I’m sick and tired of the useless memes and motivational quotes on the internet. Reading them will make you feel good in the moment, but do absolutely nothing to help you on your journey of self-improvement or success. Want to build a business, get stronger, live a healthier life, have meaningful relationships and live a life of abundance? Here’s a useless quote that doesn’t tell you HOW to do it.
Now, I’m not going to sit here and oversell my abilities. I’m fairly competent at helping you work toward a happier and healthier, more active lifestyle. I’m not a life coach, and no I’m not going to try to sell you some useless supplements or some program that’s going to help you “Go from $0 to $10,000/month and live an extravagant life working from your laptop 4-hours a week on a yacht while being fed grapes by supermodels and fanned like a Roman Emperor.”
What I can do however, is share what I’ve learned on my way to accomplish my dreams. The biggest game-changer for me has been building better habits, not just relying on sheer will and discipline.
Before we go any further, yes those things matter. If you’re not motivated to accomplish something, you’ll quit well before you reach your potential (if that cap even exists, but that’s for another day). So, I’m going to assume that you’re at least motivated and have a small amount of discipline.
While motivation and discipline are important, they are finite resources. We have days that we’re tired, and frankly don’t give a flip. What I have fallen back on is habits. I read two books that completely reshaped my view of success: “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg and “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. Basically, they pointed something out that we already know, to start. There are plenty of habits that we’ve built up during our 24-hour day. Brushing our teeth, taking a shower, commuting to work, these are but a few. Now, here’s the great part…
Since they’re habits, we’re able to perform them without thinking. We’re essentially on auto-pilot mode, and that’s where the secret sauce is. We can do this with any habit we want! During the COVID-19 shutdown, I ran an experiment with myself. I established a new morning routine, and it exploded my daily productivity levels (If you haven’t read my morning routine post yet, I think you’ll get a ton of value from it). As a result of building the morning routine and a couple of other habits, I’ve been able to accomplish the following:
- Finally get organized and better serve my clients.
- Start to build my PT business back up post COVID-19 shutdown.
- Increase my productivity at work.
- Be a better husband.
- Give back to my community in a meaningful way.
- Build levels of strength I once thought impossible.
- Finally see myself moving in the direction I want to.
I won’t pretend to be some kind of special guru or anything, but I do know this: These seemingly small habits are building blocks to a brighter, more successful future for me. If you want to do something big with your life, this is how you do it. Start with one thing that you want to do more consistently. Set an alarm/reminder so that you don’t forget. Let each day help you build the habit as well as momentum. Once you’ve established this habit (This happens around 60 days, according to James Clear in “Atomic Habits”), add another that will complement it. Before you know it, you’re moving in a better direction. Build great habits and you’ll be well on your way to a more prosperous future.
Speaking of habits, here’s a fitness/lifestyle Q+A from this week’s “Beers & Bells” episode!
Train your body. Feed your mind.
-Demarco
