52 weeks of gratitude - Week 17

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April 28, 2018

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

52 Weeks of gratitude: Week 17

Before the New Year I was in search of new beginnings, tired of days, weeks even months going by and my days full without any progress towards my goals. By deciding to step into 2018 with a few simple changes I have now established a consistent morning routine for over 120 days.

Start by creating a list of things you want to change or improve. Areas of life that need focus, elimination or a place of pause, awakening possibility in small steps.

Following the advice of Jerry Seinfeld ( story below) I made a list of nonnegotiable habits that I would complete each morning. Choosing to wake early to insure their completion I would then mark another X on the calendar creating a chain.

My current list I am able to complete in under 1 hour. A combination of Hal Elrod (Miracle Morning), Julia Cameron (Morning pages) and my own desire for self improvement I established momentum in a new direction.

A sample of my morning routine

Wake each morning by (5:00am or earlier)
Drink 32 oz warm lemon water
Take vitamins
3 hand written pages of journaling
Julia Cameron (Artist's way everyday) *daily read
Savor by Shauna Niequist *daily read
Encyclopedia of Me -fill in one section daily
read 100 days to brave -completed
read I've been thinking by Maria Shriver *daily read
Meditate for minimum 10 minutes
1 minute bridge, 1 minute plank, 1 minute wall sit
Write or edit for 15 minutes or more
52 Happiness lists (every Friday)
The weekly prayer project (every Sunday)
read one educational book for 10 minutes
add something new to work out routine (yoga, strength and boxing)

*daily read is a short motivational paragraph or story

In just over 120 days I have read more than 15 books, strengthened my mind and body, focused on my writing and lost just over 11 pounds. Every day I have more energy and pride as I focus on what I need to grow.

The “Seinfeld Strategy”

Shared from James Clear

Brad Isaac was a young comedian starting out on the comedy circuit. One fateful night, he found himself in a club where Jerry Seinfeld was performing. In an interview on Lifehacker, Isaac shared what happened when he caught Seinfeld backstage and asked if he had “any tips for a young comic.”

Here's how Isaac described the interaction with Seinfeld…

He said the way to be a better comic was to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes was to write every day.

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day.

“After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.”

You'll notice that Seinfeld didn't say a single thing about results.

It didn’t matter if he was motivated or not. It didn’t matter if he was writing great jokes or not. It didn't matter if what he was working on would ever make it into a show. All that mattered was “not breaking the chain.”

And that's one of the simple secrets behind Seinfeld's remarkable productivity and consistency. For years, the comedian simply focused on “not breaking the chain.”

Think about how you can use the Seinfeld Strategy in your life…

If you are just joining, HERE is the first post on the journey