The Morning Ritual

Greetings fellow human,

After much a-do and sporadic bursts of enthusiasm, here is another gem for your consideration:

The morning ritual

Learn the power of this, and you'll soon see where you have been grossly inefficient in your day.

A ritual allows you to 'automate' your energies, so as to 'show up' to perform certain tasks, with minimal mental effort.

If you rely on willpower alone, or get too willy-nilly with your approach, you'll probably go through you day feeling generally overwhelmed, wondering why you can't get the things done you've always wanted.

Or, perhaps you'll sense that life isn't fair, and somehow you have to struggle and work harder than everybody else.

That might be true, but I assure you: There are people way worse-off than you.

In regards to changing things up, I've experimented with folly quite a few times... usually to my own ignorance.

I've also tried to 'change it all' overnight, with heroic bursts of enthusiasm toward a desired change.

These usually end up in entropy - the spiraling out of my efforts, into a desolate wasteland of 'ooohhh, mannn'.

Which leads me to this: If what you've been thinking and doing hasn't actually worked - let's try something different!

Here's what I'm doing right now, written in a 2nd person voice for you to feel like I'm talking to you:

1) Get your sleep schedule established first.This is where most Americans struggle, and it's also one of the most powerful, free ways to reinforce your physical stamina, mental and emotional energies, and establish a rhythm.
--->In fact, if you don't get your sleep established, life will seem much more overwhelming than it really is, and whatever you undertake, will be under-cut by your failure to prioritize what your body actually needs.

2) Work on nutrition next. Just start adding vegetables, and probably drinking more water (unless, you are drinking a lot of water, but are always thirsty and feel lethargic - in which case you probably have cellular dehydration).

3) Get an exercise routine going. Start small, but start now. 10 pushups on the wall and some stretching is better than nothing.

I could write a whole lot more. But, these three are plenty to establish a rhythm, which will in-turn set an accurate and strong framework by which you can build your other hopes and dreams.

One suggestion: Don't try too much at once, ESPECIALLY if your really charged-up to change. You want these changes to last.

Remember: Consistency wins. Being consistent beats being heroic. A dose of humility, and a commitment to focus is usually required.

These humans, I tell ya...

Here's to thriving in this Christmas season,

JG

The Reality of Rigid Routines (PART 1)

Greetings and fair tidings to you who seek to improve your lives:

Do you struggle with the 'gotta do it...' mentality

Then you do, for a while

Then you stop, because you couldn't maintain what you started....

Then guilt sets in, along with frustration. Then you try harder, then your life starts to revolve around your goals -

INSTEAD of your goals supporting your life.

Then you burn out. Then you are more depressed/guilt ridden/self critical.

Then you start to recede back to where you were, losing the ground you DID gain from your heroic efforts. Then you try to convince yourself you 'just gotta get back at it..."

It's like ice-skating uphill. You can do it, but as soon as you stop, you start to slide backwards.

Better to use a tow rope

Better yet, plan out your energies, and do what you can handle.

Three ideas that will help you out:

1) Start small. When starting out, the habit is FAR more important than what you actually get accomplished during the determined time.

Example: When beginning a new exercise routine, I began with 2-10 minutes, first thing in the morning. Then another 3-5 minutes during my lunch break, and another 2-10 minutes in the evening.

I didn't force it. And, since I was short on time, I knew it wouldn't go long.

Plus, having that shorter time frame, MADE me focus my efforts, get my heart rate up, and stimulate as much growth as possible during that time.

I had not excuse. "Come on, Man! Your telling me you don't have TWO minutes to do SOMETHING?!!"

said JG to JG.

Lo and behold, it only took a few weeks, and I was committed to longer sessions - maybe 15-20 minutes, SOMEHOW getting them in.

Then, On a long weekend, I installed the next habit: Vision, goals, purpose clarification, and then learning (ok, so two habits).

Again, starting small, and leaving room to grow. You'll need the dopamine released from small accomplishments to grow and grow, UNTIL you have the capacity AND the will to tackle something a little bigger.

Next up:

2) Consistency. You have to be consistent. This ties into the first principle, to start small. The idea between the two, is to start as small as you need to, in order to keep the habit consistent.

Also, you don't want to cram your schedule, which leaves no room for growth.

"CONSISTENCY WINS".

 Tatoo that into your consciousness.

Through the vehicle of consistently showing up, you then have the opportunity to refine and clarify, little by little.

Last one principle:

3) Sequential. Do things in the right order. You want to make sure you have the necessary foundations, resources, information, capital, support, clarity, accountability and direction before reaching to the next level.

You learn the art of the 'plateau'. We can't JUST surge uphill - like the ice-skating example. We have to strategize and plan. Passion? Yes! Strategy? Totally necessary.

You, I, we have to level-off, solidify our habits, get these good habits to a place where we barely have to think about them, and we WANT to do them.

When I say 'want', I mean deep, confident "lets do this" mentality; not  wishful thinking as in this example:

 "well, I'd like to do that....... (as your confidence and voice trails off)

THEN, and ONLY THEN, start to reach to the next-level.

There you have it:

1) Start small and leave room for growth

2) Be consistent - starting as small as you need to in order to stay focused and habitual - and keep showing up

3) Sequential. Do things in the right order. Don't put the cart before the horse. Gather up the resources, information, support, accountability, and develop the clarity before marching forth.

There you have it, I hope this helps,

Strength and Honor,

JG