We’ve come a long way since the Stone Age—but our brains? Not so much, at least in one big way.
We’re still wired to detect threats and respond with the same chemical surge: fight, flight, or freeze.
That’s useful when we’re actually in danger. Less so when our nervous system is getting lit up all day by alarms, notifications, “urgent” messages, spam, meeting requests, and so on.
Everything’s flagged. Very little is truly urgent.
But your brain doesn’t know that. It just hears PING! and kicks into gear, sending out a little hormone cocktail to deal with whatever emergency it thinks is happening.
Only, there’s no emergency. You get wired, then tired—and then it happens again. And again.
End result? You’re WORN THE HELL down just from living your life and handling your business.
So what happens when you try to work out on top of that?
Well, in that context, your brain sees exercise as the last thing you should be doing. It’s not just unappealing—it feels unsafe. Another stressor in a 24/7 fire drill.
And that’s not a battle you’re going to win with motivation. Sure, you can white-knuckle a few workouts, maybe string together a solid stretch. But eventually your brain’s going to tap that motivation out.
It’s not you. It’s not weakness. It’s not because you’re lazy. It’s just biology doing its thing.
Next week, we’ll talk about how to win that battle. Good news? It’s not about brute force.
It’s about routines, small stacks, and even games.
…because your brain also really likes winning.