System Shock

There’s a perennial concept within physiology and exercise science: Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand (SAID). The SAID Principle states that an organism develops specific physiological adaptations, according to the type and intensity of demands imposed upon it.

Too little stress applied? Nothing changes.

Too much stress applied? The organism might sustain some sort of injury, up to and including death. It’s a bit of a Goldilocks problem.

This principle is largely self-evident. The body develops structural and chemical changes, as a result of the conditions that it is subjected to. Something similar might occur in the mind, albeit more subtle and abstract. In other words, you need to do things that present fundamental challenge, friction, or risk if you want to change in any meaningful capacity.

Go forward, across the burning coals; alternatively, turn into a pillar of salt.

In general, most people suffer from the problem of insufficient or unintentional application of stress. They seek environments – physical, social, or otherwise – that present minimal friction. These environments encourage the person to adapt to a state of fragility and drab, habitual routine. This is, effectively, the “path of least resistance” approach. “Take what is given to you, don’t question it, and don’t you dare swim upstream.” In this regard, people who inhabit soft and sterile environments are often soft and sterile themselves – physically and psychologically.

But, let’s say that someone possesses the courage and discrimination to, in some capacity, begin to “swim upstream.” Oftentimes, the efforts undergone by the individual are insufficient to penetrate the iron curtain of mediocrity and delusion. They take some baby steps, but they don’t want to go all the way; they stop short.

Typically, this is when they start to seek refuge in some sort of external condition – they outsource and deflect. They search for a piece of technology, or a pharmaceutical solution, or group identity, or some coach or guru to carry them along. Perhaps they rest on the laurels of previous progress – they stagnate and backslide.

In reality, the barrier of mediocrity is only penetrated by decisive acts of will. Specifically, a commitment to action, taking full responsibility for the sacrifices that must be made in order to do so. I regard the will as the inward, causal mechanism spurring an individual towards action. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” so to speak.

What most people truly need, to progress beyond the territory of listless wandering, is a total system shock. An event, internal or external, that catalyzes a wholesale change; a software and hardware reset. These events can occur on a microscopic or macroscopic scale – moment by moment, day by day.

“System shocks” inevitably bring the individual to an inflection point – a raw, unadulterated confrontation with the self; a kind of “life or death” decision. A decision to cling frantically to the old ways, the ways that no longer serve you – or, to change, to die to the old ways and chart a new course.

This decision is ultimately made through the will. Are you, fundamentally, willing to do the things required of you to change? Are you willing to subject yourself to difficult or adverse conditions?Are you willing to admit that, in your current state, you are flawed and imperfect?

The work is not yet finished.

I’m a firm believer that inflection points, “system shocks,” must be regularly encountered in the process of physical training. The individual must face situations, problems, and conditions that fundamentally challenge their self-perceptions and capabilities.

If you truly want to change and grow, and you’re willing to do what it takes to facilitate this, then something must be given – an act of sacrifice in the face of adversity. A willingness to give up some aspect of what you were, so something new may take its place.

Out of the old patterns, habits, and preconceptions comes something new; a kind of birth, following a small and subtle death. The reason that you climb higher is because of the fire beneath your feet. The reason that you adapt is because it’s demanded of you.

When considering the problem of stress and adaptation, I am reminded of the story of Sisyphus. A man condemned to an eternity of futile labor – rolling a stone uphill, over and over. Sisyphus never changed – nor did his situation. He remained crystallized, caught in a purgatorial cycle of fruitless effort. The inputs are stagnant; the outputs are stagnant. The system is frozen.

Fortunately, you’re not Sisyphus.

You can change; your labor doesn’t have to be futile. You can reject the familiar and the mundane. Every limit-testing experience has the potential to change you. The condition is, you must subject yourself to experiences that demand adaptation – conditions that threaten the equilibrium and bring you to the edge of perceived capability.

Stop rolling the same old stones up the same old hills – find a new hill to die on. Seek experiences that truly demand growth – novel experiences, at the brink of what you believe to be physically possible. Have the courage to endeavor and the will to execute; lean into pressure and regard it as an opportunity. Constantly assess the variety, quality, and intensity of training.

Seek conditions that demand change; disrupt equilibrium.