Tag: stress

Performance goals, stress, time management

Feel like you don’t have enough time?

Do you feel like there’s not enough hours in the day?

You’re no stranger to the relentless demands of balancing work, family, and personal goals.

The constant fretting over whether there’s enough time to accomplish everything can leave you feeling out of control, overwhelmed, and like you’re always moving too slowly.

It’s a familiar struggle – the feeling that time is slipping through your fingers.

This anxiety often stems from a perception of having a lack of time, which can be addressed.

In this blog post, we will explore effective time management strategies to help you regain control and prioritize what’s important in your life.

  1. Mindfulness: One of the most powerful tools to combat the stress of limited time is mindfulness. Incorporating mindfulness into your daily routines can make a significant difference. Start by paying attention to the present moment. When you’re with your children, be fully present with them. When you’re working on a task, focus solely on that task. Mindfulness helps you appreciate each moment and prevents the constant worrying about what comes next.
  2. Journal: At the end of your day, take a few minutes to reflect in a journal. Write down what causes the feelings of anxiety related to time. This practice of self-reflection can help you identify recurring patterns and triggers. By acknowledging these stressors, you can begin to address and manage them more effectively.
  3. Address the Underlying Issue: Sometimes, the anxiety about time is rooted in a deeper issue – a feeling of helplessness or a belief that you can’t control time. It’s essential to remind yourself that you can’t stop time from moving, but you can control what you do in the present moment. Reflect on what it means to spend your time beneficially. Are you aligning your actions with your priorities? By consciously making choices that align with your goals and values, you’ll feel more in control of your time.
  4. Talk with a Professional: Seeking professional guidance can be immensely beneficial. A behavioural coach like myself can help you navigate the complex interplay of feelings, thoughts, choices, and actions. Through meaningful conversations, you can gain insights and develop strategies to manage stress and maximize your productivity as a professional parent.

In the fast-paced world of professional parenting, it’s easy to succumb to the feeling that there’s never enough time.

However, by practicing mindfulness, journaling to identify stress triggers, addressing underlying issues, and seeking guidance from a professional, you can regain control of your time and start prioritizing what truly matters.

Don’t let anxiety about time hold you back from achieving your potential.

Remember, time is a precious resource – it’s how you use it that truly counts.

Click here to explore how I can help you take control of your life and reach your goals.

career goals, stress

How to deal with stress

Picture this: your energy, once vibrant and boundless, starts to wane. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, you notice the decline.

Yet, like a frog in slowly heating water, you wonder if this is just the norm. Thoughts creep in — “Everyone’s stressed, right? Maybe I’m overthinking this.”

So, you do what many of us do: you accept it. But let’s be clear, this isn’t a post about motivation. It’s not about urging you to muster a burst of enthusiasm or artificially pump yourself up.

Instead, it’s about cultivating awareness, about recognizing the signs before they snowball into something unmanageable. It’s about closing the gate before the horse bolts and refusing to wait until the 11th hour to make a change.

Because here’s the truth: While you might be performing decently on the professional front, personally, things might be a train wreck.

The undercurrent of stress and discontent is pulling you down, and you might not even realize the extent of its impact. You sense it in the waning enthusiasm at work, in the way you treat your body as if it were an amusement park, neglecting its needs for rest, nourishment, and care.

You see it in the precious moments you should be spending with your family, which are being sacrificed to the ever-expanding demands of your schedule. The strain on your relationships becomes evident through emotional outbursts, moments you wish you could take back but that leave their mark nonetheless.

And your solution? You bury your head in the proverbial sand, throwing yourself even deeper into your work, hoping that the pressures and anxieties will magically sort themselves out.

But the truth is, avoiding the issues only exacerbates the problem. Ignoring what you know you should be addressing creates a dissonance within you, a gnawing feeling that something’s not right.

This internal conflict between knowing what needs to change and resisting that change only breeds more misery, low energy, and a sense of being trapped in a rut.

These are the unconscious signals — negative memories, unresolved emotions — that demand resolution. They surface at inconvenient moments, disrupting your mental equilibrium until they’re dealt with.

And these issues won’t simply disappear until you face them head-on.

The irony is, as you expend energy suppressing these negative emotions or resorting to unhealthy coping mechanisms, you inadvertently magnify the problem.

Instead of dissipating, the discomfort lingers, weighing you down further.

So, what’s the way out of this cycle? How can you start reclaiming your energy, your sense of well-being, and your overall equilibrium?

The answer lies in embracing positive stress methods. It’s not about avoiding stress altogether — a feat that’s nearly impossible in the modern world. Rather, it’s about cultivating a healthy relationship with stress, understanding your capacities, resources, and adaptations.

It’s about recognizing that not all stress is bad, and that a certain level of challenge can actually propel you forward. Imagine a balance — the total demands and pressures you face, weighed against your ability to handle them, your personal resources.

Striking this equilibrium is key to maintaining your energy and well-being.

This isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s about recognizing your unique circumstances, your strengths, and your limitations. It’s about practicing self-awareness, identifying the areas of your life that are tipping the balance, and taking deliberate steps to regain control.

In conclusion, the journey to reclaiming your energy and well-being begins with awareness. It’s about acknowledging the signs of decline, understanding the consequences of avoidance, and embracing stress as a force that can be harnessed for growth.

By recognizing the interplay between demands and resources, you can regain your sense of equilibrium and create a life that’s not only professionally successful but personally fulfilling as well.

It won’t be an overnight transformation, but every step you take towards awareness and positive change is a step towards a brighter, more balanced future.

For more information on The High Value Executive Program click here

Uncategorized

Making time for mindfulness

If the thought of taking five minutes for yourself has you feeling guilty. And you always prioritise other things. That’s something you need to address.

Nothing should prevent you from taking time for yourself. And if you’re looking for something, that’s effective and easy. Mindfulness is one of the best ways to utilise your time.

There are many mindfulness exercises and meditations you can practise.

Mindful movement, guided meditation, mindful movement, they’re all beneficial.

Why is meditation so hard?

Many avoid silence due to discomfort, not boredom.

Because mindfulness allows your thoughts to become loud. It may bring up uncomfortable thoughts you don’t want to hear.

People go to great lengths to avoid being alone with their thoughts.

I read about an experiment where participants stayed in an empty room by themselves for 20 minutes. In this room was nothing except for a button which administered an electric shock.

A startling 68% of participants pressed the button, and not just once but several times over the 20-minute period. Rather than just be alone with their thoughts in silence, they would electrocute themselves.

Not surprising, considering it’s what people do when they’re drinking, smoking and drugs. Distraction themselves from thoughts and suppression of feelings. Both of which have latent repercussions.

How can I improve at mindfulness?

Being alone with my thoughts used to make me feel uncomfortable because there is no distracting yourself from them. And the silence only amplifies them.

Mindfulness tackles this head on.

When starting out with mindful movement, I’d get frustrated thinking it wasn’t working, or I wasn’t doing it right. I’d get lost in my thoughts and play them out like a mental movie. Realise what I’d done and return to my anchor (what I’m focusing on, i.e., my body or my breathing).

But when I understood that was the purpose of mindfulness it became more appealing. And looking back ‘why was I worried about that?’ I realise it was a fear of fear itself.

Over time, I’ve integrated it into my schedule. And the acknowledgement of these thoughts has become easier and they’ve become less frequent. As a result, my mental clarity has vastly improved. My mind is now quiet where it was once busy and noisy.

This is one of several practises I do for my calmness. If you’d like more information on how to achieve your equanimity, click here

confidence, habits, stress

How to combat fear

Fear impacts our thinking and decision-making in negative ways. Leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions.

Fear also deters us from taking action we know will benefit us. And our aversion discounts a choice.

Fear’s a powerful emotion that’s instigated by perceived danger or threat. This emotion causes physiological and behavioural changes. And can trigger other emotions such as anger, sadness, and shame.

In responding to this emotion, we may react by avoiding the perceived threat.

Queue the need for a holiday to escape the stressors in life.

But, this only perpetuates the issue.

Escape should not be something we demand from life or feel we need as a coping tool.

As the dependence on being able to escape from stressful situations creates its own problems.

True inner peace comes from the nature of our thoughts, rather than pleasant natural surroundings.

Everything that troubles us, is as it would be on a beach or by the pool.

Mental resilience comes from being able to regain your composure wherever you find yourself. Putting yourself on a mountain top regardless of the circumstances.

Returning to your faculty of reason will see you rise above external events. This is the inner citadel in which you can retreat to.

We’re made stronger by habitualising stress not avoiding it.

Exposure will help you to “climb the fear ladder” by exposure to the object of fear in gradual increments.

For example, if you have social anxiety you could start climbing the fear ladder by smiling at a stranger on your daily commute.

Then build your way up to initiating a conversation with someone at work.

One day, you may feel confident enough to build an intimate relationship.

If we confront our fears, the symptoms of anxiety decrease over time.

Removing the fear and giving you choice.

Which is paramount, because your choices decide your fate. And every step you take determines your destiny.

The power of choice determines our future.

career goals, confidence, discipline, exercise, habits, Performance goals, sleep, weight loss

How to improve the quality of your life

To achieve this you need to improve your habits. I’ll explain why.

Years ago I was caught in the ‘lottery win’ mindset.

I convinced myself that overnight success was the result of some windfall. A brush with good fortune.

This was the reason people had aquired their life situation.

What didn’t help was that the media, movies and tabloids would all cement this notion.

But as time passed and I started researching, reading, experimenting. And speaking to the most revered in my industry (people who had achieved great levels of success). I began to form a different hypothesis.

One that was at the other end of the spectrum to ‘overnight success’.

That it takes a lot of time for overnight success to occur. It is actually the culmination of months or years of work.

It’s the small efforts repeated daily that led to a better quality of life.

I’m talking about the small actions that we don’t even think about, because they are habitual. The decisions we make in autopilot mode.

But these are the decisions that shape our future.

So how do we address them? And improve the quality of our lives?

Well, there are some steps, 4 actually. Steps that you can climb up to make change inevitable.

1. The first step is the unconscious incompetence stage.

This is when we’re making bad decisions and we aren’t even aware we’re doing it.

We just know that things aren’t working out.

Here’s were something as being cognisant can help. Bringing tracking into the equation. For our sleep, our diet, our exercise and our stress.

‘that sounds like a lot of time‘. I hear you say.

‘Oh contrare mon frère’.

It’s no extra time! – you’re already doing this stuff so you just record at the time.

After this you’ll then enter into the next stage which is

3. The conscious incompetence.

You start to look at the actual decision and data. It makes it clear.

This is where you are aware that you’re not making optimal decions

You can see that you’re not adhering to the plan you have, if you even have a plan.

You can see where poor choices are actually hindering you.

This is the ‘wow I didn’t realise I was having that many calories’

or ‘I thought I was getting more sleep than that’.

‘Maybe I could cancel my gym membership because I’ve only been once this month’

and the classic – ‘this app can’t be working right’.

It is, and they are! Your ego is just having a hard time coming to terms with your choices.

Remember our thoughts are not the truth but rather stories that we get caught up in!

This is the cold hard truth slapping you across the face, the reality punch to the gut!

An uncomfortable period where you realise things are not as they seem. Or rather as you ‘believed’

Quickly moving on to the next stage 🙂

3. The conscious competence stage

This is where your decisions are improving. Due to some changes you’ve implemented (through self or professional guidance).

You’re making better decisions. But they’re not automatic yet. It still requires effort and discipline to make these decisions.

This is a nice stage as you can actually see change occurring with your actions. You feel good from making better decisions.

4. Then you arrive at the unconscious competence stage.

After enough time in the previous stage. These new benficial life changing decisions become automatic.

You’ve likely amended or introduced a routine which makes actions habitual. And in this ascension you’ve form a new identity.

You see yourself as the person who eats healthy, goes to the gym, gets 8 hours sleep. And is relaxed from practicing mindfulness exercises.

You’re energetic and ethused. You have more clarity and you’re making better decisions as this 2.0 version of you.

Which stage are you in?

career goals, confidence, discipline, habits, motivation, Performance goals, sleep, stress

How I found my purpose

I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you why I do what I do.

The genesis of becoming a health consultant.

It wasn’t a result of happenstance. It stemmed from an event that occurred in my formative years.

At the time my dad had a senior job in the city which saw him start very early and finish very late.

I didn’t see all that much of him. Some times at the weekend but those periods were fleeting.

This seemed to be the norm for the schooling part of my life.

And over time this high pressure senior role took its toll on him.

His energy levels declined, his stress increased and he was having more doctors appointments.

They were concerned with his health.

Turns out that chronic high stress, zero activity. A diet that resembled a 5 year olds birthday party. And a bullfrogs sleep routine wasn’t all that conducive to a healthy living.

Who knew?!

Reality hit home when the cardiologist said that with without open heart surgery a cardiac event was imminent!

It wasn’t a choice. It was an ultimatum. Surgery or you’ll be shuffling off this mortal coil!

It seemed like only days later he was checked in to hospital.

They opened him up and veins were taken from various other parts of his body and replaced those blocked ones around his heart.

That’s what I was told anyway, this period in my life was a bit blurry.

Although I do remember, very vividly, coming home after school – and finding myself alone a fair bit.

As my mum would be at his bedside at the hospital.

I’d make meals for myself and my mum for when she would return late at night.

It was all a bit surreal. And I didn’t understand the severity of the situation. Not until I went to visit my dad.

I remember it was one of the first times I’d been into the City.

Everything was overwhelming, the amount of people, the buildings the noise and the pace of it all.

Several hours had past in what felt like only a few minutes. And we had reached the station adjacent the hospital.

I remember walking in to the ward and seeing my dad.

I barely recognised him

When I sat down beside him I remember being asked questions by the doctor and nurses.

Light hearted chit chat they’d developed from years of developing a bedside manner.

But I didn’t respond. I could muster any words. My mum had to respond for me. As I was transfixed on my dad.

You know when you feel yourself come out of yourself, in a malaise?! That sort of thing.

I was starring at the person that was lying there in the hospital bed hooked up to the machines, and wiring.

It was almost like he wasn’t a human but part of a machine.

The Doctors and my mum trying to lighten the mood. Regaling me with stories of his projectile vomiting post surgery.

But this didn’t permeate the trance I was in.

I remember feeling numb.

And then I felt anger. Angry that this had happened

That he’d let this happen, that he’d chose this.

It wasn’t an unfortunate set of circumstances or genetics

It was the choices he’d made compounded over time that had culminated in this.

This fucked up situation where I didn’t know if he was coming home or not.

I remember the cessation of our visit and being prompted to say goodbye by my mum. Walking through the hospital wing towards the elevator.

I remember this very clearly. Because that was the defining moment.

It was when I told myself ‘that was not going to happen to me’.

That it was on me to look after myself. I must learn from other peoples mistakes as well as my own.

And my dad was exhibit A.

It felt like this experience had knocked me out of the status quo lifestyle that everyone was living. And into a parallel dimension running alongside it.

An Anthropological dimension. From which I would extrapolate societal norms and collate information.

Whilst doing this I started to realise that it wasn’t just my dad that was in poor health.

It was my friend’s dads too.

And men I was hearing about in the news (back when I used to read/watch it). So many men were struggling.

But no one was talking about the elephant in the room.

Everyone was accepting it as the norm. I suppose when everyone is sick it’s no longer considered a disease.

Fast forward man years from then to today.

I look back at this experience and whilst it was difficult and frustrating at the time.

I was also grateful that I had gone through it.

Because I had found my purpose; to save men from themselves.

To help them develop the discipline they need. To elude the temptations of modern living (which have become the imperceptible demise of men).

It’s this purpose that gets me up in the morning and keeps me going late in the evening.

I’ve become more enthused about efficiency, productivity and lifestyle habits. Because I need the energy to to propel me through the day and work on my mission.

And the beauty of it; the things I do to work on my purpose are self perpetuating. They give me more energy.

Not only that but the job satisfaction I get from.

Helping others to have more energy, and manage their health so they can give 100% to their passion, is incredible.

Knowing they’ve made an important transition in their life and set an important example for the children they’re raising.

Here’s a testimonial from one of my clients, Alex:

Not only has Andy helped my physical health (I’ve managed to lose 10 kg in 3 months), he’s helped my mental health too.

His constant praise, encouragement and holding me accountable for my actions has meant I’m now more motivated and active.

I’ve started writing a book I’ve been wanting to write for ages, and now feel like I have more time and energy to pursue other interests.

I’m even starting to feel better about myself whenever I see a mirror. I’ve even seen some photos of me recently that I haven’t instantly hated 🙂

Given my time again, I would hire Andy in a heartbeat.

career goals, discipline, exercise, habits

How to be more energetic

If you’re a driven person it’s because you’ve found your purpose.

Your purpose is what gets you up in the morning. It gives you something to work towards.

This is why looking after yourself is even more important.

Because you’ll need the energy to to propel you through the day and work on your mission.

And you don’t want to let your health tear you away from your purpose and see you miss out on achieving what you wanted.

There are many ways that health factors can take you off course.

Stress is one of the biggest obstacles. Chronic stress can derail even the best health intentions.

New research shows that stress and obesity are more intertwined than previoulsy thought.

I’ll break this research down. And give you actionable steps to make progress, despite a stressful environment.

How stress can lead to weight gain

Stress can affect a bunch of “systems” that are involved in weight control.

What’s more, these aren’t isolated effects. Each system is a feedback loop that can affect all the others.

Let’s get into the details.

*Cognition Stress can mess with your mind; executive function and self-regulation. 

Combined these include mental skills like thinking, planning, and organizing. As well as the ability to focus and manage your emotions.

*Behaviors Stress influences eating, physical activity, and sleep. And these behaviors all have their own feedback loops too.

Lack of sleep can hinder physical activity, and lack of physical activity can disrupt sleep.

*Physiology The research outlines three ways stress might affect you physiologically:

  • It ramps up stress hormones. This can make you want to eat more, and can also tell your body to store fat.
  • Stress can increase your brain’s appetite for “rewards”. Feel good chemicals, like dopamine. Which can drive you to eat foods that are highly palatable (fun food), or seek out alcohol or drugs.
  • Stress may affect your microbiome, which could make you more susceptible to weight gain.

*Biochemistry Stress may also impact blood chemicals related to weight control.

Specifically, leptin, ghrelin and neuropeptide Y, which affect hunger, appetite, and fat storage.

*Weight stigma The researchers define weight stigma as “the sum of prejudice, discrimination. And negative attitudes aimed at those perceived as overweight.”

And guess what? It creates another feedback loop!

Obesity leads to weight stigma which then creates… more stress. And round we go.

You might call it a vicious cycle. Or a nasty web. Or one big giant cluster $%#!

So… what’s this all mean for you?

And what can you do about it? 

Part 2: Important takeaways

1. Look beyond eating advice and nutrition plans. If stress is wreaking havoc in your life, there’s a good chance you’ll struggle to make progress toward your goals. No matter how on point your nutrition or workout program may be. 

Instead…

2. Work on the biggest problem first. Find your or have a professional find your “bottleneck” or “weakest link” so you can unlock the fastest and most effective path toward your goals. 

This often means going beyond nutrition and fitness. 

So if working on food first isn’t working, dig deeper. Look at how you might develop stress management. Stress tolerance, and emotional regulation skills.

3. Work towards healthy stress-reduction strategies. When you, or your coach, identify that stress management is your biggest problem, here are some strategies you can use:

  • Meditation. Even a few minutes can have a measurable effect on stress levels. Apps like Headspace, Calm, or Waking Up are great tools.
  • Nature walks. Simply going for a daily park walk can work wonders.
  • Massage. Whether it’s self massage with a foam roller, or paying a professional, massage helps you relax, and fast.

Simple methods that can see huge changes.

Check out my 90 Day Program – The Disciplined Man

discipline, exercise, habits, motivation, nutrition, sleep, stress

How to naturally increase your dopamine levels.

Our hormones have a big impact on our emotional state, causing both good and bad mood patterns.

Regulating your hormones significantly improves and balances your emotional health.

There are a lot of things that you are doing throughout the day that have an affect on your hormones. Without you even realising.

Dopamine is a hormone that has a massive effect on us. It’s the chemical messenger in your brain that creates feelings of pleasure and reward. Which motivates you to repeat a specific behaviour.

And modern day temptations are very effective at giving us cheap dopamine hits. They are designed to elicit this ‘feel good’ sensation. It’s at the crux of their design and marketing.

Junk food, Porn, Social media, Booze, Nicotine. All elicit these cheap dopamine hits. And these temporary feel goods are very effective.

They target your weakness and keep you coming back for more.

Alcohol for confidence.

Nicotine anxiety.

Social media for boredom.

Junk food for lethargy.

Porn for arousal.

These acute ‘feel goods’ are so common yet so dangerous. Because use of these cheap dopamine hits results in;

Excessive binge eating,

Poor relationships,

Chronic stress,

High blood pressure,

and poor health.

These cheap dopamine hits are killing you!

And without without discipline, it can be very hard to turn down these temptations because they are so effective and immediate. They offer instant gratification to a problem.

And when you start to depend on them, it’s harder to rid yourself of them.

So rather than going cold turkey – which is incredibly hard. Replace them with natural things that you natural dopamine hits.

Swapping them, so your brain doesn’t really notice.

Imagine yourself as Indiana Jones, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, in the tomb swapping that Golden Idol for a bag of sand.

(but much easier and without the tomb kicking off and trying to kill you).

Here are some easy ways to do that!

Eat a high protein diet.

Proteins are made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids. One amino acid, called tyrosine, plays a critical role in the production of dopamine!

Probiotics

The gut and brain are closely linked. Certain species of bacteria that live in your gut are also capable of producing dopamine.

Exercise

Exercise can boost dopamine levels in the brain. Improvements in mood can be seen after as little as 10 minutes of activity but tend to be highest after at least 20 minutes.

Quality sleep

After poor sleep the availability of dopamine receptors in their brains is dramatically reduced by the next morning.

Getting regular, high quality sleep helps keep your dopamine levels balanced. And help you feel more alert and high functioning during the day

Music

Listening to music is an enjoyable way to stimulate dopamine release in your brain.

Listening to music increases activity in the reward and pleasure areas of the brain, rich with dopamine receptors.

Sunlight

Periods of low sunshine exposure can lead to reduced levels of mood-boosting neurotransmitters. Including dopamine. Sunlight exposure can increase them.

Start swapping the unnatural for the natural and I promise you’ll start to feel better.

testosterone

How to increase your testosterone levels.

High testosterone is essential for a man, and if you aren’t optimising yours you’re leaving happiness and success on the table!

Healthy levels of testosterone are so important. For general health, disease risk, body composition, sexual function and just about everything else.

Additionally, increasing your testosterone levels can cause rapid gains in muscle mass and vitality in only a matter of weeks.

But how can you boost your testosterone levels? And how can you do it naturally so you can avoid hormone replacement therapy?

Let’s have a look at some lifestyle factors that will remedy the situation.

First up is exercise, to be more specific resistance training/weights.

People who lift have higher testosterone levels. Not does exercise increase testosterone levels, and fitness but also reaction times.

Factor into your week a minimum effective dosage. Resistance the urge to go full banana and instead commit to an amount of sessions you can realistically stick to. Even if only 2 sessions per week.

A Balanced diet,

to clarify, is eating enough protein, to aid satiety to aid weight loss, and muscle repair. Having enough carbohydrates also optimize testosterone levels during resistance training. And a balance of fats which are also beneficial for testosterone and health.

Combined with an energy target for your goal you will have a ‘REAL’ healthy diet.

Stress management

Natural elevations in cortisol can reduce testosterone. These hormones work in a seesaw-like manner: as one goes up, the other comes down.

Chronic stress and high cortisol can also increase food intake, weight gain, and the storage of fat around your organs.

This is why it is paramount you input into your day time for actions that will see you decompress, away from stressors and stimulation.

Sleep

Getting good sleep is as, if not more important for your health as diet and exercise. It also has major effects on your testosterone levels.

The ideal amount of sleep varies from person to person. But one study found sleeping only 5 hours per night caused a 15% reduction in testosterone levels!

This is why it would be prudent to implement a bedtime routine that will improve the duration and quality of your sleep. Why not set an alarm at the same time each day to start your bedtime routine

For more help with these lifestyle factors download a free copy of my guide The Gentleman’s Vitality Handbook

discipline, exercise, stress

You choose.

Every day we make approximately 35,000 decisions

Decisions like:

‘how should I respond to this email’.

‘should I order this meal or this meal’.

‘do I go or not’.

These decisions range from the inconsequential to the very important.

But what we misinterpret is the severity of these ‘inconsequential’ decisions over time.

Those decisions by themselves, in isolation are not important.

It’s the compounding of those poor decisions over time that build into something formidable.

Very rarely are these decisions ‘just for now’ or ‘only this once’.

And here’s the thing, the choices you make day in day out aren’t really choices. You aren’t making any decisions. Because you are on autopilot.

You’ll make the same decision as you did last time.

It’s easier that way. And your mind loves the easy option.

It’s adverse to challenge and discomfort. Which is why it will go with the option that sees avoidance of pain.

Which is irronic because pain is unavoidable.

You can experience it now or later. But you will experience it. And thats why we need look at the choice of pain.

You get to choose your pain.

The pain of exercising or the pain of disapointment from not being able to play with your kids for more than a minute because of poor fitness.

The pain of self restraint with your diet or the pain of feeling uncomfortable in your clothes.

The pain of missing out on another TV episode or the pain of feeling fatigued the next day.

The pain of working on emotional control and stress or the pain of embarrassing yourself from losing your shit at a co worker in front of the entire office.

The pain of building self-discipline or the pain of knowing you’ve let yourself go.

It would be better that you choose the pain rather than your body and mind choose it for you!