Guest Post by Charlotte Winters:
This past spring, I did something insane. Finally, after seven attempts, I completed #75Hard.
What is #75Hard, you ask? Created by entrepreneur Adam Frisella, it’s a mental toughness program designed to help you “win the war against yourself” (or, stop taking the path of least resistance).
Every day, for 75 days straight, you do these activities without exception: 1) complete an outdoor workout for 45 minutes, 2) complete an indoor workout for 45 minutes, 3) stick to a diet with zero exception (no junk food or alcohol), 4) drink a gallon of water, 5) read 10 pages of a self-development or business book, and 6) take a selfie tracking your physical progress. Making even the slightest error (i.e., putting lemon in your water or working out for 44 minutes and 49 seconds) re-sets you to Day 1. In other words, it demands military grade precision or nothing at all.
As a life coach, I don’t necessarily espouse this all-or-nothing approach. BUT as someone who loves a good internet challenge, I’ll try it. I have this inner Henry Rollins who needs to be sated; even when things are “easy” in life, I need a goal to keep me engaged and a structure — or my energy and creativity devolve into entropy.
#75Hard gave me all of that — as well as an education in discipline, a grossly misunderstood concept in our increasingly “E-Z” made-to-order convenience culture. If people could understand discipline better and even master it, they’d probably have a lot more personal fulfillment (and a lot less self-loathing).
To best help you, dear reader, here are three takeaways about discipline I learned from #75Hard.
Discipline means training.
Yup. Look it up on dictionary.com. Of the four definitions offered, three mention “training” and only one mentions “punishment.” Unfortunately, most people tend to get that backward, believing discipline is punitive (when it’s really neutral). Knowing this definition helped me going into #75Hard. Had I endeavored a journey like this thinking that it was a punishment, what is the likelihood I would’ve finished it? Even when I screwed up (i.e., accidentally consuming organic ketchup with hidden sugar in it on Day 33 – a no-no on my pescetarian diet with no added sugar), I didn’t think starting over was so much of a forfeiture as it was a chance to train my mind to be even more diligent.
Discipline is not a fixed characteristic given to just some people.
Have you ever met a disciplined baby? Or a seven-year-old? Exactly. Most people categorize those who rise for 5 a.m. runs as somehow being naturally self-controlled. But how can that be true when children tend to be lil’ anarchists? The ones we think tend to be more disciplined have just had more practice; they’ve probably been put into environments wherein they’ve had to develop that quality more and sooner. Although #75Hard conditioned my core and leg muscles through daily hikes, walks, runs, and yoga sessions, the real muscle that was developed was mental. I don’t know what happened neurologically in my brain during that process, but I can say that tasks I don’t want to do now (i.e., taxes) have become slightly easier to finish.
Discipline makes hard things easy and easy things fun.
In our sugar- and junk-food-laden Western food culture, most people would balk at giving up processed foods. But here’s the weird thing: after about 7-10 days on the program, I stopped seeing most of those foods at my local Ralph’s and Whole Foods. (It’s like if you don’t own a pet, do you even know the closest veterinarian office is in your town?). Once I got off #75Hard, I rewarded myself with artisanal doughnuts and cake slices without guilt. It was blissful to actually enjoy those confections (instead of sending myself on the standard one-way guilt trip most people take to You’ll-Be-Fat-Forever Town).
In sum, I’m not a Girl Scout who walks out discipline’s merits in every facet of life all the time. I’m human, too. But I do know that discipline can serve as the vehicle towards personal accomplishment even when you don’t feel like doing something (that you know you should).
Meet the Author: Charlotte Winters, Life Coach for Creatives
Charlotte Winters is a life coach specializing in goal-setting for creatives. For her, setting and achieving goals isn’t so much about accomplishing tasks as it’s going on little adventures. To learn more, check her out at charlottewinters.com.