Two things I’ve noticed in my half-century of dealing with people, in many walks of life is:
#1– Everybody is uniquely different from everyone else; no two individuals are alike and
#2 – everybody likes to win, no exceptions, given the option to win or lose, everyone wants to win, right?… I mean it makes sense; nobody likes to lose… nobody…. Regardless if it’s a game, or at any kind of sport, an argument, debate or disagreement, getting the favor of a friend, completing a project at home or for work, in your financial investments, in your weekly paycheck (think about this for a minute, if you’re a technician and you turn an average of $4000 in commissions or salary each week, and this week you only turn $3500, you feel like you “lost” right?… but if you turned $4500 or $5000, you feel like you won…correct?) in our relationships, with our goals & dreams…we want to WIN.
We spend every day, whether you notice it or not, we spend everyday day looking for a win… in every area of our day, we look for the win.
Why is that?… because it is hard-wired into our DNA, and we get a reward for winning… every time.
Our brain releases neurochemicals like dopamine that make us “feel good”, a quick reward for the win, a very addictive reward that drives us hard for the wins.
You want a perfect example, look no farther than gambling, that shot of dopamine when you get a blackjack and beat the dealer, hit “your” number on roulette or just hit the simple WIN lines on the one-armed bandits, feeds that desire to keep betting, dumping more coins into the slot machine or hitting the ATM for more cash for the card tables, even as your funds start drying-up.
We are born to win…. We are compelled to WIN. ?
Yet some days, hell… even some weeks, we can go without a win… not one win (at least according to what we may qualify as a win), and when we go for a period of time without the win, we start to get a little down, lose a little confidence, start letting our limiting beliefs tell us lies like “we can’t___” or we’ll never___ “or “we’re not good enough” or many other self-defeating thoughts.
Left unchecked, it can spiral down a bad hole and leave us really feeling like shit.
So, we need the wins… right?… right!
Today I want to give you 3 tips for some quick wins you can have every day, even before you head out the door to work…. Hell, I can give you 3 wins before you even leave your bathroom in the morning!
If you didn’t already know, I LOVE to win too! In fact, I designed a morning routine about 16 months ago, that helps me win every day…. Because of this routine, I have several wins every morning before my work day starts, and it puts me in the right frame of mind to go on to achieve many more wins throughout the day.
If you want, I will gladly send you a FREE copy of my morning routine that help you start your day on the right, winning, track too… just send me a request & I’ll send it right to your inbox.
Part of my morning routine I follow every work day involves getting up early (before 5am), working out for 30-40 minutes and taking a cold shower before getting dressed for the day.
There are several other parts to this routine that I would gladly share, but I want to give you those 3 quick, easy wins. There is nothing like a few shots of dopamine before I even get to my coffee!
Okay, #1 – Getting out of bed when the alarm goes off ⏰
Sounds simple right?… it is, but so many people (you know who you are), including me in my earlier life, hear the alarm go off, slap the snooze button for an extra 5-10 minutes of sleep and sometimes repeat this a few times, before finally getting up. Well, guess what?… that extra 5-10-15 minutes did NOT make you feel more rested… let’s be honest, you would have stayed in bed longer, but guilt or fear of getting fired, motivated you to finally get yourself up, right? Getting up first thing in the morning based on fear, or feeling guilted into leaving your bed is NOT very inspiring, nor the best way to start your day!
So, make it easier on yourself with a couple simple steps… go to bed a little earlier at night, a half-hour earlier to bed, should make it easier getting up a half-hour earlier in the morning.
Place your alarm clock on the other side of the room, so you physically have to get out of the bed, walk across the room to shut it off… and here’s the PRO TIP… DON’T jump back in bed, go directly to the bathroom or to the kitchen or whatever room you go to first in the morning.
Personally, I have my alarm clock (only as a back-up) on my dresser across the room, so if needed, I will get out of bed to shut if off before it wakes my wife! But my almost-never-fail method of alarm is my Fitbit… it has a vibrate alarm option that I feel on my wrist, and that is enough to wake me silently (works great by the way) and I immediately get up… that’s it.
First win of the day… I beat my desire to hit snooze and sleep longer.
Now, #2- Do my exercise routine (after proper lemon/water hydration) ?️♂️
As I told you earlier, I religiously exercise every work day morning for at least 30 minutes, it’s not something I WANT to do, or look forward to every day, but I know how good I feel after I’m done, and I know how good it is for my body, my mind & my energy for the day.
Yet, most mornings, as I do my business in the bathroom, my mind tries to talk me into skipping the workout (just for today), because I really should get a jump on my work, or do that research, or send that email or a million other things I could do before work… but I resist that urge from my conscious to skip the exercise & listen to my sub-conscious that says “stick to the damn program!”
Your mind is really good at talking you out of shit you know you should do… I mean, who knows your pressure points, or weak spots better than your own mind, right?… but that’s where you have to dig in and resist that temptation, push back against the “easy button” because no growth comes from the easy way, or avoiding the minor discomfort or perceived pain. We do not grow physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually without overcoming some adversity or struggle. Strengthening your will power on simple things like “workout or skip workout” will pay major dividends later in life, when much bigger struggles or adversity face you & you can muster the courage & will to power past the obstacles in your way to success.
Second win of the day – beat my “inner villain” trying to talk me out of exercise, doing it anyways & feeling awesome, energetic & alive afterwards!
Alright, this one is going to take a little extra will power… but it’s worth it, I promise…
#3 – take the cold shower…. ? WHAT??…. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR F#CKING MIND?
No… I’m not crazy, and this is not as bad as it sounds…. Really!… it’s not that bad… trust me!
OK… it does suck a little…. But it is SOOO worth the short duration of suckiness.
The health benefits alone far outweigh the few minutes of discomfort, (in as little as 5 minutes) it is proven to help things like:
- calming itchy skin & reducing acne
- waking you up
- increasing circulation
- reducing muscle soreness post-workout
- potentially boosting weight loss
- Glowing improvements in hair and skin
- Lowering levels of depression
- Lowers water bill (trust me, you don’t want to stay in there longer than you need to!)
Look, I’m not some psycho that likes to torture himself (it’s not really torture), I really love a nice hot shower like most everyone else, and I do enjoy those on the weekend, but during the week, it’s ONLY cold showers in the morning.
Here is a tip to make it a little easier to start, if you go right from a vigorous workout to the cold shower, you’re already warmed up (hopefully sweating a bit) from your workout & the cold water actually feels pretty good… it’s not such a shock to your system as you would think… or maybe that’s just me. I will tell you, without a doubt, I have a ton more energy and have enjoyed the benefits of some of the improvements I just mentioned, for over a year!
I will never go back to warm or hot showers in morning… no sir.
With that said, my inner voice still… to this day… will mess with me & try to talk me out of the cold shower… trying to sell me on “wouldn’t that hot shower feel really good right now?” or “come on, you deserve it… just today…. Nobody will know, it will be our secret!” …. nice try inner voice…. But I resist every time.
Third win of the day (and I haven’t even left my bathroom yet!) – did not let my inner voice talk me out of something that benefits me in so many ways, took the cold shower & now feel like I can bust through a wall & conquer the world!
So, there you have it… as promised…. 3 easy wins for the day, before you even leave the bathroom.
- Get right out of bed, no snoozing⏰
- Stick to your exercise routine – do not skip?️♂️
- Take the cold shower – your whole body will thank you?
And I will give you one more BONUS win for the day, and would highly suggest trying this at least for a couple days to see if you notice the difference in your mindset….
Leave the news off (both TV & radio) until you have arrived at work… no news at home or in the car… try this for a couple days.
The only thing you’ll be missing is the mental beat-down & 100% negative input that comes out of the mainstream media mouths.
Unless listening to the news makes you feel great… feel alive… invigorated…. Leave that shit off for as long as you can!?
All you really need is maybe the weather or your sports updates, which you can get on a million different apps!
My challenge to you is, try these 3 easy wins (and the BONUS win) for the next 30 days, and drop me a line or a comment on SM to let me know if this makes you feel better, feel worse or if it was too hard to stick to.?♂️
