The First Thing You Should Do Everyday

Yes, it's annoying.Yes, it feels awful.Yes, you don't want to.Do it anyway.Once you get past the feedback in your head, you can focus on what's really important.Once you focus on what's really important, intrinsic motivation can fully ignite.Bodybuilders will be the first to tell you how a low-carb diet makes them feel tired all day--but they do it anyway.Salespeople will be the first to tell you how it hurts to wake up at 4 AM every day so they can get into the inbox of their prospects first thing in the morning--but they do it anyway.Doctors will be the first to tell you that it's scary to take on 6 figures of student loan debt so they can help people--but they do it anyway.Once you admit that it's never going to feel good, you can really dive in.Once you realize that you're always going to be a little tired, groggy, or sore, it'll be easier to let it go and get going.

2 Minute Action

What's something you 100%, no-way-in-hell, absolutely do NOT want to do today?You know what I'm going to say next . . .Do that first.The relationship you build with yourself is based on your actions.Keep that relationship strong and good things will follow.

Why Do You Take Things So Personally?

There's this sudden impulse when someone criticises you.It can happen without criticism, too.In fact, it can happen even when you're not even involved.

The sound of it goes something like this:

• "Who does she think she is? She's not better than me."
• "I work harder than he does, I don't know why he's getting so much credit."
• "I'm offended because you didn't treat me how I expected to be treated."

That, my friends, is the sound of someone taking something personally.

The fact is that this is totally optional.

Once you realize that not everyone is constantly thinking about YOU, it gets easier to let this go.This little trick is called empathy.It means thinking about something, even just for a second, from someone else's point of view.If you can empathize, even just a little bit, you can start letting go of what seems like a personal attack and hear what the other person is saying.Maybe it sounds cheesy, but empathy is such a critical skill for building healthy, long-term relationships (platonic, romantic, professional, ad infinitum).You might be "successful" without it--but that's your choice.

2 Minute Action

Dig deep: when was a time you felt attacked in the last few days?Was it a direct stab?Could this person be going through something you don't know about?Could this person lack the social skills to know you were offended?Could this person have meant it in a genuine and kind way?Could this whole thing have been, maybe, just a little bit, in your head?It's not always 100% one way or the other.But either way, deciding how you respond (not knee-jerk-react) is up to you.

Turning This Negative Thing Into A Positive Is Totally In Your Control

I was demoralized.I was sitting on my front porch, looking into my hands.I was holding a cigarette.I had just smoked a cigarette for the first time in 2 weeks.What made it worse was that I had just gotten home from the gym.I had gone 2 weeks without a cigarette, was eating healthy, was exercising, and now--this.I crushed it into the bowl with the others.Regret.Self-loathing.Anger.But it was the last one . . . anger.That was what offered me the energy to try again.I walked inside, reset my focus, and headed out for the day.I've quit smoking many times, but that time was one of the last.I've now been completely smoke-free for 4 years.It wasn't the patch--I tried that.It wasn't the gum--I tried that, too.It definitely wasn't dieting or exercise, either.It was all of this, together with the people around me, and an eagerness to convert anger into fuel.That was my first experience being relentless-- and it's paying off.After you crash and after you feel the wave of emotions that inevitably strike--remember that you have a choice.The rest is up to you.

2 Minute Action

Choose 1 of these things to accomplish, today.

• 15 Pushups
• 10 Sales Calls
• 1 Difficult conversation
• Call a parent, mentor, or role model and ask for support

You don't have to do everything, that's impossible.You just have to do something. Make it small--that part doesn't matter.Just start.