You Can't Win if You Don't Show Up
This is what showing up looks like for me :)
I currently have a focus to improve my agility and fitness and increase my daily step count. This weekend I wasn’t feeling it. It started Friday. We arrived in Bend after a long few days or travel and Manuel asked me what I wanted to do on Saturday. I sluggishly responded, “maybe just hang around the house”. Of course, he was surprised and less than thrilled by my response, but he shrugged it off. The next morning, I woke up with my friend’s words echoing in my head “Do what you can when you can”. So, I decided to get off my butt and find a new hike so we could go out and enjoy the day. And guess what, it was amazing! It was a beautiful day filled with memories that will last for a lifetime.
Life is funny that way, it has a way of rewarding you when you show up. I think this is true in both your business life and your personal life. It’s true with your friends and your family and especially with your health. Showing up is the single most important thing you can do to improve anything in your life. If you show up and put in the effort you will see the reward. If you’re not seeing the results you want, a big part of the problem is probably that you are not showing up. Start by showing up.
7 tools to help you showing up even when you don’t feel like it
Build a system: so that showing up just means you are running on autopilot. Your workout, your meal plan, your sales calls all follow a specific system the requires no energy and no thinking.
Minimize Friction: Eliminate any obstacles that make it difficult to start. Make it so easy and simple for yourself that showing up is frictionless. It’s all laid out and ready to go. Ex: all the video equipment is all set-up and all you have to do is walk in the room and hit the button.
The 2 min rule: Starts small and stupid simple. Reduce the activity down to something you can do in just two min. And show up! Learn to just show up every day. "Take whatever habit you're trying to create and scale it down to something that takes two minutes or less to do," Clear explained. "So 'read 30 books a year' becomes 'read one page' or 'do yoga four days a week' means 'take out my yoga mat.'"- James Clear (see video below)
Habit Loops: Trigger habits with routines. Set a regular routine and reward system that tricks your brain to showing up even when you don’t feel like it. A habit loop is a created with a cue, routine, reward loop. Ex: every time I get into “think mode” I put on a certain playlist to get my mind in “think mode”. It’s like Pavlov’s dog. The music starts and my brain knows the activity that comes next. Cue (music), habit (think time), reward (ideas)
Who & Why: Build a strong connection with why showing up matters to you as well as the type of person showing-up will help you become.
Accountability: External support systems, such as a friend, a coach, or public commitment, help to maintaining consistency.
Don’t do what you hate: Pretty simple if you absolutely hate it, you won’t do it. Find a way to build showing up around something you don’t hate. Ex: If you hate being on social media don’t try and build an audience by posting on social media. There are plenty of other ways you can build an audience.
Notes that Resonated
If it’s too big it doesn’t belong to you. Give it back to God
You won’t lose the battle if you don’t lose your focus
Movement creates momentum
The rudder only works when the ship is moving -7 powers
Be a mountain climber not a mountain spotter
The less likely something is to occur the more it’s talked about
Chance only favors those who are prepared
You can’t meet any of your larger goals if you never show up.
Things to read
Nothing worth mentioning this week :(
Videos to watch
James Clear’s 2 min rule: Teach yourself to show-up
"We're so focused on optimizing that we don't give ourselves permission to show up even if it's just a small way." -James clear
Productivity
8 things to do every day before 8:30
If you don’t have daily system or a morning routine the below serves as a good template. You can easily swipe and adapt items to better fit your lifestyle. Ex: swap or add to #5 breakfast with the kids. Try using a timer for #6-8 to keep you on track and focused. And you can add or swap out to the below things like… morning pages, thankful lists, or create a daily Big 3 to do list.
Sleep 8 hours
Pray/ Meditate
Do something physically hard
Cold shower (I hate this, and it will never be part of my routine. I prefer a hot steam)
Consume 30g of protein
Read or listen to uplifting content
Review your life vision or goal list
Do one thing to move you closer to your long-term goal
Top Quotes
“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” — Stephen King
“80% of success is showing up” - Woody Allen
“Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” – Keri Russell
“Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have to standardize before you can optimize.” - Brandon Landgraf
Things to Discover
Notebook LM: Google ‘s new AI tool
This is an interesting new AI tool for writing content. Personally, I’m not a Chat GPT AI user. I feel the result seems to be a little flat but leveraging the tool does keep you from starting with a blank page. Google’s new tool is a little different because it allows you to use your own source documents and personal notes to create content. It pulls from chat GPT like AI plus can use up to 20 documents you upload to add to its knowledge base. This helps ensure your content results are more targeted and personal.
Check out the video above video for a good understand of the tool and how to use it.
Food & Drink
Meatless Monday Smash Tacos (yes, it’s lentils)
1 Cup dried Lentils, washed, rinsed, and drained. (Green, brown, or black lentils work)
1 can plum tomatoes 2 1/2 Cups water
1 Onion, diced. 2 Shallots, diced.
4 cloves garlic, minced.
3-4 TBS Olive Oil (optional) Steam sauté if you prefer with a bit of broth or water
2 TBS Chili Powder
2 TBS Cumin
1 tsp Onion, granulated.
1 tsp Salt, kosher 1 tsp Black pepper
Handful tortilla chips, crushed.
1 ½ Cups Shredded Cheese, (he uses vegan cheese but why??? regular cheese works too 🙂)
1 Pack small to medium sized tortilla wraps or soft taco shells
1 Head Lettuce, shredded.
Pico De Gallo/Salsa: 2 tomatoes, diced. ½ red onion, diced. Handful, Cilantro, rough chop 2 limes, juiced. Jalapeno Diced, optional.