Self-Experimenting

We don't engage in self-experimentation in an effective way. When done correctly, self-experimentation can open doors and move you forward in a number of different directions. What often happens, however, is that we try things and don't collect enough data. We go by our reaction do doing something a limited number of times and sometimes assign blame to the new variable instead of looking at other factors. Case in point. My running for the last few days has been difficult. I'm looking for reasons why this may be and I'm assessing the things over the last few days that have been different in my regular routine. My usual response is to examine my hydration, my diet, or my sleep patterns. It could very well be that these are contributors, but are they the reasons? Or is there something else? This is where self-experimentation comes in. Often we are dealing with too many variables. We introduce something into our routine, give it a few days, and decide we either like it or don't like it. We decide to either move forward or discontinue this new aspect. But our routines are not locked down enough to isolate this data as unique because there is actually a good deal of unique data we're receiving at the same time that is mixed in. So what's the trick? Before we introduce anything new, we need to make sure our systems are locked down and normed. We need to eliminate extraneous data by making sure we're abiding by our system and the parameters we've already set for ourselves. Only then can we truly isolate the new data to be sure we're receiving valid feedback. When we make changes, we often do so in a sweeping manner and change many things at the same time. Instead, approaching changes individually with a normed system supports the idea that we're able to more effectively isolate that specific change and optimize it, which in turn means we're more likely to retain the change and be successful with it. Self-experimentation is an activity anyone can engage in, but it needs to be done correctly. Otherwise, how are we to know what truly works for us?