Week 4 has begun! That means I got through the first quarter of the game, without a flinch!
So I could recap my week right now, but I think we all know that it was exactly the same as the previous 2 weeks. I don’t need to tell you about how I trained hard, did my cardio and ate 6 meals a day each day… But I will tell you one thing; I did it all 100%.
What I really want to talk about in this episode is creating habits. Habits are the key factor in creating success, regardless in the endeavor.
My two biggest struggles in this diet were meal prepping and not having my “cheat meals”. But I prepped my meals each and every day and took out that cheat meal.
I did this because I knew I needed the change to break this plateau and improve myself, so I needed to break bad habits and create a couple new ones. And now that it has been 3 full weeks, it is not a problem at all.
Three weeks is truly not that long, but that’s all it took me to break a bad habit. Now meal prepping and eating clean 100% of the time are just the norm, and to be honest it feels so much better than I would have expected. I feel accomplished and as if I can see my goal at the end of this path, without any doubt in mind.
So imagine if we can break bad habits and create positive ones in other areas of our lives, in just 3 weeks. So ask yourself….
What can I improve in my life? What in my life is preventing me from excelling further? What will it take to change those things?
Eliminating the bad and creating the good can easily fix these problems.
This can be applied to any aspect; a good one to start with is financial. Cut out the Starbucks and use your coffee maker, calculate how much you spend on Starbucks each month, and automatically put that amount into your savings on top of what you already save. [That’s just an example because we ALL love Starbucks here in Seattle, but think of whatever you waste money on too often]
So for example, I realized I was way behind on my reading. My co-workers have been reading book after book and I just felt like I was lacking in that area of education.
BOOM! That was step 1 in creating the better habit, realizing the problem that needed to be fixed. Sometimes admitting the problem can be the most difficult part.
After I recognized that I had the problem I needed to look for the solution to fix it. That is step 2!
So I over looked my day and the timeframe that made most sense to get some reading in was before bed. It would help me fall asleep easier and it is the quietest time of my day as well…. But what was preventing this from already happening??
…Netflix! I needed to break the bad habit of watching It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia every night before bed! [Going to kill me, that show is hilarious!]
[Yes, that is a baby… that they found in a dumpster… and the bum looking fellows behind this baby have an Aladdin looking sword… hilarious, I told you]
Now you don’t have to go cold turkey on your hobbies or things you enjoy in your free time, because I’ll be honest that is my “Me” time. I write articles, programs, and diets and then train all day so when I get home I enjoy that part.
But I could cut it down a bit. Maybe instead of watching an hour of Netflix, I watch 30 min and read the second 30 min. So that’s what I did, I get to improve like I wanted and have fun still.
Now, step 3 is just doing it! I had to make a point to get this done and find a good way to hold myself accountable because this was myself helping myself, I don’t have a coach to tell me to read.
So, I set an alarm on my phone at about the time I would be hitting the sack that literally says, “READ CODY!” I also leave my book on my nightstand so I truly have zero excuses of why I cannot read for AT LEAST 20-30 min.
So remember the steps Identify, Problem Solve, Take Action!
And as I said before, it literally only took me 3 weeks to break two bad habits, create new ones and stick to them habitually. I literally do not even think about it anymore, I just do it.
And if I can do it, you can do it.
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”
–Mahatma Gandhi
