7 am… to 6 am… to 5 am

Back in November 14, 2021,

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It was a dark and cloudy autumn day in Sweden…

 

I had *mistakenly* downloaded [new time absorbing short form media] and had been scrolling for days until I found myself in the pit of mindlessness.

 

But in the dark, a ray of opportunity showed. 

 

A video explaining how this scrolling could be to my gain. YES PLEASE!!!

 

It stated, “Unfollow meaningless content and watch motivation and information instead”. (Or something like that, I don’t really remember)

 

A week later the “dark side” had swallowed me whole and my concept of success was to work tirelessly and be Disciplined. oOOoOo

 

I was told to make my bed, read and work out (no shit) 

…soo I made my bed each morning. *waooww* *applause*

 

Did that for a week until I miraculously started the soul-beating task of Reading. DUN DUN DUUHHH

 

But I also kept scrolling.

 

While doing so, lifestyle challenges started to pop up left, right and centre until it felt normal to wake up at 6, 5 even 4 in the morning. So I set out to try the hype and wake up at 6 a.m. so I could work out in the living room when it was pitch black outside.

 

This however was awful, with no gym equipment, in an environment where I’d usually eat shit and watch shit. 

 

But it felt cool! B)

 

That evening I came to my senses. (I should wake up at 5 am so I can go to the gym of course)

 

At 5:00 the clock rang and I sludged out of bed, packed everything necessary, put on my workout clothes and winter coat, and halted over to the bus stop. 

 

Not a soul nearby, 

I felt like the disciplined leader I had watched hours of on [new time absorbing short form media].

 

Turns out, other people also work out between 6 and 8 a.m.!?

 

But I stuck to this for a year, even though some weeks not even a squad of K9:s could drag me onto that cold bus.

 

Meaning, I failed sometimes… THAT’S PART OF IT, THAT’S GOOD (can I make that more underlined!?)

 

-Alright, cool story bro…

Thank you! x

 

BUT THERE’S MORE

 

During all of this, I adopted more and more habits like it was just another scroll on [new time absorbing short form media].

 

Everyone thought I was a robot, coded and Flawless (OK that last part is a lie, they probably saw me as socially inept :’( ) 

 

But it was the motivation that got me to make my bed.

 

And because of the snowball effect, I started to dreadfully read until I liked it,

 

…and adding a little more motivation to be cool and special had me wake up at 5 sharp to go to the gym in the freezing wet (how is that even possible? freezing and wet!?) winter Sweden.

 

So before you start reading these tips on habits, take into account that if you want to achieve something big, your best bet is to start small.

 

-Well, how do habits even work? aren’t we all doing things how we want to?

 

NO, habits are crucial to saving energy and minimising decisions since a habit starts with 

1. you coming home from work and stepping inside your door (the CUE), 

2. then opening your fridge, setting up a smörgåsbord, and making a sandwich (the routine) 

3. so you may enjoy said sandwich. (the reward) 

All while you’ve been thinking of that dick who cut you off in traffic. 

 

SPLENDID WORK!

You didn’t even think about whether or not you should’ve had a chocolate bar instead. And next time you will even be more automatic and faster at recreating that masterpiece.

 

Align Yourself:

 

1. Self-awareness: Investing time in thinking about your strengths, weaknesses, values, and goals is crucial! That way you can make your productive time, actually productive. To be clear… this is where you put the pen to the paper. 

 

Don’t say yes to everything! 

Focus on what matters!

 

2. Goal Setting: As we’ve all heard, your goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-bound). WHYYY!? Because that enhances focus and motivation. Question this and my mom won’t let you into Triumph Land. For example, I’ve defined goals in each major part of my life and set specific goals or milestones for each month.

 

3. Positive Affirmations: Talk and think about yourself like you are a bully that you don’t want on your bad side. Not really… but science shows that positive thoughts make it easier to adopt new habits. Just like hyping up a friend ya’ know?

 

Establish Habits:

 

4. Start Small: A.k.a. don’t eat the whole cake too quickly or you’ll feel stuffed. PERIOD. 

 

5. Consistency: See everything as a learning opportunity, not competition, and you’ll find it much more pleasant. Eventually, it will be just like riding a tricycle. Ahh yeah! And as you probably expected, PLAN, you need to PLAN. That way, you’ll be more prepared to show up.

 

6. Environment: You’ll hear me say this many times: “We are a product of our surroundings”. Only for good measure though *wink**wink*. Change your surroundings to change yourself.

 

Overcome Challenges:

 

7. Self-compassion: Honestly, how can we forget that we are trillions of cells controlled by a chemical party? Be human, accept it and you’ll reduce your stress. 

Pssst! Failing is the fastest way to learn.

 

8. Patience: To ease this, have optimism and faith. Positive self-talk helps here. Remember once you’re in that challenging time, you are just about to break through to the next level in any area.

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Measure Progress:

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9. Journaling: I know it’s tempting… but don’t skip this!! Some successful people have a hard time remembering what their big wins felt like back in the day. The ones who journaled don’t. As my girl tells me, it’s okay to keep it quick and short.

 

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Recommended Habits

• Make your bed when you wake up.

• Cliché? Very. Effectiveness? Yes.

• This lets you start and end your day with success and get the snowball rowling early so you can finish with an avalanche!

• Take a cold shower.

• Daunting I know, but life gets easier when you do the hard things

• This lowers stress and inflammation in the body while wiring you to see hardship as nothing

• It’s okay to take small steps and just switch on the cold for a few seconds multiple times. Remember: any progress is good progress.

• Read 

• Non-negotiable. If you want to do better then learn, trim your brain and grow your vocabulary. This is necessary when dealing with fancy people and in order to achieve great success you will encounter these gatekeepers.

• Schedule this once you’ve gotten a habit or to in place and read for a short time. Get in the habit of showing up.

• Work out 

• Again, just show up, more often maybe even than you actually work out. 

• Do what you find fun, i.e. callisthenics, powerlifting, running in a beautiful enchanted forest, hot yoga (I don’t judge, or at least not the other moms there), etc.

• Journal 

• Gain clarity, yada yada yada… You know what I said about journaling a minute ago.

• No phone for the first hour of the day

• No mail, no social media, no games, no nothing.

• Try it out and observe how much better the day feels when you regulate your own mood and don’t slave away for other people. 

• Do a lil meditation

• Like I just said, regulate your mood and stop reacting. Unless y’know, you don’t wanna prioritise yourself…

• Meditating improves your focus, awareness of how you feel and what your body needs as well as life enjoyment. Ooooo shiny

• Plan your day in advance, or better yet, your week

• Third time’s the charm! Surely you get that you need to take charge before life takes charge of you by now…

• Do selfless acts

• This gives me a sense of meaning and makes me feel good. All while people around me start to feel appreciated and like me. (Finally!!!)

• Set out one weekday as a rest day

• “OH THANK GOD! I’D NEVER THOUGHT YOU’D SAY ‘REST’!!”

• I’m not sure you can call this a habit BUT the productivity and life satisfaction you can receive is immense when you set out one day to be free of must’s. Of course, you can do stuff but it shouldn’t strain your mentality.

• Prioritise stuff like walks, meditation and maybe spontaneity. Or simply nothing.

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Is any of this FaNCy? NO.

 

You have the intuition that all of this is good but to fully understand how powerful these habits are you need to experience them yourself. 

 

Will you fail? Well, are you human? You need to fail to learn effectively so it’s a positive. “Failure doesn’t define you, it teaches you.”

 

As with everything, try it out one step at a time (no need to rush) and see what works for you.

 

P.S. Don’t forget to celebrate your victories! Small and big.

 

Good luck soldier.

Hugo signing out!