In the past week, I have had at least a half dozen conversations with people about habits and routines. We are the product of our daily choices and actions or lack thereof.
I follow this guy Jocko on Instagram now. He is an absolute machine. Not surprising considering that he actually wrote a book called Discipline Equals Freedom. It is chock full of legitimate truth.
Back to Instagram – every single day I wake up and I have a post waiting from Jocko and it is the face of his Ironman watch. He posts the time he checks into the gym.
Every.
Single.
Day.
The first time I saw it, I reacted to it as if it was the most unimaginative post ever. Then something started to shift for my mindset. Mindset is a wild topic for another day.
Days 3, 4, 5, now I think I’m nearly a month deep on Instagram.
You know what – this guy has an unrelenting habit of getting to the gym around 4:30am each day. He does not miss. He is there, and he puts in the work. He does not talk about the fact that he’s got some crazy ass streak going on of X days in the gym.
Check in time posted.
He just does it, and let’s the pictures – as an emblem of action – do the talking. He then posts some picture of the aftermath of his lifting session. It is always black and wide, both sets of pics.
Every now and then he will post a video that will get me riled up.
Then more check in times.
Unrelenting habit. Daily. Grind it on.
Guess what?
He is in unreal shape. I can tell you that he did not take a pill. He clearly is not taking shortcuts.
He is a walking output of his daily choices, which are at their most basic – habits.
We are all a reflection of our daily habits. Habits can be conscious and unconscious in nature.
The magic begins to be released once you master the art of habit development by changing your routines. Your routines are a collection of habits. Reaching a point of habitual cultivation that then becomes automatic – enables increased potential for yourself as you begin to string more and more reinforcing habits together into self enriching routines.
Routines are also daily in nature. They can also be weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. Routines are collections of habits that are ideally conducted with thought and intention. Too many problematic routines are conducted by default – like when you are sitting in the other room from your spouse or partner watching Netflix while she is on her iPhone or iPad on the internet. Take a chance and smash the monotony of the routine if it is not working for you.
Do not advertise your intention, just take the action.
Two different people asked me very recently –
‘Mark, how do I get new habits and routines?’
My answer was simple. Focus on the habit you want.
Decide to do it – this will shift your mindset to one that is starting to take control of your circumstances.
If the current timing is not conducive to starting – literally right at this moment – then the absolute best thing you can do is to figure out the very first and very smallest thing you can do to get started.
You want to re-establish a running habit tomorrow morning before work?
Get your clothes laid out the night before – everything prepped, and commit to getting dressed with your shoes laced. Once you have taken that first step – there is a very strong chance that you will get your ass out the door.
Once you are out the door, I bet you can then push a little bit more to start with a slow jog down the driveway.
Action starts momentum.
Energy is fueled by momentum.
And the cycle continues.
Decide and do it. If you are worried about starting to do it – make the first step the smallest possible step that you would be embarrassed to NOT do it.
These are the games I have to play sometimes to get myself into gear on new habit development. I have a few I’m cultivating at the moment.
Daily writing is one that I sought at the beginning of the year, and the 84 days challenge solved that one for me. Now it is like lifting daily for me, when I do NOT write it is as bad for me as NOT lifting. I have become conditioned to writing daily and gyming daily.
Those days when I don’t …
I have Jocko’s Ironman watch as a motivating reminder to do better the next day.
That is the genius of the daily.
So I ask you – what is the first step you will take today to get moving towards your future self?