Introduction
Put your hand up if you're a lazy %@^$ like me (be honest!).
It's one of my bad habits and I've realised to break this, I'm someone who needs to set myself a challenge and follow a process. My next challenge is 75 Day Hard, but it does have it's difficulties. Mostly because of my bad habits - hell, if I'm an expert in anything, it's in living with such shit habits. I've changed from barely exercising, to doing it every day; from eating crap food, to eating a mostly vegetable based diet; from being extremely lazy and giving in to all my desires, to being more consistent and disciplined.
If you struggle with any of that, then you'll definitely find this helpful.
Why 75 Day Hard and what are the difficulties?
75 Day Hard has been going viral recently and it was a method produced by entrepreneur and influencer Andy Frisella. The whole point of it is to build new habits and grow your mental strength.
It has 5 rules:
Exercise twice a day for 45 minutes
Pick a diet and stick to it
Drink a gallon (3.7 litres) of water a day and no alcohol (it's a bloody lot)
Read 10 pages of nonfiction every day
Take progress shots
I guess, the "6th rule" is if you fail any one of these, you have to start the 75 days again (guilty as charged - starting all over again!).
There's a lot of controversy about this challenge, but I've researched it and decided to tweak the challenge to suite me. I'm self aware enough to know what I need to get out of it, even though Andy Frisella wouldn't be impressed.
For example, the two main issues I found was the amount of water can be too much for certain people, and exercise with no rest can create problems. So, whatever, I adjusted it, sue me.
*shrug*
If you want to learn more about 75 Day Hard, I found this article very helpful.
What's your reasons for doing 75 Day Hard?
I think having this as your first step is the most important thing - set your goal and why you want to do this, as this will naturally keep you motivated.
For me, it was about developing a better relationship with food and losing weight. To put things into context, I have never been satisfied with my body. I've always been overweight and have always been too self-conscious to go to the beach or take my shirt off.
It's pretty lame really, but oh well, that's just what it is, may as well accept my vanity (it's my star sign all right!)
1 of my remaining bad habits is to have food blow outs thinking I can "work it off later" but actually, I've found it doesn't matter how much I exercise, if I don't eat properly, I don't lose weight (and all the science backs this up).
And well... This is the reason why I'm starting the challenge again (bloody Easter bunnies!)
3 ways to tackle bad habits
It's very important to me to only tackle these bad habits just 1 at a time, otherwise it's too overwhelming.
I could never change any of this in the past - it was a battle I could never win.
So, this is a method that works for me.
1) Getting rid of the bad habits from my mind
This is the most important part for me, and why I believe the majority of people fail at achieving their goals.
I get rid of bad habits through discarding meditation. I look at the things in my mind from the life I have lived and the habits I have, and through the meditation method, I let go of them from my mind.
It's the most effective and thorough way I know of.
2) Continuous self-reflection
Meditation and journaling help me hone this skill. I'm constantly reflecting on myself and where I went wrong, and how I can improve.
3) Develop consistency and discipline
I rely on consistency and discipline. I am building those skills through many different daily practices and routines, 1 of which is this blog.
Consistency and discipline help me cement new habits and gets rid of the resistance to doing them.
Conclusion
If any of this resonated with you, I strongly recommend giving it a go for yourself. Do your own research on 75 Day Hard and see if it's what you need in your life. But regardless, the 3 ways to tackle bad habits you can apply to any area of your life! It's helped me build regular exercise and meditation habits, as well as eliminate a lot of my negative mental habits. As always, it's still a work in progress, and this is just 1 more step in the journey.
What's 1 of your worst habits that you want to change, and do you think this method will work for you?