{"id":1625,"date":"2021-04-11T11:16:13","date_gmt":"2021-04-11T09:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mirnasaerobicstudio.com\/wp\/?p=1625"},"modified":"2021-04-11T11:43:01","modified_gmt":"2021-04-11T09:43:01","slug":"rules-rules-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mirnasaerobicstudio.com\/wp\/2021\/04\/rules-rules-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"RULES, RULES, RULES\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

The famous Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso. Once said: \u201cLearn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, we all know he wasn`t talking about wearing a mask, waiting in line at the bank, picking up his dog`s deposits or stopping at a red light.\u00a0 He was referring to his craft \u2013 that it takes time to become a master and that you need to learn how things work before you can excel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Two days ago, Norway`s prime minister, Erna Solberg, was fined R30\u00a0000 for breaching her own coronavirus rules by helping to arrange a huge birthday celebration in Geilo.\u00a0 Police commissioner S\u00e6verud`s response was: \u201cAlthough the law is the same for everyone, not everyone is the same.\u00a0 It is therefore considered appropriate to respond with punishment, in order to maintain the public trust in the infection rules.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, hats off to them!\u00a0 If rules like that had been applied to leadership in our country, we would be well on our way to a healthy economy!\u00a0 But that`s not my topic today \u2013 Mrs Solberg`s mishap just got me thinking about rules\u2026<\/p>\n

The biggest lesson I have learned about rules this week is this one \u2013 when you get a Vodacom message that your phone is due for an upgrade, don`t wait too long \u2013 it has cost me dearly this week when my Samsung phone just crashed, like that, dead, gone.\u00a0 I lost all my contact numbers because they had not been saved to my sim card, as I presumed.\u00a0 (So, if you are a regular reader of my Blog, please send me your contact number, again, I will gladly have you on my contact list to forward the weekly link.)\u00a0 But, yes, back to rules\u2026<\/p>\n

Are they bad bullies or beautiful blessings?\u00a0 This has been on my mind the last few days as our New Year Challenge was coming to an end.\u00a0 In my opinion this has been the best fitness Challenge we have ever hosted, and many of our members agreed \u2013 but I couldn`t help but wonder \u2013 weren`t there maybe too many rules?\u00a0 Signing in, being on time, sending home workouts before 20:00, doing mini-Challenges, booking for Pilates, blah blah blah\u2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all, at times, feel the oppressive presence of rules, both written and unwritten \u2013 it`s practically a rule of life.\u00a0 Public spaces, dinner parties, even relationships and casual conversations are rife with regulations and red tape that seemingly are there to dictate our every move.\u00a0 We sometimes rail against rules being an affront to our freedom, and argue that they are there to be broken\u2026<\/p>\n

And yet, we humans, we NEED rules.\u00a0 Not because rules make life more predictable, but simply because they make life run smoothly.\u00a0 Indeed, despite our protests to the contrary, rules seem hardwired into our DNA.\u00a0 Experiments show that children, by the age of three, can be taught entirely arbitrary rules for playing a game.\u00a0 Our ability to latch onto rules is crucial to our success as a species.\u00a0 We drive on the left in some countries and on the right in others, we say please and thank you, and we sanitize our hands in every shop without asking too many questions.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Well, mostly because we might get into trouble if we don`t!<\/p>\n

\n

As Louise Penny writes in her book \u201cA rule against murder\u201d: \u201cRules meant order. Without them they\u2019d be killing each other. It began with butting in, with parking in disabled spaces, with smoking in elevators. And it ended in murder.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rules are the essence of sport, games, and puzzles \u2013 even when their entire purpose is supposedly fun.\u00a0 Chess, or tennis, or Fitness Challenges \u2013 they would be entirely formless and meaningless activities with no rules.\u00a0 One danger is that rules can develop their own momentum and there is always the opposite, extreme side of the coin \u2013 repressive states, bullying bosses, coersive partners or mean parents \u2013 where the rules must be obeyed, just because they are the rules.\u00a0 (I like to believe that my Challenge members don`t place me in the above category\u263a)<\/p>\n

Rules are great.\u00a0 They challenge us, take us out of our comfort zones and keep us in check.\u00a0 As long as they don`t become old habits that we simply are too afraid to change\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2026I have seriously come to believe that all of us, everybody, we`re not really born rule-breakers.\u00a0 Our minds crave order \u2013 and yet, all of us, too often have this tendency to break our own rules.\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n

Maybe because we set goals for ourselves instead of rules!\u00a0 Yes, there IS a big difference between the two.\u00a0 A goal is a target, something you hope to achieve, something you try to do.\u00a0 A rule, on the other hand, is a law to abide by and a standard to adhere to.\u00a0 It`s non-negotiable.\u00a0 It`s something you do, no matter what.<\/p>\n

Some people might argue that it`s just a matter of semantics, but I think there`s more to it.\u00a0 Goals inspire hope, while rules mandate action.\u00a0 It`s far more likely that you`ll keep to a rule than a goal.\u00a0 Have you ever thought about this?<\/p>\n

A goal is: \u201cI am going to try to lose 5kg by the end of 2021.\u201d\u00a0 Reframed as rules, this becomes \u201cI don`t drink wine during the week\u201d, and \u201cI go the gym four times a week.\u201d\u00a0 Don`t get me wrong \u2013 I`m not saying we should flood our lives with rules, but in thinking about rules, we also need to reflect on how we view freedom.\u00a0 We usually think of freedom as doing what we want to do NOW.\u00a0 But my definition of freedom is doing what we want to do MOST.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do you want to do now?\u00a0 Probably watch another episode of \u201cGrace and Frankie\u201d, go on Facebook, and eat three doughnuts.\u00a0 But what do you want to do most, for the long-term?\u00a0 Probably exercise, lose a few kilos, build strong relationships, and do meaningful work.<\/p>\n

Freedom then, isn`t the absence of boundaries.\u00a0 It`s having the right kind of boundaries.\u00a0 Imagine the fish didn`t have the \u201cboundary\u201d of the bowl.\u00a0 If someone smashed the bowl, the fish wouldn`t survive for more than a few minutes.\u00a0 Similarly, setting rules for ourselves enable us to live more abundantly and intentionally.<\/p>\n

\n

The famous American writer Robert A Heinlein once said: \u201cI am free, no matter what rules surround me.\u00a0 If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them.\u00a0 If I find them too obnoxious, I break them.\u00a0 I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for what I do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And that`s the real truth about rules.\u00a0 Rules help us live our lives when we lose the will to do it on our own.\u00a0 But rules rely on our consent.\u00a0 Those that don`t have our consent can become instruments of tyranny.\u00a0 So perhaps the best advice about rules is to follow them, but to always ask why.<\/p>\n

And those rules we set for ourselves?\u00a0 Let`s constantly remind ourselves that life is\u00a0 not a soccer game.\u00a0 Just because you stopped trying to shoot directly towards your goals doesn`t mean you stopped playing.\u00a0 Today is a new opportunity.\u00a0 New goals to aim for.\u00a0 New metrics to work with.\u00a0 New principles to keep score with.<\/p>\n

Not sure where to start?\u00a0 Start with the three simple rules in life:<\/h5>\n
\n

If you do not go after what you want, you\u2019ll never have it.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yours in fitness<\/em><\/p>\n

Mirna <\/strong><\/p>\n

082 779 0507<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2026I have seriously come to believe that all of us, everybody, we`re not really born rule-breakers.\u00a0 Our minds crave order \u2013 and yet, all of us, too often have this tendency to break our own rules.\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[186],"class_list":["post-1625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-manoeuvres","tag-rules"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRULES, RULES, RULES\u2026 - Mirna's Aerobic Studio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rules challenge us, take us out of our comfort zones and keep us in check.\u00a0 As long as they don`t become old habits that we are too afraid to change\u2026\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RULES, RULES, RULES\u2026 - 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