimes I would reach the top exhausted and out of breath, and at the same moment my mother would arrive, laughing at how hard I had to work.

Spend enough time at the airport (or traveling with small children) and within minutes you'll see children trying to run into a People Mover traveling in the opposite direction. Tiredness for them, entertainment for us.

See where I'm going with this?

My friend Mark Manson posted the following ​his newsletter​ this week:

“All the drive, persistence and motivation in the world won't do you any good if you're working on the wrong thing. In fact, it will be the opposite.”

Which brings me to today's question...

Where do you run UP and DOWN on escalators?

I remember talking to Coach Matt from Team NF about this earlier this year ​coaching clients​ who succeed and who struggle.

• Those who achieved success: they identify the escalator moving in the right direction and work hard to get to it. Each step actually increases their efforts.
• Those who fight: they continue to devote their energy, willpower, and effort to changes that don't move the needle.

I bet you've had moments where you wondered if all that effort was REALLY worth it or why progress seemed harder than usual.

Here are some examples of trying to run down an escalator:

• Spending a lot of money on expensive supplements (e.g.NO prescribed by a doctor).
• Switch to organic, gluten-free or keto-based low-carb snacks only in the latest trend.
• Trying complicated diets that don't do this Actually reduce the amount of food you eat.
• Doing exercises you hate only for weight loss reasons.

Running (and anything else considered cardio) is Great for heart and lung health. But running and cardio do ​much less effective for weight loss​ than we think (unless we ALSO adjust our eating strategy).

I'm guessing you want to look more "toned," which means you don't want to just "lose weight," but rather keep the muscle you have and get rid of the fat.

If these are our goals, focusing on the right escalator is key.

Here are some examples of climbing escalators:

Show me someone who eats mostly protein, fruits and vegetables, and strength training (progressive overload) for 30 minutes a few times a week, and I'll show you someone who moves UP the right escalator.

Here's the thing: ​people are not programmed to love exercise​. We are also not designed to thrive in a world where high-calorie, nutrient-free, delicious foods are always available.

This means that we are going to spend precious brain power and energy on action something, we might as well choose the right things to fool ourselves into.

Yes, there's the whole "life vs. behavior" element to it too (which I wrote about in a previous newsletter). ​Manageable vs. Sensible​). However, "how quickly do I want to implement these significant steps" is a much better question than "Why am I not making progress despite... do you work so hard?”

Get off the wrong escalator and get on the right one.

Might as well put that effort to good use!

-Steve

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