Aesthetics Last
what's your personal fitness goal?
At the risk of sounding very fitness-y, I want to ask you a question. But it has a twist.
You know how someone will ask you, “If you could do something for the rest of your life, money is no object, what would you do?”
It’s sort of a question like that.
By the way, the correct answer was laid out for everyone in Office Space:
My question for you is this:
If you could achieve any fitness goal you set out to do, BUT it could not be an aesthetic goal, what would that goal be?
Aestewhat?
An aesthetic goal is a goal that’s about your appearance, your attractiveness to other people, or what you see as your attractiveness, personally.
Your goal cannot be about how you look or are perceived.
Six pack abs? Aesthetic goal.
Able to do 100 sit-ups in a row without stopping? Fitness goal.
Why This Question?
Because A LOT of fitness goals are aesthetics-based, and that’s what causes a lot of people to give up.
Because you’re not going to look a whole lot different right away. And that’s frustrating and it sucks. When you’re not getting any closer to your goal, and the steps to get towards your goal are no fun, it feels pointless awfully quick.
Realism
Of course, you wouldn’t say this out loud, but in your head you still entertain the idea of looking like Fight Club Brad Pitt, or a dude from 300, or a fitness influencer from Instagram who is one of the 10 hottest babes of all time.
You’re not going to look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club. Brad Pitt from Fight Club is the only person who’s ever looked like Brad Pitt from Fight Club. He’s a famous movie star for a reason, and that reason is because, in Fight Club, he looks, well, the way he looks.
When you make a non-aesthetic goal, it’s a little easier to be realistic. You might have fantasies of running a really good marathon time, but you’re not picturing yourself winning the NYC Marathon. Well, okay, you picture it, but (and this is the key) you’re not disappointed when it doesn’t happen.
Hey, we’re all entitled to a fantasy here and there :)
Measurability
An aesthetic goal is sort of hard to measure, and the result is that you’ll never really get there.
“Looking really hot in a bikini” isn’t a fixed, objective goal. Really hot to who? What’s the difference between “pretty hot” and “really hot?” Yeah, there’s no answer to that, and that’s why aesthetic goals make for shitty goals.
And you’ll keep moving the finish line.
Maybe you’re 2 years in, and if someone snapped a picture of you and then messaged it to you in the past (using a TimePhone, I guess?), Past You might be like, “Rock on, that’s what I’m looking for!”
But the you in the future, the good-looking one, may or may not feel like they’ve arrived, like they’ve completed the goal. Because you could always be a little hotter, right?
A non-aesthetic goal is much easier to measure. Did you squat your goal weight or not? Did you finish a 5k in under an hour or not?
Course Correction
When you’re on the aesthetics train, and things aren’t working as you planned, what do you do? Do you change your exercise quantity? Intensity? Your diet? Do you switch from cardio to weights?
Ask ten different people and you’ll get ten different answers.
When you have a non-aesthetic goal, and you’re not hitting the mark, the path is clearer. The options are better. There’s a lot less shooting in the dark. Unless, I guess, your fitness goal is completing a night biathlon. In that case, shooting in the dark is sort of your thing.
So
Yeah, so.
The hypothetical from the first part of this newsletter really isn’t a hypothetical. I think you CAN achieve a fitness goal of your choosing, provided it’s even a little bit reasonable.
And I think you’ll be a lot happier with a non-aesthetic fitness goal.
Fitness Goal Examples
I want to finish a 5K.
I want to climb a 14er.
I want to be able to do one pull-up.
I have pain in a part of my body, and I want to reduce it.
I have an occasional work or life task, let’s say once a month, that leaves me feeling extremely, unpleasantly sore. I would like to do this task and not feel sore for a week afterward.
I don’t know how to swim, and I want to be okay if I were to fall into water.
I want to see The Grand Canyon, and for me, that means hiking down and back up. I want that to be enjoyable, not a task that takes me to the edge of my abilities.
I’ve enjoyed lifting weights in the past, and I’d like to feel confident using a weight room, that I’m performing the lifts correctly.
I’ve read about rucking, and that sounds kind of fun to me. I’d like to try it.
I find that I’m happier when I take a long walk during lunch, so I’d like to do that 3 times a week.
What You Walk Away With
When your goal isn’t aesthetic, you’ll walk away with something.
You wanted to be fit enough to backpack overnight? If you made your goal, even if it was ugly and unpleasant here and there, you did it, and you walk away having done a thing.
You wanted to learn how to swim? Maybe you look no different after learning how to swim, but now you did a thing, maybe a thing you didn’t think was possible for you.
You’ll leave your fitness goal having a new experience.
Aesthetics Last
I really believe, sincerely, that people who end up sticking with fitness activities do so because they aren’t as interested in aesthetics. That’s not the primary motivator.
If you’ve tried it all and it all sucks, give this a shot. Come up with a non-aesthetic fitness goal.
In fact, if you’re even courting a fitness goal in the back of your mind (“If I get in shape for this triathlon, I’ll look amazing!”) pick something else. Pick something you don’t necessarily expect to provide an aesthetic benefit.
Try it. God knows you’ve tried weirder, worse ideas.