Habits and Work

Habits and Work 

You’ve set a goal or goals, you have your “WHY”, now the work begins. You have to become the person who has already reached where you want to be. Stop saying “I’ll do it when I get there”, that’s not how it works. You have to become that person now. What are the habits you need to become the person you want to be? Those will get you to your goals. Write them out and put in the WORK.

What does that mean? It means you need to plan the things that get done every day and DO THEM! You can’t get to where you want to go by waiting until you get there to do them, it’s how you’re going to get there.
 
I’ll use my personal habits as an example, but some of mine will apply to everyone.
 
Oh yeah, and these new habits you need to implement, they will be added onto the work you are already doing. Some of you may have just said, “but I’m already working hard” “I’m already tired” Don’t worry, I have the answer, “SUCK IT UP” because honestly, no one cares. No one cares that you’re tired, no one cares that aren’t to your goals, no one cares that you have been working for years and aren’t where you want to be yet. 

No one cares, but YOU! And that’s all that matters. So, if you really want this, draw the line in the sand, make the habits and stick to them, EVERY day, no exception! Brushing your teeth once doesn’t keep cavities away, brushing them twice a day, every day, does. Working out once doesn’t get you in shape, working out consistently every day for a year(s) does. Habits don’t work overnight; they take time and need commitment and consistency to have an effect. My wife doesn’t know I love her because I said it one day. She knows because I have shown up every day for her the past 20 years. When things were great, I showed up, when they were bad, I showed up, and she showed up for me. That’s how we know we love each other. Sunshine and rainbows don’t make a marriage, being knee deep in shit together and deciding to keep going does. 

“It’s not what we do occasionally, but what we do consistently that matters.”
 
Habit #1 – Get Up Early (Please don’t say you’re not a morning person because this is the biggest, “No one gives a shit” statement there ever was.
Set your alarm, count to 3, feet on the ground, get up! NO SNOOZE BUTTON!
 
#2 ALCOHOL/DRUGS - Master of my own domain (This one is personal to me) It demonstrates control to me over my habits and I have big goals. I need to be as sharp as possible at all times. I also ask myself, “what am I trying to escape from?” The thing about pain and discomfort is, you have to feel it to heal it. If you constantly just numb it, it never goes away.
 
#3 WORKOUT – EVERY DAY! Doing so makes it easier for me to stay consistent. I don’t let how I feel dictate when I workout, I just workout. This is easier for me to stay consistent. It might not be CrossFit every day, but it’s something physical and intentional. I’m also sick of hearing people saying they want to be realistic, they want to listen to their body, I’m good with where I’m at. Actually I love hearing people say that! Everyone is so content with being average, it makes being GREAT easy. “I love when things get hard, because I know no one will follow.”
 
#4 STRETCH – Every day, again, personal to me, but I think we could all benefit from this. This isn’t P.E. class static stretching, it's moving everything through its ranges of motion. If things don’t feel good, FIX THEM! If you don’t know how to fix them, go see Dr. Drew Sneeringer at Hidden Strength That’s a shameless plug for our inhouse performance specialist at CrossFit Conductor, but he knows his shit and will either get you in or keep you in the game. 

#5 TAKE MINUTE – Focus on your breathing and relax. This is just taking some time each day to slow down, reflect, and remind yourself how fortunate you are. “Stress isn’t your problem, you making a problem out of your stress is your problem.”
 
#6 PRAY – Every morning and night. This is where I thank GOD for what I have, show gratitude, and then ask for help with getting me to where I’m going. I ask for Strength, Patience, and Wisdom.
 
#7 EAT CLEAN – I’ve said it a 1000 times, “stop eating like an asshole. This is the Turbo Boost to everything else. Stop trying to outwork shitty nutrition. Eat real food, nothing processed or with ingredients you don’t know. Also, please stop with the low or no cal/no fat foods. Fat doesn’t make you fat, snacking is unnecessary, anything out of a bag or a box is normally shit, and anything with no calories besides water, black coffee, or tea is usually a shit show (DIET SODA).
 
#8 READ – 10 pages a day. If done you will have read 18, 200-page books by the end of the year. Think you will be a different person if you do this? YES, you will!
 
#9 GO TO BED EARLY - Don’t try to burn the candle at both ends, it doesn’t work. If I’m going to get up early, I need to go to bed early. So, in order to do this, a bedtime routine is needed. After dinner, I put the phone/computer away. Nothing is that important that it can’t wait for tomorrow. I don’t avoid TV, but I don’t watch anything dramatic or action filled. This is normally a time when the family is together, so it’s usually a kid’s show or something on the Food Network. Nothing I would get sucked into or care about getting up and missing the end of and it gives us a chance to spend time together.
 
These habits don’t make my Family or Business goals come to reality, but they do make me the type of person who could accomplish those goals. I need to be strong physically and mentally to make the kind of goals I have a reality. No one out of shape, who eats like shit, drinks too much, and has a mind full of shitty thoughts can get to where I’m going.
 
Use this week to do the following:
Set GOALS
Create your “WHY”
Write out your personal Habits
Implement the Habits. Not tomorrow, not soon, NOW! 
 
“This seems like a lot”
 
IT IS!!!
 
No one looked back on their life and was proud of everything they DIDN’T do. If they made a movie about your life, would you want to watch it?
 
BE THE HERO OF YOUR OWN MOVIE
 
In Strength,
Eric Karls
CrossFit Conductor
Chief Awesomeness Engineer
Certified Level 3 CrossFit Coach