• When we talk about energy, we must start with the physical aspect. Our bodies are our engines, and they must be properly fueled to perform well, or at all. We have to eliminate all of our physical-energy vampires and replace them with better habits and awareness. We can take a quick look at what happens when we run out of energy; when we burn out—one of the biggest energy vampires. This is a state of stress and anxiety on the body, where our bodies begin to break down. • Another prominent ener...
Mar 21, 2022•12 min
Here is a brief passage from Meditations by the Roman emperor-philosopher Marcus Aurelius that illustrates what we lose by surrendering to discomfort (of which is no concern to him) and not taking steps toward what we want in life: At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work—as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for—the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle ...
Mar 18, 2022•12 min
Two months of consistently performing any action will generally turn it into a habit, but until we reach that point, we have to put active effort into creating a new routine. We must make a choice not to eat certain foods, to exercise, or to drink a certain amount of water. But commitment and consistency are only needed at first. Eventually, thinking becomes unnecessary; we will have the rituals in place to be healthy, happy, and effective at our work. Once we have the habits to maximize our pro...
Mar 16, 2022•13 min
Knowledge is power, and self-knowledge is self-power. If you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can consciously work around your blind spots while maximizing on your good attributes. Don’t see your flaws as shortcomings, but instead learn what you can from them and focus on the good. Get the audiobook on Audible at http://bit.ly/41Habits Show notes and/or episode transcripts are available at https://bit.ly/self-growth-home Peter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, ...
Mar 14, 2022•6 min
Next, we come to the practice of discomfort and all that it entails. By definition, anything that requires exercising self-discipline is uncomfortable. We’d rather not do it, otherwise it would be known as fun. This puts us in a quandary; sometimes there is nothing else we can do but suck it up and push forward, despite all the tactics and mindsets we’ve discussed in this book. At some point, we will have to be uncomfortable, and sometimes life is just a matter of how much discomfort you can sto...
Mar 11, 2022•9 min
The energy pyramid is a helpful way to think about the role of energy and how to manage it. It has four tiers that depend on each other: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. It lays out a blueprint we will follow for the rest of the book. The energy pyramid also dictates that we must rest sufficiently or risk burnout, and at the same time make sure we are challenging ourselves and pushing our limits to increase our energy capacity. • One way to cultivate greater physical energy is to star...
Mar 09, 2022•11 min
A major stumbling block for those wanting to develop better self-discipline and improve their lives as letting their ego get in the way. The ego is a mask; it’s not the real you. Regularly remind yourself of the process, not the outcome and be okay with being a beginner or being wrong. Stop playing a role and encounter the moment as it is—no comparisons, appraisals, or judgments. On your self-discipline journey, you’ll encounter pain, which is inevitable. But suffering (i.e., the way we react to...
Mar 07, 2022•11 min
The final piece of the puzzle for greater self-discipline and sticking to your guns is to change your thoughts. Thoughts, of course, lead to behavior, and behavior is what we want to change in the end. In this chapter, we talk about three specific ways to change the way that you think about taking action versus lying on the couch. First, we come to the Ulysses pact, or as I would call it, coerced compliance. It’s the act of burning your bridges and not allowing yourself to make a detrimental cho...
Mar 04, 2022•12 min
It’s not that self-discipline, habitualized behaviors, and intentional and analytical thinking are useless endeavors. No, these are some of the best changes you can make to your life. But you won’t be able to learn or implement them, or benefit from them in any way, unless you simply possess enough energy to use them. Energy is the battery for all our thoughts and behaviors. Without it, no other tactics, techniques, or tips will matter. This is essentially a real-life application of the concept ...
Mar 02, 2022•12 min
The truth is that to-do lists often don’t take context into account. Q1 and Q2 thinking solves that problem by forcing you to understand the difference between urgent and important. Most people don’t have a grasp of these blurry lines, but it can mean all the difference in your output. Related to this is the don’t-do list, also essentially seen in Q4 of the Eisenhower matrix. Most people know what they should be doing but not what they shouldn’t be doing. This is where you eliminate tasks that (...
Feb 28, 2022•12 min
Being mindful and meditating are not just ways to reduce stress and improve wellbeing; theyre techniques to strengthen self-awareness, lower reactivity and improve self-discipline. When you meditate, you activate the parts of your brain responsible for self-control, strengthening those neural connections. Meditation is not just a discrete activity but a way of life. Find ways to become aware throughout the day and use these feelings of calm control and mindfulness to reconnect to your self-disci...
Feb 25, 2022•11 min
Focus on a few main principles for lasting motivation: visualizing in detail our goal, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, and allowing our future selves to advise and guide our present selves. Finally, the most important may be to recognize that you will slip up, but will always be ready to forgive, learn from mistakes, and move on to be better next time. Email the show at Podcast@NewtonMG.com or let us know what you think at http://bit.ly/hollinscomment Get the audiobook on Audible a...
Feb 23, 2022•9 min
Another way to improve your to-do list is by using categories: immediate attention, in progress, follow-ups, upcoming, and ideas. This allows you to again sort by priority and make sure that you are properly addressing what needs to be addressed. Get the audiobook on Audible at https://adbl.co/3HhRPIm Show notes and/or episode transcripts are available at https://bit.ly/self-growth-home Peter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researcher, and a dedicated student of the human condi...
Feb 21, 2022•12 min
The irony is that simply having a little faith in yourself will start to shift things for you! As we’ve seen, gratitude, responsibility, honesty and allowing others to hold you accountable are great ways to improve your life, but there’s also a lot to be said for simply believing in yourself. Whatever your weaknesses are, whatever your obstacles, hold onto the idea that it can change, and you can change it. It’s this attitude that will most empower you. Every morning, wake up and say to yourself...
Feb 18, 2022•7 min
Focus on a few main principles for lasting motivation. These include not waiting for a right time, taking baby steps, working from intrinsic motivation, avoid temptation outright, cutting distractions, monitoring impulses with mindfulness, visualizing in detail our goal, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, and allowing our future selves to advise and guide our present selves. Email the show at Podcast@NewtonMG.com or let us know what you think at http://bit.ly/hollinscomment Get the au...
Feb 16, 2022•11 min
A to-do list hastily written on a Post-It might be one of the most ubiquitous tools for self-discipline and avoiding procrastination. It works on our psychology by manipulating dopamine, and this is one of the few instances that we can actually make our brains work for us. But ultimately, a to-do list just makes sure that things are not being forgotten or falling through the cracks, and it doesn’t necessarily assist you in doing more. It just prevents you from doing less. Thus, we need to level ...
Feb 14, 2022•15 min
• Have a healthy attitude toward control—though there are things in life we never have control over, we are always in charge of our own reactions and actions. Try the Stoic exercise to help you identify what you can change, what you can’t, and practice the wisdom it takes to know the difference. • Self-disciplined people know that their success in life is their own responsibility, and they own it. They don’t blame others, complain, or wait for permission. They embrace the freedom of responsibili...
Feb 11, 2022•11 min
For example, every day you could commit to walking for thirty minutes. You’re not committing to running a marathon or losing fifty pounds. All you have to focus on each day is walking thirty minutes, that’s it. You may certainly build up to the marathon or gradually lose all that weight, but that’s not what you focus on each day, each moment. Just take a baby step each day, then repeat it the next day. Biting off more than you can chew only means you give up sooner! Email the show at Podcast@New...
Feb 09, 2022•12 min
Unscheduling is the radical opposite because it takes the focus off of work. In some ways, it is more realistic, because it dictates that you fill in your schedule with all of your nonnegotiables and life priorities. That way you can see how much time you actually have to work and think. It also allows you to see what is missing from your life and is harming you emotionally. Work comes last in this type of schedule, which is a weird thing to desire, but unless we have emotional energy and psycho...
Feb 07, 2022•8 min
Have a healthy attitude toward control—though there are things in life we never have control over, we are always in charge of our own reactions and actions. Try the Stoic exercise to help you identify what you can change, what you can’t, and practice the wisdom it takes to know the difference. Get the audiobook on Audible at http://bit.ly/41Habits Show notes and/or episode transcripts are available at https://bit.ly/self-growth-home Peter Hollins is a bestselling author, human psychology researc...
Feb 04, 2022•7 min
• This kind of self-reflection allows you to see exactly what areas you need to work on and see whether your efforts are resulting in progress. • Depending on which aspects you identify as under-developed, you can do a lot to improve. • To find positive mentors, reach out to others and network, or simply ask for help and advice from accomplished people. • To develop sensory rich vision, make a goal collage or practice visualization to conjure up a vivid, five-sense image of the end you’re aiming...
Feb 02, 2022•11 min
• A schedule can be just a schedule in the way that a hammer can be just a hammer. But why not use it to its greatest potential instead of as something you only take out for passive purposes? Scheduling is powerful because it very clearly sets out our intentions and goals often on a daily or hourly basis. So why aren’t we using them more? In this chapter, we lay out two divergent methods of using a schedule: timeboxing and unscheduling. • Timeboxing is all about living in your calendar. Whatever...
Jan 31, 2022•13 min
• Willpower is a limited resource that can get depleted on the many tiny stressors and tensions of daily life. Lower your overall life stress and you free up more mental bandwidth to spend on what’s really important. Stress management should be a regular habit and not reserved for when you’re already struggling. • Finally, think of glucose as the physical analogue of willpower. Sip something sweet to replenish glucose (which your brain runs on) and you improve your self-control—just make sure yo...
Jan 28, 2022•13 min
Working with the limitations of your own brain requires an honest appraisal of where you are and how you’re functioning. Make it a habit to routinely assess yourself on the following aspects, on a scale of one to ten: Sense of purpose, the presence of positive mentors, sensory rich vision, self-belief, planning and organization, education and skills, patient perseverance, and the ability to see work as play. Email the show at Podcast@NewtonMG.com or let us know what you think at http://bit.ly/ho...
Jan 26, 2022•11 min
The second set of instructions comes from Hungarian writer Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi and his flow theory. Flow is about moving and working effortlessly, to the point that you lose track of time and are engrossed in your task. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? He lists a set of requirements for achieving flow, but we will focus on the elements of having your actions pointed toward specific goals, a balance of challenge and ease, and feedback to let you know that you are making a difference, thus keeping you...
Jan 24, 2022•14 min
Dont beat yourself up—nobody every improved from a position of judgment and self-hate. Have compassion for yourself, be kind, forgive slip-ups, and keep focusing on the positives. You do not need to make yourself feel bad in order to improve. We all have moods that change and shift, but we also possess the ability to choose how we respond. We can allow ourselves to feel what we feel without letting moods disrupt our goals or commitment. Notice your moods as moods and choose not to react to them....
Jan 21, 2022•12 min
Self-discipline is a means to reject the traits of reaction and retreat. It gives you something to actively work on every day and forces you to make decisions and take actions based on what you really need. Through that process, you will learn more about yourself than you ever have before. You’ll see why you made certain decisions in the past, and you’ll understand what kind of person you really are. Email the show at Podcast@NewtonMG.com or let us know what you think at http://bit.ly/hollinscom...
Jan 19, 2022•11 min
We’ve gone through some of the psychological beasts that underlie the feeling of “lazy” and it turns out that we are beset by barriers, rather than a preference to be sloths. So what can we do with this knowledge? It doesn’t automatically launch us into action, but this chapter is about the second-best thing—providing formulas and workflows of sorts to break down what is missing from action. This way we don’t have to feel like we are winging it and instead can follow a set of simple instructions...
Jan 17, 2022•15 min
• Getting right in body, mind, and soul means adopting the attitudes and mindsets that make a self-disciplined life possible. Firstly, make a plan to reduce, remove, and avoid temptations. If you are proactive and pre-empt them, they have less impact on your life. • One of the biggest and most damaging myths is that we can only take action when the time is right or when we feel like it. The truth is that we can act even if we don’t have the motivation! Just start, and you’ll find that it’s the o...
Jan 14, 2022•11 min
The pleasure principle asserts that the human mind does everything it can to seek out pleasure and avoid pain. It doesnt think; it doesnt analyze; it just acts like a blind animal urgently moving in the direction that it feels more pleasure and less pain. It doesnt have any sense of restraint. It is primal and unfiltered. It doesnt get simpler than that. An apt comparison, in fact, is a drug addict who will stop at nothing to get another taste of narcotics. Show notes and/or episode transcripts ...
Jan 12, 2022•15 min
