About 18 months ago, I faced a cold, hard truth about myself – my mindset was holding me back.
I had this moment where it really clicked for me – this can’t go on. If I didn’t address it, I would be left with some serious regrets in life. I wrote about it here.
A couple of weekends ago, I had the most awesome Sunday roast dinner. I over-indulged, and that was fine – I felt great and I’d earned it.
But, things could have been very different. Let’s rewind back a few hours…
I just finished reading Living with a Seal, and it was SO GOOD. Potentially life changing.
I’ve already sent a few copies to friends, and I’ve recommended it to more than ten people (this is very rare for me).
I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t made any for the last few years, and I failed to keep most of the ones I made before that.
Instead, I prefer to be thinking about this stuff in a different, and ongoing way (more about that at the end of this post).
That said, there is something about one year coming to a close, and another starting. It feels like a good time to take stock of where you’re at.
I’ve been doing that for the last couple of days, and wanted to share the process I’ve been going through.
I’ve tried almost every type of strategy to get my social media use under control. By under control, I mean managing the negatives, so that overall it’s a net positive in my life.
That is, until 3 weeks ago. I tried something new, and I’ve finally nailed it.
It’s hard to think of self education and development as anything but positive. If you’re not bettering yourself, you’re moving backwards right?
I’ve come to realise that self education and development can be both the key, but also the curse to a fulfilled life.
Waking early and making good use of the early hours is the biggest life hack there is — no exception. It’s a competitive advantage that almost feels like you’re cheating. You’re getting stuff done whilst most other people are sleeping like babies!
But, it can be hard to find one you like doing and will stick to (these are linked).
In my experience, there are three things that are at the root of not sticking to a morning routine:
I’ve settled on a solid process for solving big problems in my life and I want to share it.
The first step to solving a big problem in your life is to take full responsibility for it. What does that mean? To start with, you need to commit to fully understanding the problem yourself – whatever it takes.
You know a wise man once said nothin’ at all – Drake
Most of what I write about usually comes to me in one of two ways.
Sometimes I randomly start thinking about a topic. I then start to notice a bunch of related things that enforce or help shape my thinking on it. And then I write it up (which also helps further shape my thinking on it).
However sometimes it works the other way. I notice a bunch of related things over time and I start to think about it more. I gradually realise the importance of it and develop a view on it. And then I write it up.
This post is no different. Continue reading »
I’ve been consciously applying the concept of practice in my life recently and it’s giving me great results.
I first started thinking more mindfully about practice from doing GMB Elements. GMB workouts are built around a 5P methodology — Prepare, Practice, Play, Push and Ponder.
I’m fascinated with the topic of productivity. For me, it boils down to two things — being able to focus (identify and work on the right things), and then, actually getting things done.
It’s why I think and write alot about goals and the best way to set vision and areas of focus — that’s the ‘identify and work on the right things’ bit. I also geek out on habits, routines and planning frameworks — that’s the ‘getting things done’ bit.
This stuff is important. If you’re not deeply connected to who you want to be and where you want your life to go, you’re more likely to flap around and work on the wrong things. And if you don’t have self discipline and a system for planning, your productivity will suffer.
So, that stuff is super important. But, I realised recently that it’s only part of the battle. And without the other part, you’ll be severely limited and frustrated. The other part might even be more important.
The other part is mindset. Continue reading »
We all procrastinate, but there’s usually a simple strategy for beating it.
Just start.
That sounds such dumb advice to give, but it often really is that simple.
No one likes being last. But, I realised yesterday that you need to get comfortable with it. Sometimes, that’s exactly the right place to be.
Every now and then, I stumble across a handful of awesome articles over the course of a few days. That happened this week, so I wanted to share them.
I read a great article recently — If It’s Important, Learn It Repeatedly. It makes a good case for going back and re-reading important books.
So, I went back and read Deep Work by Cal Newport. It’s one of my favorite books and it was even better the second time round. It gave me a renewed enthusiasm for doing deep work and some fresh ideas for how to go about it.
It got me thinking, what other books could I go back and read again?
Yeah, that’s the cold truth.
OK. Maybe Elon Musk is an outlier. Benjamin Franklin definitely is. But, it’s lottery ticket probability that you’ll do something that has an impact beyond even a few generations.
For 99.99% of us, it’s true — you’re gone in three generations and nobody cares.
I’ve written about morning routines, quite frankly, more than anyone should. That’s because I believe waking up early is about the most life changing thing you can do.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of the people I consider successful and happy, get up early and follow some type of morning routine. I challenge you to think about this too. Look at well known people, colleagues and friends. I bet you come to the same conclusion.
“But, I’m just not a morning person” you say. “I do my best work later in the day”.
I’m not buying it. For 99.9% of us, it’s much better to become a morning person.
Why? I think it boils down to these 3 things:
Jocko Willink, sums it up more succinctly than me:
“Discipline equals freedom, and that discipline begins every morning when my alarm goes off, well before the sun rises.” Jocko Willink.
And for proof, he posts one of these every day:
If you want it, GO GET IT. pic.twitter.com/aGLcRiVLV3
— Jocko Willink (@jockowillink) December 12, 2017
If you’re not waking up early, how do you start?
Simple and small.
Go to bed a little earlier. Get up a little bit earlier (i.e. 30 mins), and do one or two things. Meditate for 5 mins and take a short walk. Read or work on a personal project. Whatever is important to you. Keep it simple, easy and small for at least 30 days.
Once you get to 30 days, extend the time and perhaps add something else in. The biggest mistake you can make is to go from simple, easy and small — to complicated, hard and big. And I guarantee, you will make that mistake. Learn from it. Go back to simple, easy and small and then layer in a little bit more for the next 30 days.
It sounds unambitious, but it’s the best and fastest path to a longer, more impressive morning routine. By starting simple, easy and small — you establish the habit of getting up early and doing important things. And that’s the key to it all.
I just switched up my morning routine (part of what inspired this post). Here’s what it looks like:
I’ve only done it a couple of times, and it’s feeling really good. It’s a good mix of exercise, working on myself, working on a skill and setting myself up for an awesome day. I should also note, I go to bed before 10PM so I can get up that early.
If you’re not waking up early — try it. I’m confident you won’t go back.
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It took a recent crossfit session to remind me of my biggest strength, but also my biggest weakness — being self critical.
We had to pick two movements that we hated and sucked at. I went with thrusters and kipping pull ups. We practiced them throughout the session and used them in the workout at the end.
6 thrusters, followed by 6 kipping pull ups — repeated for as many reps as possible in 20 mins.
Pretty tough. I found the movements awkward throughout. As I was driving home after the workout, here’s what played through my head:
Thrusters felt super awkward:
Kipping pull ups felt even more awkward:
On top of the above, there was a girl next to me focusing on the same two movements. She was nailing 50KG thrusters and sets of 8 or 10 kipping pull ups. It made me realise how far I have to go.
The above was running through my head the whole way home. I started plotting priorities for how I can get better, stronger thrusters and kipping pull ups. I started to feel overwhelmed and a bit annoyed that I was so weak and behind the curve.
And then, something clicked and I got another perspective.
Six weeks ago, I couldn’t even go to crossfit. I had to take two months off because of tendonitis in my foot. That was super annoying and I was very frustrated.
Here I am actually able to go to crossfit and push myself. This wasn’t possible six weeks ago. I’m doing thrusters and kipping pull ups in a WOD. I’m pushing myself hard. I made some good improvement in the thruster transitions. I also made progress with the kipping pull ups falling movement. I’m absolutely better at those movements from when I walked into the gym an hour before. I’m clearer on the one or two things I need to focus on to be better at them.
That’s actually a good position to be in.
Yet, I beat myself up for all the small things I could be doing better. I beat myself up for being behind the curve compared to other people. I completely lose sight of appreciating that I AM moving forward and getting better — one step at a time.
It’s just one example of how being self critical on myself stops me appreciating the progress I’m making. I do this at work and almost every category of my life by default.
Being self critical and beating myself up like this might be my biggest strength. It drives me to get better and improve. But, it often means I don’t appreciate the progress I am making. It stops me being happy with where I am, and appreciating the present moment.
The key takeaway I have is I need to be OK with the self critical behaviour. It’s a strength, but I need to keep perspective too. Let it happen, but pull back from it and focus on the few things I can do to move forward — and just do them. And to then spend time on appreciating the progress I’ve made and where I am today. Be OK with where I am. Relax and appreciate the present moment a bit more.
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This is embarrassing, but here it goes. I have a massive man crush on Mat Fraser.
It started when I watched Fittest on Earth 2015. Mat placed second and stood out as an incredible athlete. He made a few mistakes and wasn’t quite the all rounder Ben Smith was.
Recently I watched Fittest on Earth: A Decade of Fitness (Crossfit Games 2016). Mat blew through the competition (including Ben Smith) to finish first. It was awesome to see Mat dominate the competition, including beating last years winner. But, I figured, sometimes it happens like that. You see the same thing with football teams. No matter the odds, sometimes you get an upset. Maybe he should have won in 2015? Or maybe 2016 was a fluke?
Today I stumbled on the ‘Mat Fraser — Making a Champion’ documentary series. And it all made sense. Mat is an absolute machine and he has the most amazing attitude and work ethic.
Placing second in 2015 was obviously painful for him. In his own words:I look at my medal from 2015.
I hate that fucking medal. Because I didn’t do it right, you know? That’s like second place. I got second place in 2015. I should be proud of that result. I was the second fittest man in the world. But I just look at that and I’m like…. I fucking hate that year, because I’m not proud of the effort I put in. I’m not proud of the corners I cut.
He went about 2016 completely different. He looked at everything he was weak at and did whatever it took to get better. This is a great example:
Alright, I suck at rowing. So I got a rower. And I rowed between 4K and 5K a day for a whole year.
Every day, he just put the work in. He kept stacking the days, with the faith it would make him stronger for next year’s competition. It’s pure discipline. Another good quote from Mat that sums up his attitude:
I’m gonna do today what other people aren’t willing to. So I can do tomorrow, what other people can’t.
This one really resonated with me. It can be hard to stay motivated to consistently take small, uncomfortable steps. Particularly when many of those steps don’t give you immediate results based feedback. But as Mat says, the consistent daily efforts = long term success. It’s the moments when no one is looking that count.
I’m going to put that last quote at the top of my planning documents to remind myself of this. And when I get an urge to procrastinate or cut a corner, I am going to remember Mat and his 2016.
I actually did this today. I had planned to go on a long bike ride. A few hours before I was due to set off, I started trying to persuade myself it would be ok to skip it. I’d done enough this week already, it was a bit too hot etc. I put the talk to one side and went out on the bike. And when I hit some steep hills, I had some shitty self talk about taking a rest and walking for a bit. I pushed through it and did the whole trip non stop — something I had never done before. And I felt great afterwards!
I encourage everyone to watch the Making a Champion videos. It doesn’t matter whether you are into fitness or not. Mat’s mindset is super impressive and inspiring.
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