Are You Winning the Day?

Brad’s alarm goes off at 4:20 AM and he get up to shut it off. He gets cleaned up quick and immediately downs a bottle of water to hydrate, then gets ready to hit the gym. By 4:40 he is training and also listening to an audio book to get in some reading on the way to train as well during. After a hard workout for about 45 minutes, he showers and grabs a light breakfast with coffee while he just lightly meditates and thinks in silence. He then prepares to do some writing or journaling. After that, he spends some time working on a side project that is building from a hobby. It’s not even 6:00 AM yet, and Brad has already got a jump on the day - worked on himself physically, mentally and got some quiet reflection time for psychological check in. This is Brad’s daily ritual and works his best to maintain it. In the evening he ensures he also closes the loop, connecting with his family and spending time to reflect on the day and set plans for tomorrow.

Contrast that with Bill, who has hit the snooze button for the 8th time today and its, now 6:34AM. He finally calls it and decides to rise and then meanders from getting cleaned up to making coffee to looking at and answering emails on his phone. But the time he has grabbed a bite to eat, it’s already past 7, and he is now running a bit behind. He showers and prepares for the day that has quickly crept up on him. He feels sort of rushed into it, but he has become somewhat used to it. He too has some side projects he would love to work on, wants to workout more - he is inconsistent maybe getting in a few sessions per week, and always laments how he needs to read more, he just can’t find the time. The work day takes it out of him and things always come up in the evening that creates constraints.

I was going to ask who your think is the more productive one, but that should be easy and clear. It’s not that Brad is any better than Bill, he just has a routine, is more disciplined, and makes sure he is setup to win each day. Win each day?

Yes, you may have heard it before. Win the day and be better today then you were yesterday. Consistency and habits have a compounding effect over time. If you have not read The Compounding Effect by Darren Hardy, I would recommend it greatly. Brad for example has been doing this routine for quite some time now and it has paid off for him and continues to - with his health, fitness, intelligence through reading, his writing ability, journaling to ease his mind, making it a priority to connect, and being proactive in planning. When you are disciplined in that manner, it’s hard not to win the day and get better with time. It also goes to show you don’t have to hit home runs to achieve success, or strike out here or there to think you are a failure. You can make good progress with singles and doubles.

Daily routines or rituals can vary person to person, and no, getting up early is not required, but as many successful people out there will attest, it is suggested if you want to “find the time” to make things happen. If you back load the day, things always come up and days can get away from you, often preventing you from getting the important or personal things in, or making it a lot harder. If you get them out of the way in the AM, you are good to go and set up for anything. You start the day on the offensive rather than on defense.

For me, it’s a scenario somewhat like Brad’s. Do I always execute spot on to plan? No. I try to be as consistent as possible but I do miss. My goal is to not miss and when I do, I am to the point where I feel it deeply and almost feel out of congruence if I miss a workout or don’t get a chance to read or write for example. That’s the self discipline taking over - if you get to the point where you feel off when you miss, you know you are in the right mindset. You have to feel the need to take care of yourself, sharpen the axe so to speak, and make sure your nurturing yourself physically, mentally, spiritually, and psychologically. This is something I truly believe. If you want to lead and take care of others, you have to start by taking care of yourself. That begins with self discipline.

My personal goal as I noted above is to win each day and go 365-0 for the year. Not there yet, but always something to strive for. If you do adopt your routine and start accumulating “wins” over time, I (and many others out there) can attest you will feel the tide turn in your favor and you will feel not only more congruent internally but things will start falling in place more if they aren't now. I can almost guarantee it. What’s your daily ritual or habits? Are you winning the day?

#wintheday #consistency #selfdiscipline #dailyhabits #dailyritual #compoundingeffect #winning #runupthescore