These 5 Habits WILL Change Your Life...
Habits can quite literally make or break a man. As cliché as it sounds the person you are when you look in the mirror today is a result of all the actions you’ve taken and the decisions you’ve made. A habit is initially a decision which over time becomes a repetitive action you perform virtually on autopilot - just like brushing your teeth in the morning.
Habits in your life have brought you to where you are today
Are you happy with where your habits have gotten you?
If not It’s time to change my friend
Habits can get you to where you want to be, regardless of where that is
If you look in the mirror atop your three story mansion and see a shredded, muscular physique I can guarantee you that at a stage early on in life you implemented successful habits designed to achieve your goals.
On the other hand if you gaze into the mirror located in the dingy corner of your run down caravan home to uncover an unhealthy, out of shape and poorly dressed physique it’s safe to say you’ve lived like an epicurean, focusing on the ‘moment’ (or what was the moment, which you’re now paying for later in life) rather than becoming an ancient stoic investor and sacrificing today for tomorrow's betterment.
The 5 habits I detail below played a major role in the mindset change I had from loser to unbreakable. These habits also helped me, and continue to help me to this day at outworking my competition in the gym and in business.
My only regret now is that I didn't discover and implement them sooner!
COLD SHOWERING
Cold showering is without a doubt the ultimate discipline builder that comes with some great health benefits too.
Willingly standing underneath your shower head as ice cold water rushes out is invigorating - if you can subject yourself to this discomfort (which hardly anyone does) you'll find yourself pushing through other uncomfortable situations in the gym, in your business etc. where you previously would've just given up.
Withstanding between 3 and 5 minutes in a cold shower a day will reward you with an increase in Testosterone, better skin, relief from signs of depression and will leave you feeling more alive and energetic then any double espresso I've ever had.
If you've never had a cold shower before, or you find them extremely hard to actually get into my #1 tip is to go in head first. Instinctively you'll want to try and put one of your legs in first to 'test' the water - this is the wrong way to go about it. Go in head first then turn around and let the ice cold water flow over your shoulders and run down your back.
FOLLOWING A TO-DO LIST, EVERY DAY
It's near impossible to achieve anything or be productive for that matter if you don't have a clear list or path of what you actually need to do.
This habit never takes me any longer than 5 minutes, however if you only implement one habit out of the five I'm sharing with you here I would advise you choose this one! to-do lists and planning your day in advance keeps you on track and accountable.
"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much" - Jim Rohn
Your to-do list should be made the night prior, as in the morning you do not want to have to spend time and precious energy (decision fatigue is exhausting) deliberating over what you should or shouldn't be doing that day. It's too late - you should have already planned this out so upon waking you have a clear cut plan of what you need to do, you're ready to kick ass while before the majority of society even clambers out of bed (and then spends a ridiculous amount of time deciding upon what they're going to wear and eat for breakfast... let alone the important tasks they plan on completing that day).
EXERCISING IN THE AM
I have found 3 huge benefits from exercising early in the morning (early being 5:30am). These include:
The best workouts I've ever had
In the morning after consuming my DIY pre-workout supplement (give this a try if you haven't already, I've had great feedback from my readers) and spending a small amount of time reviewing my goals I head to the gym at which time I always have one of the best workouts.
Early in the morning I'm focused, there's no distractions and I have not been fatigued from the trials and tribulations of the day, both mentally and physically.
No delays, no waiting, no BS - workouts are quick & efficient
Peak hour at the gyms I have trained at are anywhere from 4PM - 8PM during which time it's near impossible to use a squat rack, bench press or any other useful piece of equipment. In the morning however the cardio machines are almost entirely full, yet no one is lifting weights. Perfect. There's no down time between exercises, sharing machines or wasting time.
You don't get any additional gains or rewards for spending more time than necessary in the gym. Be Spartan and efficient - get in, kill your workout then get out and move on with your day. Don't be one of those guys that bases their whole day around their workout.
I am physically fatigued yet mentally sharp and unstoppable
After performing heavy compound lifts I'm physically exhausted, yet mentally I'm sharper than when I woke up, this allows me to smash through my aforementioned to-do list far easier. Having completed my workout I can 'check the box' so I am not left planning or thinking about my upcoming workout as I've already got it out the way.
FOAM ROLLING & TRIGGER POINT THERAPY
Good posture is paramount. Poor posture when it comes to sitting at your office desk or performing an exercise in the gym will often result in injury. How you carry yourself in terms of your posture also plays a large role in how others perceive you.
Spending 10 minutes foam rolling on a daily basis and working on trigger point therapy (with a tennis ball as per my trigger point therapy guide here).
Decreased soreness, better posture and optimization of my range of motion on exercises such as my barbell squat and bench press have definitely improved. It's worth noting that foam rolling and trigger point therapy with a tennis ball is very unpleasant the first few times... however as you loosen up your muscles and get used to the process/honing in on certain points this is no longer the case.
No idea where to get started? The Ignore Limits tennis ball self massage guide is a great start, if you're looking to take it to the next level then I recommend checking out 'Becoming A Supple Leopard'.
SETTING A DIG (DAILY INCOME GOAL)
Business, specifically making money online can be quite overwhelming...
As Victor Pride said business is the modern day war.
Setting out to make $100,000 a year is overwhelming. When I set my goals this way I didn't have the motivation to pursue them, I was paralysed because deep down I thought I wasn't capable of believing I could make it.
Then after reading through Dan Lok's F.U. Money book (yes, I liked it so much that this is where my inspiration for the title F.U. Fat came from) I learnt that I needed to break my business/income goals into a daily goal often referred to as D.I.G - Daily Income Goal.
$100,000 now becomes $273 a day.
I knew I could achieve that, the goal was no longer overwhelming... and I did.
Did you notice an underlying theme among the majority of these habits?
They will all make you either physically or mentally uncomfortable… they require work.
If you want to taste success you have to increase your pain threshold.
I picked up a 1985 copy of a book, 'How to Reach Your Life Goals' by Peter J. Daniels a few weeks ago from a second hand book store - the message preached throughout this book is just that... you need to get comfortable being uncomfortable if you want to achieve great things.
Having never heard of this author before I did some searching to find more information on him (whether he was still alive, any other noteworthy books he had written etc.) and I discovered that although he's now north of 80 years old he was voted one of the best motivational platform speakers in the world - getting paid 1 million dollars for 15 minutes of his time.
Daniels did not reach that echelon of success and persevere as the years catch up to him without increasing his pain threshold.