Daily

For some odd reason, we have this tendency to believe a new habit has to be difficult.

When I tell you I meditate, you may assume I’m sitting like a monk. Cross-legged? No. Perfect posture? Definitely not.

I actually put a blanket over me. My legs are stretched out. I move around during the session.

Because I’ve made it easy for myself, I look forward to the activity.

How you can apply this:

When building a new habit, seek out ways to make it easier. 

If you want to try yoga, try it for 10 minutes.

If you want to lift weights, follow a plan you actually enjoy.

If you want to write daily, test it out for two weeks. 😉 

Don’t seek to make it more difficult. Seek to make it easier and more enjoyable so you stick with it longer.

This is Day 6 of 14 of my daily writing challenge.

When you’re starting a new habit, I recommend giving yourself an out.

What do I mean by this?

 “Okay, I’ll just do this X times. If I don’t enjoy it after this time, I can quit.” I recommend at least 30 days. Closer to 100 days would be ideal.

The reason?

This will give you enough time to suck, improve, and get better.

When you start something new, the idea of doing forever seems daunting.

For example, I started Naval’s 60 minutes, 60-day meditation challenge in May. Sitting with my thoughts for an hour was intimidating. So, my “out” of 60 days gave me some comfort. The first week was challenging. But by the end of 60 days, I couldn’t imagine not meditating every day for at least 60 minutes.

It works for three reasons:

1. The habit changes you.
2. It you a timeframe you can imagine.
3. You are not the same person in the beginning of the challenge as you were when you started.

The out allows you to outsource the decision to a stronger version of yourself.

I use the word “out” because it doesn’t mean you have quit. But you don’t have to feel bad about quitting if the habit isn’t for you.

Here are some of my current outs:

• 100 podcast episodes (23 published)
• 100 newsletters (25)
• 100 blog posts (69)
• 14 days of daily writing (5)

These are all related to content, but in the past, I’ve used outs for weightlifting, reading, and meditation.

If you end up giving this a try, let me know on Twitter.

This is Day 5 of 14 of my daily writing challenge.

This week I’m appearing on three podcasts.

I’m excited. I’m honored.

Because for over a month this year… 

I didn’t even want to speak to myself.

So now I’ve gotten to a point where not only people want to talk to me but also share what I have to say with their own audience?

It’s an incredible blessing. I will do my best to honor the blessing by being present in every moment, telling the truth to the best of my abilities, and loving everything that I come across.

It’s also a reminder. That even if you’re not happy with who you are in this moment, press on. Life has the opportunity to get better so long as you keep going. There is a light.

I will share these podcasts with you on this blog when they are released.

This is Day 3 of 14 of my daily writing challenge.

A reader asked:

“How do you cope when you’re not as high energy and positive as you would like?”

It’s a great question.

The first part I should note is awareness. If you’re aware that you’re not high energy, that’s a huge win.

Why?

Because it means you’re conscious of your behavior. If you’re conscious of it, you can change it.

After you’ve noticed your low energy, now it’s time to change it.

There are a few ways I like to “shock” the body when I notice myself slip into lower states of consciousness. Here are a few tools to add to your toolkit:

1. Breathing. I haven’t done it in a while, but Wim Hof breathing was really important when I was first getting started. It was an incredible way to prime the body. You can follow this video to get started.
2. Cold shower. 5 minutes straight. You’ll feel different before and after.
3. Affirmations. Saying “I love myself” rewired my brain. The prescription: say it 10x/day minimum.
4. Mentality Folder. Will write more about this in the future. This is like Affirmations on steroids.
5. Walk outside (no phone). Resets the mind.
6. Talk to a stranger. When we talk to others, it reminds us of how kind the far majority of people are. Easy to forget when we are in our heads.
7. Meditate. Sit down. Focus on your breath for 20 or 60 minutes to start the day. Or if you feel like the day is getting away from you, just relax with 5 minutes.

Too often, when I’m not high energy… I can attribute the state to not doing one of these things.

Let me know if it works for you?

This is Day 2 of 14 of my daily writing challenge.

My challenge to myself was to post every day for 14 days.

I failed.

But guess what?

That challenge restarts today.

This entry is for everyone who set an intention, went off the path, and is wondering if they should get back on.

The answer is yes.

It’s time to get back on the path.

This is Day 1 of 14 of my daily writing challenge.

A reader asked:

“I’d love to hear more about what led you to where you are today.”

In mid-January 2020, I was down. Like, “hard to make it out of bed” down.

Why was I down? Because I couldn’t do what I said I was going to do. My word was not impeccable. And it was making me upset. This drove me further and further down the pit of despair.

February was rough.

March was worse.

COVID-19 was plaguing the world. Every day, I’d refresh Twitter. More doom and gloom on the timeline.

There was a point when I’d had enough though. When I decided, I couldn’t control the circumstance, but I could control my reaction to it. So, I decided to tackle Phase 1. This is a 30-day program designed by Andy Frisella. It’s intentionally difficult.

What got me to take the plunge? I knew I couldn’t control the circumstances (COVID-19) but I could control my reaction to it.

Reading this book helped immensely: Awaken The Giant Within by Tony Robbins.

And then, while on the program, I read the following book: Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant.

But I wasn’t just reading the books, I was applying them.

I started saying “I love myself” every day. This really waked me up to the power of the self-talk.

Another key component is I started a mission: this website.

I set the intention for myself of posting twice per week for one year. That made me feel good, like I had control over my situation… so I kept going.

Now, more than half a year later, we’re still going… and going stronger. We’ve added a podcast and newsletter to the mix. We’re building.

Going from 0 to 1 is the hardest part. It’s the first step. For me, that was starting this program and seeing it through. Once I had finished the program, I was able to stand. I was on my feet. My mindset shifted. I was ready to roll.

So if you’re in a similar situation?

My advice is to choose a book. Pick a program. And start working on something that is going to help you with the life you want to live.