Small actions done consistently define who we are. It’s the little actions that add up to incredible momentum. Impossible goals are achieved not by one large action, but by infinite smaller actions.
What’s my one rep look like?
Run for 5 minutes - I run everyday.
Read one chapter of the Bible - I read the Bible every day.
Do one set of body exercises - I workout everyday.
Write one sentence - I write everyday.
Write one line of code - I ship everyday.
Send one love text to my wife - I love my wife everyday.
Play with my kids for 5-minutes - I play with my kids everyday.
Eat one clean meal - I eat healthy everyday.
Say a one-minute prayer - I pray everyday.
Stream live for 5-minutes - I livestream everyday.
Clean for 5-minutes - I clean everyday.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be long.
Soon you’ll get used to it. Soon you’ll start to expand the goals. Soon you’ll start to depend on these healthy habits. Soon it will become second nature.
All of a sudden you are doing the things you are supposed to be doing every day. You’ve replaced your bad habits with these good habits. You leave no room for bad habits to exist.
You don’t even have to decide between good and bad habits. The good ones win because they are easy, simple, and achievable.
One rep. Everyday. That’s the goal. The goal isn’t “A million dollars” or “A Six-pack”. It’s to show up. It’s to do one rep. It’s to create and love the habit.
Bookends
When do you perform your small habits? One way to do it is to ‘bookend’ your days. Do it all at the beginning and the end of the day.
In the morning: run, exercise, pray, write, code, stream.
In the evening: eat, play, clean, read, plan, sleep.
Make them so easy to do that it’s laughable.
Start your day with small wins. End your day with small wins. You’ll love yourself, and you’ll love the person you’ll become.
Distractions
Notice how “browsing social media” isn’t on my list? Notice how “wasting time” isn’t on my list? These are distractions. They need to be eliminated. They’re detrimental to your health.
I think this is the single most powerful thing that’s working against people. They allow distractions. They allow things to come in and cause them to do something different than what they’re supposed to be doing.
I’m susceptible to distractions. It’s toxic. It feels good in in the moment but it’s killing your future self. Distractions slow you down, and they make it hard to achieve the long-term goals you have.
I believe if you create small bookend habits without distractions you can achieve anything you want in life.