The Power of Contradicting Ourselves
Applying Whitman and Emerson to health and fitness
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Contradicting Myself
Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself is dense and I won’t pretend this is an English lesson. I don’t really know how I came across section 51, but it caused me to take pause. There are immense implications to the fitness community and life as a whole on how powerful it is to contradict ourselves.
51
The past and present wilt—I have fill’d them, emptied them,
And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.
Listener up there! what have you to confide to me?
Look in my face while I snuff the sidle of evening,
(Talk honestly, no one else hears you, and I stay only a minute longer.)
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
I concentrate toward them that are nigh, I wait on the door-slab.
Who has done his day’s work? who will soonest be through with his supper?
Who wishes to walk with me?
Will you speak before I am gone? will you prove already too late?
In my mind contradiction runs parallel to hypocrisy. But that isn’t necessarily true. Contradiction is a combination of ideas that are opposed to each other, whereas hypocrisy is claiming to have beliefs (or moral standards) that your own behavior does not conform to. In other words, do as I say, not as I do. Although another issue plaguing the fitness community, not an issue here. This concept pulls from one of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s central ideas:
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. . . . Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. . . . To be great is to be misunderstood.”
What have I changed my mind on in the past? What have I spoken with conviction with in the past, and now feel differently?
I generally remain open minded with most concepts in health and fitness. If something works for someone or a group of people it is potentially worth trying. BUT that does not mean I will completely change everything about my training and lifestyle because I learned about a new way to do something (are there really “new” ways or old learnings being brought to light?).
A big one is the way I eat. Do I contradict the old way I used to do things? Perhaps. Currently I’ve shifted to not eating anything until 11am-12pm. There’s plenty to be said about both sides (normal schedule / intermittent fasting), and it’s definitely not every day. On long run days, I need calories prior/during/after the session which usually happens on Saturdays. I also recognize the anecdotal evidence from doing it for months. I feel focused, alert, and still manage to get all of my required protein/calories for the day. So does it really matter how and when I choose to eat? Of course not. As I’ve mentioned in the past, we’re all mini n=1 experiments continuously trying new things to improve or optimize.
The danger lies in making changes too rapidly with little regard for understanding how our bodies respond over a long enough time horizon. Is that 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year? It is really dependent on the person and what you’re changing. Regardless, growth comes from becoming better at understanding feedback from our bodies and a willingness to contradict our previous selves.
What does contradiction take? Personally, I like to see at least one or a combination of existing or new research, social proof/anecdotal evidence, and/or my own trial and error. This week’s post is super short. There’s a lot more to be said of Section 51 above, and I encourage you to dive in if that’s what interests you. This is simply a takeaway I found interesting.
Cheers ✌️
DISCLAIMER
This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Please consult a medical professional before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol.