You’re not just going to wake up as a productive supersoldier.
You have to start implementing seemingly small changes today, and building on them every day or every week.
Our bodies and minds don’t like dramatic change of any kind, so you need to take small steps in the right direction.
Get up 15 minutes earlier than usual, not 3 hours.
Have warm showers then turn them cold for the last quarter, so you don’t just end up avoiding showers or having extremely short ones because that’s just unhygienic.
Try to workout one day per week more than you’re currently doing, not daily.
Start surfing the internet a little less than usual instead of blocking all your favourite diversion sites.
Add some steamed vegetables to your dinner, drink a bit more water than usual – don’t just throw out your entire fridge and restock it with organic food.
Read a few pages of a book instead of expecting to get through an entire chapter.
Have one difficult conversation you’ve been putting off and go from there – don’t just flip your persona overnight.
Make eye contact and some conversation with someone you’re attracted to where it’s appropriate- don’t try to get rejected 10 times per day so you’re immune to it or whatever that literature suggests.
Drop masturbation back to once or twice per week (or thereabouts) instead of doing some total abstinence, although only do it when you’re in the mood not procrasturbating.
Acknowledge any progress no matter how small. Accept failures no matter how large.
Expecting to flip your lifestyle upside down overnight because you just read “you can’t hurt me” or listened to a jocko willink podcast might work for a few hours, maybe even a few days, but the change will eventually seem too drastic and you’ll rebound back to your old habits.
This may seem slack and counterintuitive but it’s essentially learning how to self reward to create sustainable change. Recent Neuroscientific research also corroborates that this ability is instrumental in allowing an individual to achieve formidable long term goals.
For too many years I believed that my ultra disciplined alter ego was right around the corner – so today was one last rodeo of dissolution before I pulled myself up by the bootstraps and got disciplined.
Only later did I truly realise this was an excuse to avoid taking any action.
So start now.
You’ll get there eventually.