A great life comes from living the routines that bring you growth, happiness and health

Along time ago, I used to be a bit of a loser. I was way over weight. I worked in a dead end job. I had dropped out of university. I had no love life and I drank like a sailor and smoked like a chimney.

Well, I guess I was a real loser. I was fat, broke, depressed and useless. And while I was in that terrible state, I would ask myself questions. ‘Why is it so hard for me?’ ‘Why can’t I…?’ ‘What’s wrong with me?’

Stupid questions really. Weak thoughts that infected every aspect of my life. From jobs, to relationships, to my thinking about the future.

The worst was the weight. I was really fat. I knew I had to make a change, but it felt like an impossible mountain I would never overcome. I would ask, ‘why me?’ Well, the answer was obvious — I told myself everyday I was fat and I ate too much and worked too little. And I made all the excuses I could find. None of them were real.

However, they had become my paradigm, or more basically, they had become my thought routine. That’s not something that’s easy to break. I tried. I would wake up one day and say ‘today’s day one, I’m going to change my life, I can do it, look out world here comes warrior Joe.’ But by the end of the day I’d be back to the same routine. Eating, drinking, moping, not exercising, with the same story, ‘I’m fat, poor me.’

It takes more than an idea, it takes a routine

In the end, my friends, I’m so glad to say, I did it. I climbed that impossible mountain. I did what I needed to do.

I shut down the excuses. I started to tell myself every day, “I’m not going to live like this anymore. And I made my routine to eat less and exercise daily.

That simple routine, everyday over a couple of years, took me from 126 kg, down to 82 and I know I’m never going anywhere near 100 again.

I used a similar method with the other issues I had. I didn’t like my job, so my daily thoughts and actions had to change. I worked hard on developing professional routines and I made myself ready for the better job. I wanted love, well I found the routines that made me attractive. So on and so on, I slowly turned my life around.

Routines create who you are, no matter what else is happening

It’s your routines, not your thoughts, that create your life. You may have a great thought and decide that’s what you want, but unless you make that thing a daily routine, you’ll let it slip.

If you have winning routines, you stick to them and you win!

Routines for Success

1. Start your day with success

You need to get up and decide your feeling and your focus right out of bed.

This does not have to be a chore.

Simply start your day with the right thought: “Today is going to be a good day. I am so grateful for …” Find something that you know you should be grateful for and your mind will turn on to good vibrations for the day.

2. Set your focus

Remember your focus — what is your goal? What is your long term thing that will bring you success in life. Make sure it’s in your head and make sure you focus on it all day. This will focus your efforts, but also, it will shut out all the noise you don’t need to hear. Focus on the thing that makes all the difference and just get through the rest.

3. Turn on your mind

Simply make time to program your mind to think success, abundance, positive and confident thoughts. (The below meditation is a great starter.)
Learn something empowering. Start reading a book or look up something informative online. Watch a great movie or read a novel. Do something that turns on your mind and gets you thinking.
Meditation, even if you let your mind wonder, is still a great time to just stop the flow and relax.
Check out success meditation on YouTube for a simple guided exercise.

4. Freshen your senses

Have a cold shower or jump in a pool. If you have time, exercise then freshen up. The cold shock wakes you up and gets you ready. It gives you that warrior blast. It’s a bitch in the beginning, but it does help you get going.

People have used cold water therapies for centuries as a treatment to invigorate and enhance their overall well-being. Some scientific studies support the beneficial effects of cold showers on mental and physical health. Even brief bursts of cold water can be worth incorporating into a regular shower routine. MedicinalNewsToday

For more of the advantages follow the link to MedicinalNewsToday.

4. Start Healthy

Exercise is a must. We are built to be strong so we can survive this harsh world. However, many of us do little more than tap keys and push the mouse around.

The advantages of health and exercise are obvious. So, I don’t think I need to ramble on about the importance of living fit and healthy. However, I know I never took it serious when I was younger and I wish I did.

You should eat well
Get some sun
Exercise and
Stretch

For more specifics, especially in regards to eating healthy, see my previous article:How to be a Success: Get More EnergyFeatured image by Marion Michele .medium.com

5. Work with purpose

This means focus on what’s important. If your job is your dream job and every interaction fills you with meaning and joy, then immerse yourself totally in work and go with the flow.

If not, steal every free moment to focus on what really matters to you.

Everything else, just takes away from your mission. I know how easy it is to get distracted, it happens to me all the time. You get sucked into the office gossip, the bitch sessions, the dreaming of how to make it better, and all the gasbagging, and so on. All that takes you away from the mission. All that allows weeds to grow.

Keep your focus and you will build your way to success

6. Get Inspired

If you’re chasing success, there will be times when you get down. I felt it just this week. The numbers didn’t go in the right direction. The masses of fans are not there. I’m not the people’s champion. And I came to some tough realizations.

However, my every afternoon routine of listening to music with my son always blows away the frustration. I might be feeling angst one minute, but when I feel Beethoven’s Ode To Joy surging through me, or Metalica’s Ride the Lightning, or whatever, and I feel awesome.

Then I follow it up with the afternoon exercise.
Then I follow up with reading, studying or writing, and I don’t care anymore about what’s going wrong. I’m learning and progressing and I can feel good in an instant.
Make a routine of feeling inspired every day. Find something that inspires you. I used to watch sunsets. Now it’s time with my son.
Get inspired and run on good energy.

7. Do the side hustle

The last thing you want to do is to make your nights and weekends “tune out” time. That’s when the weeds get you. Watching the misery of news, the distraction of mindless TV, the stupidity of gossip and all the rest is ‘opium for the masses’. Shut it down and get your own hustle.

For me, I work the 9–5, or more like 7–4. Then at night I put in 1–2 hours on my own stuff. And as much of the weekend as I can.
I believe every one should have a side hustle. It could be writing the novel, blogging, playing gigs at the pub, whatever. Work is for the paycheck, the side hustle is for the legacy, the empire, or simply to help you grow.

So, whether it’s focus a little time developing a sideline special project for the business, or creating a whole separate stream of income from work, create the side hustle and get motivated at home.

8. Find time for connection

Make time every day to connect with loved ones. Time for parents, the partner, the kids, the friends.
We are social beings. We need connection, it makes us feel safe and calm. And these relationships die if we don’t make time.
You’re probably much better than me, but if not, make it a routine and force yourself. You’ll feel better.

9. End the day with gratitude

We end right back where we started.
Ultimately, you set your mind at the end of the day. Generally, how you end the day is usually how you start the next. End with stress, start with stress.
I found if I go to sleep grateful, I sleep better, I wake up ready to be grateful and do the work.

10. Find a connection to the spiritual

I’m not a preacher and I’m not going to tell you to believe in any one thing. I have my religion and I know there are many people who have theirs as well.

The one thing I can tell you, is it helps.

Knowing, or believing, that there is something greater than us and feeling that there is a purpose to all of this makes life bearable.

So whatever God you want to believe in, or even if it’s a general belief in the energy of the universe, feed that connection on a daily basis.

Final Thoughts on Routines

21 days. It takes 21 days for actions to become routines.

Let’s start today — start now and know 21 days from now we’ll be several more steps up the mountain and on the way to our goals.

Start with these simple 10. I know you can do them all and you can do them everyday, no matter what is happening in the world around you.

Start your day with success mindset
Set the right focus
Turn on your mind
Start with healthy
Work with purpose
Get inspired
Start a side-hustle
Find time for connection
End the day with gratitude
Find spiritual connection

Do these everyday and you will be on the path to great success.

Come join as we rock this life into the next level, come do the daily success that gets you everything you want. — join here.