A simple message that can have powerful implications.
Yesterday, I didn't get much done at work. When I left I felt overwhelmed with the amount still left to do. This carried over into the gym. I was very limp, for a lack of a better term, and didn't do the exercises with vigor or enthusiasm. It was very hard to get myself out of the negative stupor I put myself in. When I left the gym I was mad that I didn't produce my best which then carried over to my girlfriend, who did nothing wrong, but I projected my negativity onto her for the rest of the night causing tension between us.
If I had went at my work with more effort and completed what I needed to do, then the rest of my day would have gone much more smoothly and I would have produced better results in every aspect of my life.
Imagine the beginning of your day as a small, fist-sized snowball at the top of a hill. You want it to roll down and become a giant boulder of snow; firm, powerful, and resolute. How do you do that? By giving it a small, but firm, nudge.
Get enough sleep (mandatory). Make a big breakfast. Meditate. Stretch. Go for a walk. Make your bed. Any and all of these things (and many others) will build the foundation of your day and put you in the correct, positive mindset for tackling the rest of it.
We aren't robots. We can't just perform a function on command, no matter how much we would like to. Start the day off right and those mini-successes will carry over into big things later on.
If you have a meticulous morning routine your life will be better this is a fact.
My routine:
And we aren't robots, you are right. Don't underestimate how doing these things makes us feel good. Coming home after the gym to a neat and clean (they are not the same thing) living space gives me immense joy.
fkn lost it picturing this as you smashing your head into a wall for 10 mins in the morning. For real but, what do you mean by that?
I pictured him taking a large hit from a meat cigar hanging through a gloryhole first thing in the morning
Pretty sure he means go to the bathroom.
What vitamins do you take first thing in the morning? Some vitamins are fat soluble so they shouldn't be taken without a meal.
I take 4000iu vitamin D (with breakfast) and a multi
You take that amount of vitamin D daily? Might be excessive, since you'll just be pissing most of it away. Every other day might be a better idea.
You don't piss away vitamin D, it's fat soluble. It depends on your genetic and skin color but anywhere from 2k-10k iu daily is taken based on your blood levels.
You should be careful for sake of stomach ulcers and other issues, however 30 mins before breakfast is fine.
Never experienced stomach ulcers (taken for 3 years but in and out with ashwaghanda and vitamin b). I take zinc, magnesium, multivitamin, vitamin b complex, 6x omega, and ashwaghanda. Might not be necessary for everyone, I'm currently living at 2000m above sea level though.
I eat a goliath breakfast.
Can you elaborate? I'm sure your point is worthwhile, just can't seem to discern what it is from this.
I think he means that neat is having your stuff arranged in a tidy fashion, organised and where it should be. Clean meaning having your stuff dusted and clean from muck and bacteria.
You can have an organised bathroom but still have mould growing on the wall, i.e neat but not clean.
This is important. Few things for anyone reading.
Don't take chewables. According to my girlfriend's sister who is a physical therapist, chewables don't provide nearly the same benefit as hard vitamins.
Make sure the pill is made by a reliable brand, such as NatureMade. Also, look for any pill that is USP Verified.
Take iron. Whether it's a stand-alone pill or a multi with iron in it, you need to get more of it. Iron is a very important substance that we don't get nearly enough of as it is mainly found in red meat. When I was in cross country in college, my teammates would complain about feeling sluggish and having no energy. The first thing my coach told them to do was take an iron supplement. 8 times out of 10, within a week they said they felt like a new person. Do it, it's worth it.This may not be as accurate as originally thought. While 1/3 of the world is anemic, most developed nations are not, especially the U.S. where we tend to overeat. If you eat a generous amount of meat products, such as red meat, fish, and poultry, you will be fine. Most iron is lost through bleeding so if you're a woman who has heavy menstrual cycles, taking an iron supplement may be a good idea. Of course, if you find a multi-vitamin that says "with Iron," don't avoid it. Popping one of those a day while eating a balanced diet will not cause harm. However, speak to a doctor before taking a sole iron supplement.Hey King-Macbeth, could you provide sources that claim healthy men need to supplement iron?
IIRC most if not all the iron comes from a normal diet, while there is an upper limit for optimum health and no need for men to supplement it.
http://roguehealthandfitness.com/iron-levels/ (several articles on Iron accumulation etc) https://examine.com/supplements/iron/ (about which supplements reduce the absorption of iron)
Good call on the source. I learned some new stuff and will have to edit my comment.
According to the Harvard Medical Blog:
Need iron? Eat a steak! Much better than any pill.
I gotta figure out how to brush my teeth more then once a week and to remember to take medications but I keep forgetting what day it is all the time and my age isn't even correct half of the days. I'm supposed to be 14 years old but i'm more then double that!
Not brushing your teeth twice a day is pretty gross. People will notice it on your breath (and mouthwash won't cut it).
Wicked routine, I'm going to use this as a framework to build up my own after having mine slip quite easily from beneath me. Thanks for sharing.
"make and eat breakfast" that s a bad routine, you ever heard of intermitten fasting? That s so good for your health... it helps you lose fat/ build muscles while being lean af, increase testosteron and growth hormone..
Please describe this further..I tried the no breakfast thing and ate more during lunch + dinner, I also train with my local amateur league soccer team about 4 times a week so during peak training my body grew stronger and tighter, I thought it was a random coincidence.
Well let s say you eat your last meal at 10pm , the next day you should start eating at 2pm for example but this can change, next day you can have last meal at 9pm and you can start eating at 1pm ,next day last meal at 11pm and start eating at 3pm and so on..you make your own schedule.Forget about the eating/fasting period, you just have to push you first meal of the day by 4-5 hour,s dosen t matter when you have last meal. You can read the benefits on ggle, there are alot, It may seem harder at first but with time your body will get used to it, right now I can t even eat 4 hours after waking up because I don t feel any hunger so I don t even think about it, it s somethimg natural, also drinking some water /black coffe may help with the hunger. And remember that this is not a diet, you still eat the same amount of food, it s just that you have a 16 hours window when you don t consume any calories, goodluck.
Serious question aren't cold showers for psychopaths? How are they good or fun?
Is 2 degrees below warm cold already? How cold do you shower?
How long would this approximately take before you are out the door?
How long does it take you to do all that? I feel I would need at least 1h30m, probably more.
How long does this take you, approximately?
I try to squeeze all of these in as well, but both my timing and order are fucked.
There is an app I'm currently using that has helped a lot to manage my day. I highly recommend it. It's called Habitica, check it out
Making your bed is detrimental!
Do you find that yoga gives you the same mental clarity as meditation?
There is nothing more true than this. My work life has sucked consistently for the past 6 months or so. Trying to find meaning in life/work, and failing.
but this has directly carried over into my relationship, my weekends, etc.
I hear you on this one. The foundations of my life are set and constantly being strengthened, but where do I go beyond that? Finding goals and a purpose to strive for is one of the hardest things in life.
I can find a goal and a purpose, but money is also a necessity in life. So until then, I feel stuck in my job.
Do what you can with what you have, until you can do what you want.
You won't find purpose working for somebody else, specifically over 40hr weeks. Practice minimalism and look for a more lax job that still maintains a comfortable living. It does amazing things to your mental health. Doing mindless shit for 8hr/s day 5 days a week and more drains the soul.
Word. I try to do the least while putting all my effort into studying for premed.
Never work too hard for someone else. The only exception is sales for commission-majority pay.
My soul has been drained in a quick 3 years. But I'm supposed to be "happy to have a job" and work for another 30+ haha.
One of the biggest things I learned is that there are parts of your body and mind you are NOT in control of, there are processes that are affected by certain actions/reactions. And so things like depression can kick in even if you feel you are superficially in control of your mind, and even more so confidence, diligence and skill are influenced strongly by momentum.
Have those mini-successes to boost your confidence and build momentum. The more you build yourself up, the better your minimal effort/skill floor is compared to someone who doesn't keep on top of these things. Having a high performance ceiling is useless if your floor is actually a fucking basement.
I recently reorganized my schedule. Biggest change was gym first thing in the morning and then commute.
Not only is much more efficient, my mood is incomparably better when I reach the office.
I second this; lift first thing in the morning and the rest of the day is a piece of cake.
I also approve this message.
6:30 Wake up 7:00 Gym 8:00 - 23:00 Piece of cake
Getting a gym membership has been a really good change in my life, better overall mood, less stress, more energy and stamina trhoughout the day, helps me keep my sanity, more strengh and better body shape.
I think you can make your schedule more effective by spending less time on eating cake.
I am a slow eater, besides it is a protein cake so it's all good. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
For future reference add two more \'s.
¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ Is what it should look like before you submit
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and this is the result
Very true. Crushing a new PR at 6:30 in the morning while everybody is sleeping makes little problems throughout the day seem trivial. Almost gives you an automatic amused mastery attitude when dealing with all the weak fucks out there.
Lifting in the morning is also less likely to fuck with your sleeping patterns via different eating cycles, forcing you to get up to piss. Get all the hunger and thirst out of the way ahead of time.
What happened to your flair? :S
I don't know. One day it was there, the next it's gone. Guess the mods hard-nexted me.
Up at 5:30, gym by 6:15. Much more energy throughout the day and you don't have to fight for equipment. Plus you've got a pump that lasts through most of the morning and impresses the ladies ;) plus that opens up the evenings for dates or errands.
My gym time is before work also. Makes me feel dialed in for the rest of the day.
I love the Red Pill for things like this...I've been in a funk the last day or two and I read this post which is of true motivation. I needed this! The funny thing is, this isn't the first time I have had an issue about something. Every time I have had an issue there is always a post which directly relates to my situation. Makes me feel like I am not alone. Thank you King-Macbeth and all of the quality individuals who post here.
Sleep and diet are crucial. I've found that once one or both of these slips, it becomes a domino effect.
This sub needs more of this again. Thank you!
I struggle with this too but you can't dwell in the past. It's the difference between worrying about what you can control and worrying about what you can't. The past is not in your 'sphere of influence.'
I agree a morning ritual and good start is key to habitual success, but don't let yourself have a bad day because you missed breakfast or didn't get something done yesterday or a girl rejected you five minutes ago. It helps me to say "I can't help what I did this morning/yesterday/last week, but I can decide what I do right now." Then you get after it. It's amazing how easily you can right the ship or restart the snowball.
In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack, I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water activated gel cleanser. Then a honey almond body scrub. And on the face, an exfoliating gel scrub. Then apply an herb mint facial mask, which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of an Alpha, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me. Only an entity, something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our life styles are probably comparable, I simply am not there.
I need to step up my facial product game. What stuff do you recommend?
Axe and a plastic poncho
Spoken like a true neck beard
Isn't this the first part of American Psycho?
Intro to the movie, one of the final lines in the book oddly enough.
Any particular brands you use?
This is absolutely true.
Getting a good night's sleep, working out first thing in the morning and getting a nice breakfast builds tons of positive momentum to crush the rest of the day. To make this even better, keep your phone off, don't check any texts or emails or social media until after breakfast.
I'm at that point where holidays taking a few days turned into well.. I'll start again next week. Here now two months later I've fell back to old eating habits. Lifting? Well it has been a few times here or there. Often finding other things to spend my time doing, mostly unproductive but it's a break out of time demanding routine that wasn't making me happy. Sleep wasn't happening as much as needed before either.
Excuses. Simply taking the happy route isn't a good life even though it may feel like it.
Snowballs are avalanches. If you don't crush it when it is snowflakes it becomes a bigger issue. You can tie this to many things.
I need kick some ass and mostly my own.
Takes a lot to recognize the problem first! Right direction.
Great post, been a long while since I've kicked ass in the morning but the feeling from a good lift or run in the morning before you go to work is awesome, it's like you've already won for the day before it's started.
Sidenote: tempted to show my GF this post, cuz she knows I'm into TRP but associates TRP with only with the anger phase shit.
May I ask, why does your GF know about TRP?
"she knows I'm into TRP"
Big mistake
I agree. enough sleep. start out early, have low expectations about what you get done and just do a little all the time. keep your body healthy and when you can feel your head needs rest, then give it rest. especially low expectations with productivity is the key for me to be both productive as well as enjoying myself alot.
Heard meditate get mentioned more recently offline too. What does it do for you?
As others have mentioned, going to the gym in the morning is a fantastic idea. Yesterday I had a job interview and decided to lift before showering and leaving. It gives you more confidence and clearer thinking throughout the day. Starts your day off on the right foot.
It's a scientifically proven fact that intense exercise improves your mood and concentration.
This is great! And I find it funny that there's no mention of women or game anywhere. I love how TRP has turned from a sub discussing gaming women to a sub discussing and advising men on all aspects of improving their lives. It was bound to happen no matter what they say TRP is, because it logically follows that a successful man leading a rich, balanced life will attract women, but now this sub has become bigger than merely getting women. I think it's really encouraging men to be men again!
Happy valentine's day everyone. Thanks TRP mods and contributors! We have all made this place an unbelievable resource of wisdom, motivation, discipline, knowledge, experience, and some hope.
The last week or so has been pretty miserable for me - I've been ill, I've been cutting hard on a low carb diet and my testosterone is at rock bottom and the weathers been shit. I started to neglect small things and what do you know, in less than a week I began to feel like a degenerate.
You have to keep pushing on.
The get enough sleep thing isnt necessarily true. Many great leaders and high performers actually sleep very few now and in history. I think it can be related to your mind actually being more focused. And I say that despite loving to sleep a lot, but I also noticed when I have nights I sleep very few, I can be way more "high alert".
Depends on who you are. Some people can function at 100% with just 3 hours while others need 10. If you're the latter than getting little sleep because Napoleon did it is not going to help you.
Really? I mean how many people sleep all day and have low energy? Surely more than those who sleep much less
How do you know that their high energy comes from sleeping little hours? Perhaps they drink tons of coffee or drugs to get them through the day.
Yes, I've done that. I went to college and pulled all-nighters and times it feels like you can finish a lot. But you know what happens after that? I crashed, really hard. Even now if I don't get enough sleep, there is a noticeable, negative difference in my attitude and work ethic in the office.
It's very anecdotal to correlate a lack of sleep with achievement. Yes, there are many successful people who slept very little and did a lot, but those people would have been successful no matter what because that is their personality. You can't say that their lack of sleep is what caused their success or even a proponent of it.
Look at Elon Musk. He works between 85-100 hours a week and still manages to get 6 hours of sleep a night.
It seems like you're correlating bad behavior with some successful people who managed to do it. If I want to become a famous jazz musician, should I start shooting up heroin because Miles Davis and Chet Baker did? It would be idiotic to assume that heroin made them great musicians just like I believe it's foolhardy to think that someone should sleep 3 hours a night because Tim Cook does it.
Lastly, it depends on your goals. If you're trying to get a rocket to Mars, sure, sleep for 3 hours a night. However, if you're trying to put on 25 pounds of muscle, good luck doing that without many hours of sleep.
Ever heard of polyphasic sleep? That is one thing that might possibly contribute to it. Hmm, interesting, so far search can't find any posts on TRP about it, although it sounds very useful
you know I am seeing a lot of work related comments and let me go ahead and tell you all something.
I have one of the most meaningless jobs there is on the planet. I work for a top 5 American financial institution as an IT BIO developer and project manager.
if the lights went out tomorrow .... no one would miss my job ... and from what I have seen of BIG BANKING .... I don't mean banks but I mean four or five banks controlling 30-50% of the market, maybe more .... but once again, if the lights went out ... most people would probably be better off.
so, that said. I am a father and a husband and a friend to many and I take my meaning out of my work by applying it's rewards to my life. there may not be a lot of fulfillment in squaring away a few million a year by changing our DBs running cycles .... I mean that is never going to be passed to the customer .... but the paycheck that let me buy my wife the exact dream couch she wanted .... totally worth. the check that let me enroll my child in multiple classes .... totally worth. the check that allowed me to take over all my parents bills? totally worth.
I hope that you can all look at your job this way and understand that the job may not be the most fulfilling, most exciting, most anything. however, sooner or later you have to come to grips with what the real payoffs can be and enjoy them. that is one huge pill to swallow .... but since I made up my mind to see things like this, I have woke up each morning with a little bit more enthusiasm for the job everyday.
Great post. Remember this. Remember that compromising is the route to failure.
Maybe there's a happy hour at work that conflicts with your designated gym time.
Your mind tells you:
'hey, it's just once, not like they have happy hours every week'
'I should go just to show my face and seem friendly and social or other people may think ill of me'
'Everyone is going, I just won't drink or eat any of the appetizers'
'I could just change cheat day this once'
'I could make networking connections if I go'
Supply whatever excuse you want, if you let that voice convince you, you are choosing to lose.
Choose to win and recognize that voice for what it is: weakness.
Like the sentiment, but passing on work extracurriculars and networking can be far more detrimental than skipping gym one day.
You're not wrong because things can spiral, but you're not 100% on the money either. At any point, be it work, the gym or when you got home, you could have changed your tune. You didn't. Perhaps that first negativity set you on a path to not noticing a bad habit filled day, but it doesn't change the fact that you could have changed direction at any point.
Personally this is why I give myself chest days, where I deliberately allow myself to slack off. Knowing I'm allowing myself to relax my standards makes me not go too far into the deep end while still relaxing on the normal intensity and giving myself a moderate break. I find this stabilizing me the rest of the time.
Days I wake up early and lift hard I feel great all day long.
"Get enough sleep" - I have found this out the hard way. Getting to bed before 11pm, preferably getting 8 hours sleep.
I'm gonna take part of this awesome advice one step further and say: Get enough sleep, particularly on Sunday night.
Sleeping like shit on Sunday usually translates to a groggy Monday morning, which carries over to the rest of the day and can fuck up the next couple of days as well if you're not careful.
This is the best motivation I have found yet. thank you man
well i began my day with busting a huge load, eating a shit ton of food, and running 10 miles, but somehow im tired and just lay in the bed i made for the rest of the day.
and tom brady is a cyborg so this argument is invalid.
Damn, I didn't think of the Brady-Cyborg counterattack.
Or stop putting so much of your self worth into things society has arbitrarily told you define you. ( your job, your girlfriend, your fucking gym membership).
When did this place become so beta ?
If lacking in your work, fitness, routine and relationships don't bother you, you're the beta.