Wanna Join the 1%?

Most people bristle at the thought of New Year's Resolutions. Yuck! Who wants to do those? Am I right?

Most likely failed resolution attempts of the past dance before their eyes. Like them, you might have lofty goals of your own but scoff at the idea of New Year's Resolutions. The most common goals that most have are around getting more fit, losing weight, and eating healthier. Or possibly writing the next great novel.

And yet year after year most people fail at these goals. Why?

I believe it's because most people put too much pressure on themselves. They also take on too much, too fast. The sheer amount of change they try to attempt becomes overwhelming. Initially they may have enthusiasm that gets them started on their path to health, wellness and a six pack.

However the amount of changes they're attempting to make become overwhelming and usually within three weeks they've gone back to their previous ways. Each time this happens, there can be a sense of failure. Which means that they're less willing to attempt to create changes, even if what they're currently doing is making them miserable.

What if there's a better way? Good news! There is!

I call this the 1% way. The idea is that instead of trying to change everything about yourself overnight you start to make incremental changes, 1% at a time. Over time as you improve, it becomes easier to make some of the more difficult changes. 

Also as you improve by 1% daily your efforts actually compound. Every 72 days you'll manage to double your efforts. How awesome is that?

The other really cool thing that happens as you practice improving by 1% daily is over time your good habits become a positive habit stack. You'll actually start to drown out your bad habits. Imperceptibly, day by day, you'll create the person you want to be. 

"Assuming you get roughly 8 hours of sleep a night, that’s 16 waking hours for you to do something to improve. 16 x 60 minutes = 960 minutes. 1% of 960 is 9.6. If you add just 10 minutes of something positive into your life each day, you’ll become unstoppable." The Monk Life  

As you can see from this calculation, the idea isn't to spend hours on end doing something. All you have to do is a little something daily to improve your life. It can be anything from spending 10 minutes meditating to going for a short brisk walk around the block. The idea is simply to do something.

I'm not you, so I don't know what you want to work on. For myself over the years I've drowned out some of my bad habits like eating fast food, drinking too much, sleeping in. I've replaced them with some really stellar good habits like daily meditation, tapping, eating whole foods plant based, yoga or hiit training (depending on the day).

How do I know what I'm doing now is better than what I was doing before? Aside from the fact that many successful people do most of the things I do everyday, I feel better. I have more energy, sleep better and my mood is pretty good no matter what's going on.

When I had my old habits I suffered from depression and anxiety. I felt really unfulfilled in my life. Plus I was caught in a cycle of self hate which played itself out in horrible relationships, unfulfilling jobs and too much alcohol. These days I'm generally happy, motivated and inspired. I have goals, plans and things I want to do with my days.

I start my day with meditation, tapping and a workout. But it wasn't always this way. I added meditation first and then started to add to it. My current morning routine has taken me years to perfect. I play around with adding practices here and there to fine tune it. But I always start with meditation and build from there.

My morning routine isn't always perfect but that's okay. The main thing is that I take time to assess and improve my habits as needed. To create better habits one has to be willing to look at what's working, what isn't, how it's making you feel and adjust accordingly. 

It's not about judgement. It's really about looking at where you are, where you want to go and making some decisions about the best way to get there. It helps to be unattached and pragmatic. If you can find a friend who wants to improve along with you, all the better. 

What are you wanting to work on?

Is it your health?

Are you wanting to eat healthier?

Maybe you want to move more?

Perhaps you've been wanting to start writing in a journal?

Or maybe you've heard about how beneficial meditation is and you want to learn?

Whatever it is you want to attempt, simply start. Commit a few minutes daily. If you're looking for tips check out my free ebook on my website that helps you create better health habits. 

Let me know how things turn out!