At exactly 4.14am today, mybigfatarse was compelled to get out of bed to answer the call of nature.
Why do you think mybigfatarse could peel itself out of the scratcher at such an hour to pee but is unable to extricate itself three hours later – when many people are already well into their routines – to get some much-needed exercise?
I asked my self the same question and this is what I concluded:
When nature called in the early hours of the morning, mybigfatarse had two choices. It could stay put and give into the urge to pee or it could get up and pee in the appropriate place.
Staying put was by far the more comfortable option – in the short term! While peeing in one’s bed does create an initial sense of sweet relief and the wonderful feeling of being bathed in warm golden liquid this soon gives way to the harsh reality of being cold and wet – not to mention having to deal with a smelly mattress! So you have short-lived pleasure followed by a longer term discomfort.
On the other hand, getting up and going to the bathroom involves leaving the warmth of one’s bed, you experience short-lived discomfort followed by longer term pleasure when you climb back into your cosy bed with an empty bladder.
So mybigfatarse can’t get out of bed early to exercise because it can’t see where the reward is.
Intellectually, it knows that the rewards lie in feeling and looking better, increased energy levels and improved health and fitness but that’s not enough. It didn’t get up at 4.14am today just to experience the pleasure of getting back into bed. It got up because the pain and discomfort of not getting up was greater than the pain and discomfort of evacuating the bed for a few minutes.
And so it would seem that mybigfatarse is motivated by the avoidance of pain rather than by the pursuit of pleasure.
Now we’re getting somewhere!