A mini sub-discussion opened up in the "Ducks." thread. The idea was that monk mode is a bad idea because while you'll improve your body, your social skills (like muscles) will atrophy over time.

I think that social skills are like muscles in other ways too.

Anyone who knows more than a thing or two about exercise knows that you're not supposed to overtrain. That means that once you've gone to failure on your bench press, don't do another 2 sets; that's going to do more harm than good. It also means that hard work isn't enough; you need to lock in the benefits of your hard work by eating lots of good food and getting plenty of sleep.

This can usually be boiled down to a simple rule: "Listen to your body."

This analogy can be carried over to your social development. If you're reluctant to go out and approach because of nervousness or fear of rejection, then by all means push through that shit. The only cure for AA is the first A. This is similar to the laziness that you feel when you haven't gone to the gym for a long time. Your body is telling you "I'm comfortable in my nice little cave. Please don't make me go out in the scary cold and do hard work." Obviously this is the time to ignore what your body is telling you.

But there comes a point where you're reluctant to socialize, not because of anxiety, but because you're genuinely tired and need to take a break. This happens to the best of us. I would recommend listening to your body in this case. If you feel that you're not going to be on your A-game today, whether due to physical exhaustion, mental exhaustion, or simply a desire to stay at home and savour the successes you've already made, you should probably listen to yourself and take a day off. If you really know that today's not your day to socialize, and you push through anyway, you're more likely to experience rejection and negative reinforcement. This may cause you to underestimate the extent of the progress you've actually made so far. Unlike physical development, confidence is one of the main ingredients in social success. That means a setback in confidence is a setback in reality.

And keep in mind that there often is a tradeoff between physical and social improvement. The more intense and fast-tracked your workout regiment, the more often you'll feel that today just isn't your day for drinking, dancing, laughing and picking up women.

So gentlemen, the takeaway is this. Give yourself some days off from working on your game. This is a marathon, not a sprint. You need to be in a good, relaxed state if you want to go out and achieve a new personal record.