#147 Non-Negotiable Habits

Successful people have non-negotiable habits… plain and simple.  It’s just a fact.

 

I Have Rules

I have rules that I will not break.  Getting up in the morning to train, lunging, my nutrition, etc.  Three things happen when I break my rules.  One, I don’t get as great of a result.  Two, I don't feel as confident about my situation.  Three, I’m one day further away from my goal, not one day closer.

If you don't take this seriously, it's going to be hard for you to get to where you want to go.  Again, I don't know anybody that's successful that doesn't have a set of rules that they follow.

 

Break It Down

How do you then pick out what these non-negotiable habits should be?  Think about when you're doing your best.  Whether it's in your job, in life, or in your business.  When do you feel your best?  When do you look your best?  When do you execute the best?  

Break it down.  When I have the most energy, these are the foods I’ve been eating.  When I’m experiencing the most success with my business, I’ve been doing this.  When I have my best workouts, I work out at this time.  I feel the clearest when I’m reading every morning.  This entire process was discovered through trial and error.

 

What Works For You?

My entire process may not work for you, but maybe certain bits and pieces do.  That's what I'm saying.  Develop what moves the needle for you.  Countless people go their entire lives without any habits or processes in place.

Maybe someone had a sports coach that forced them to do certain things when they were young.  There was structure.  Then, think about what happens after they leave organized sports or a team.  Structure disappears.  Only then do they realize that they needed that structure in their lives.

 

You Need Them

You absolutely need some habits, rules, and structure in your life.  You need to be constantly improving them.  You need to add and subtract things from the equation.  When people ask me, why do you eat this way?  Why do you train at that time?  Why do you listen to personal development material while you're lunging?  Why? 

 I know what kind of result I’m going to get.  If I know I’m going to get the result I want, then why would I change the habits and processes that got me there?  If you aren’t happy with your results, then something obviously isn’t working.  What do your non-negotiable habits look like?

 

Drive Discipline

Put items in place to drive more accountability.  More accountability drives more discipline.  Discipline doesn’t take things from you.  It actually gives you everything you want.  People trip on this concept all the time. 

Here’s how it goes… Oh, you’re not taking my pizza away from me.  No motherfucker, I'm giving you a better body and a better outlook.  You’re going to improve your body image and confidence because you won’t be carrying as much body fat.  Flip your perspective and look at the other side.

 

Enter Arnold

Arnold once told me about when he was getting ready for a Mr. Olympia show, “Nothing tastes better than that goal.  There’s no food that tastes better than going for greatness.”  It was something along those lines.  Think about that for a second.

Is this beer going to taste better in that moment more than me getting ready for the show?  You have to start looking at the shit that you're doing and at the rules you're creating and say, is it fucking worth it?  Aimlessly floating through life isn’t going to breed the results you want.  Business, personal, fitness, it doesn't fucking matter. 

That's one of the giant concepts I took away from Arnold.  It started in the gym, then to business, and finally to the movie screen.  It didn’t matter.  He applied the same discipline.  He had the same rules.

 

Set Them Up

Get started.  Take Thursday, for example.  It’s thirsty Thursday, right?  For me, I don’t drink on Thursdays because I know that it’s going to fuck up my Friday workout.  It’s going to be harder to get out of bed.  I'm not going to be as fucking focused.

I drink on Friday and Saturday.  That's it.  Why the fuck are you drinking on Tuesday?  What's the reason?  Is it someone's fucking birthday?  Is there something you're celebrating?  No, no.  Then why are you doing it?

 

The Outcome

If you can implement a solid set of rules, then I guarantee you’ll love the outcome.  And if you don't like the outcome, you tweak it a little bit more, and then you tweak it a little bit more.  

You can even take this a step further.  Find a video of yourself at your best.  A time where you were radiating confidence.  You saw the way you talked, the way you looked, and you remember what was happening at that particular time.  Great, now ask yourself, “How can I mimic that?  How can I improve upon it?”  Study that time. 

None of this happens by chance.  It happens because of your non-negotiable habits.  It’s time to create yours.  Create some non-negotiable habits and rules to follow.  Inject some discipline into your life and give yourself the best possible chance to win.