That Monday feeling on a Wednesday. Feeling stressed. Not wanting to put the work in today. Fuck today. You don’t have to feel like this. Have fun every once in a while. Relax! Work hard but don’t take life too seriously. It’s too short to be angry all the time. 

Smile more and stay positive. Have fun with your days! Remember that everything will be alright and this day will be over soon enough. Make a game of the day. Notice and track how many times you’re staying positive and/or smiled. From there reward yourself everytime you achieve one of these two things. By giving yourself time for fun activities like rock climbing, hiking, watching tv really anything. For every good thing you do give yourself five minutes of your favorite activity. Hopefully these activities involve being outdoors or doing something active. Get away from your desk or couch and go have fun outside. 

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

We’re taught to always win. Winning is everything. Never give up until you succeed. You can do anything you set your mind to. All valid points but we should’ve been focusing more on the road to winning. The amount of work you have to put in. It’s never easy. There are no short cuts. That’s what makes winning so enjoyable. It isn’t the fame and money that comes with winning. It’s the amount of times you failed and the amount of hours you put it in a daily basis that makes winning incredible. The road to winning is what makes it great.

No one likes to fail. No one wants to disappoint their family members. No one wants to look stupid. No one wants to be made fun of or laughed at. If you don’t try you’ll never fail and if winning is the byproduct of failing you’ll never win. You have to know going into any venture you will fail. Not everything is always going to work out exactly as you’ve planned. It doesn’t work that way and it never will. You can plan and plan all you want but until you take that first step you’re not any closer to winning. If you know failing is part of the process before hand you ready yourself for the road ahead. Failure is on that road along with time and suffering. It’s going to take a long time and it won’t be easy. That’s what makes winning great.

A lot of people run. We either run for fun or run competitively. But how many of us actually realize and focus on ourselves running. Most of the time we just run to a certain distant that we had mapped out previously or just follow our GPS watches. We drift off into whatever thought pops into our head. We zone out and focus more on what is on our minds instead of running. Next time you go for a run be more aware of how you feel and your surroundings.

Focus on your form. You’re form is so important when running. It gages how fast or slow you’re running. It also helps you grind through those tough runs. Feel each step on the ground. Feel your heart beating. Focus on the now. Focus on you running in that moment. It will help you gain control of your run and overtime perform better.

Focus on your breathing. Your breathing controls your speed and your feelings for the run. It helps determine if this run will be good or bad. So instead of doing quick bursts in your breathing, when you begin to notice yourself struggle slowly take in deep breaths during your run. Deep breaths help you regain control of your flow and helps you realize that you don’t have to breath as fast or heavily as you are.

Focus on yourself. Don’t worry if other runners pass you or if someone you know is faster than you. Focus on you. You’re the only person you should care about. This will take time. If you’re not as good as you would like to be then put more work in. Beat that person that’s better than you. But, at this point in time, focus on yourself in this moment. Don’t compare yourself to others. That just leads to disappointment and frustration.

Train yourself to be more positive while running. Instead of telling yourself how hard the run is or how bad you feel today transition to a more positive approach. Tell yourself you feel great, even if you don’t. Tell yourself it’s easy, even if it isn’t. I’m no guru in self talk or positivity but I have seen the positive effects of staying positive first hand. Even if you feel silly at first at least try it out. You’ll notice a difference over time.

Now do it all together. Focus on your form, breathing, yourself and be more positive. You will not only be more excited to run but you’ll become more confident in your running and yourself. You don’t have to do all four things at first but slowly add them into your routine every run. These will change the way you run and help you run more confidently for longer periods of time. Trust yourself and forget about everything else.

“Fuck that guy he just cut me off!” WHY do you even care? Seriously why does it matter? These events should not affect you emotionally. Let’s take a step back and truly think about this. What changes if you yell at the guy who cut you off? The only thing that comes from that is negative. He could hit your car or try to beat you up. What if, instead of yelling at this guy, you just let it go. Let him go back to what he was doing and you go back to what you were doing. It’s that simple. He most likely didn’t mean it anyway. It’s not like he was trying to cut you off. We all have this happen. We realize it’s not that big of a deal but we’re already yelling so we might as well keep going.

Instead of yelling, recognize you’re pissed off, take a deep breath in and exhale. Do this four times and in your head let yourself know that it’s really not a big deal. People make mistakes! That’s part of our nature. Instead of yelling, give the man or woman a nice wave and continue on with your day as if it didn’t happen.

You can use this practice in anything throughout the day. A pissed off coworker, you spilling water all over yourself, stubbing your toe, etc. In the grand scheme of things these events never matter. So instead of freaking out, which changes absolutely nothing, realize you’re pissed off and before saying anything nasty or rude walk away from the situation. Once you’re at a comfortable distance take in your deep breath and repeat in your head “it’s truly not a big deal” then exhale.

“Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious”. -Phillips Brooks

“Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” – Bill Keane

If you really want to use your time wisely make it a focus everyday. We want so many things in life but how hard are we willing to work for them? When the going gets tough we give up. When we hit a bump in the road we stop, not knowing how close we are to victory. It may feel useless what you’re doing now but you have to take every day one step at a time. Focus on the bigger picture but make small achievable goals along the way to your ultimate goal. Reward yourself for accomplishing that first run, that first article or talking to that person in the coffee shop for the first time. Time is always decreasing no matter how we look at it. So we need to use our time wisely.

Track your time spent 

Tracking your time helps you realize how much time you spend on useless things but also how much time you spend on important activities. We all say, “Oh, well I don’t have time for that” or “I would love to do that if I had more time”. You do have more time, way more time then you think. The method I use is having a stopwatch and a journal, it’s that simple. Track everything you do and when I say everything I mean everything. Eating, crying, watching TV, sleeping, etc. You may realize you’re very efficient but need a couple areas to sharpen up. But, like most of us you’ll probably realize how much time you waste on unimportant activities. Track all your time for a week straight and add up how much time you spend on each activity. After that cut the time you spend on useless tasks that aren’t moving you forward toward your goals. I first cut each item by 10 – 20% (60 minutes of TV to 50 minutes). This helps you find that extra bit of time. Even if it is 10 minutes here and there it adds up. After that initial stage you’re free to keep tracking time or to keep cutting those unimportant tasks down in small percentages until they’re almost eliminated.

Give yourself a reward system

This is pretty self explanatory but a crucial step in the process. After working for 1 hour (or whatever time you choose) on a task reward yourself with 15 minutes of something you enjoy or are passionate about. Maybe you like to play video games (I’m a huge tetris geek), maybe you enjoy music, maybe you want to sit outside and enjoy the sun. Whatever you chose as your reward make it something you enjoy deeply. This helps you get your most important tasks done and helps you look forward to it’s completion. Make your reward worth working for and you’ll accomplish more than you’ve ever dreamed of.

Say No

As much as we all would like to please everyone it’s not possible. Say no every now and then. You can’t please everyone so why not at least please one person, yourself. Focus on what you really want out of life when making these types of choices. Ask yourself this before ever saying yes, “Will this benefit me now and does this align with my goals”. Now, of course there will always be some exceptions. Rock climbing will benefit you physically and helps you clear your mind when you’re stressed out. It doesn’t directly affect you as much as a social network outing with others in your industry or others with common interests. But maybe you don’t grab drinks with your friends this weekend and focus on yourself and your goals instead. We have to realize it’s ok to say no. Don’t beat around the bush and definitely don’t lie. Tell them exactly why you can’t come. They may be upset initially but will respect you for letting them know.

Time is our most overlooked asset. Please, use your time wisely and make a difference in not only your life but the others around you. Hard work does pay off. Track your time wisely but don’t be psychotic about it. If you watch TV a little longer one day or don’t fully track everything don’t beat yourself up. You have to make it up the next day though. Don’t get into the habit of taking a little time here and there; it will put you right back at square one. Have fun with this. Enjoy what you’re doing. Be smart about your time and you will be handsomely rewarded.

“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” -Theodore Roosevelt

You don’t want this journey to be easy. If it were easy everyone would do it. Encourage the moments of difficulty and struggle. The more pain you endure = the closer you are to achieving your goals. Think about that in every step you take, every time you fail, everyone who has told you you can’t do it or you’re not good enough. Those people won’t embrace difficulty. They won’t put the time in that you do everyday. They stray away from the hard things. They’re afraid to fail. Afraid to be made fun of for chasing their dreams. Afraid they’ll be ridiculed by their friends and family. You’re not one of those people. You CAN do this. You don’t care what people think or how others will look at you. You don’t care. You’re good enough right now. You have all the resources necessary to begin. It won’t be easy and you love that. Why not give it a try? Why not today? The worst thing that happens is you fall flat on your face, peel yourself off the sidewalk and start over again tomorrow. Take the first step now. It doesn’t have to be huge. Start that business. Start running today. Start that new novel.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Anyone can BEGIN a new habit or activity. Anyone can start learning a new language, playing a new instrument, starting a new business or even training for a marathon. But, how many people actually finish what they begin? We all want to learn something new but aren’t willing to do it on a consistent basis. But why? Why do we start something so often to just give up on it eventually? Boredom. We get bored of doing the same thing day after day. Putting in the same effort day in and day out. The same routine bores us. Lets look at boredom from a separate angle. Most people do the same thing day after day anyways and most of the time it’s something we dread! We drive to the same place, seeing the same people, and most of the time doing the same job. So why can we do something we hate on a consistent basis but not learn or start something new and do that same activity day after day?

It’s all about our dedication and mindset. We have to be 100% dedicated to learning our new language or starting that new business while also having the right mindset. We have to realize from the beginning it’s going to take a lot of time and effort like anything else. So, before starting anything new before hand know that it may initally be exciting but as time passes that excitment will dwindle away. When that boredom hits remember why you started in the ifrst place and focus on what you want to accomplish in the long term. It’s going to suck, be boring and at times you’re going to want to quit but you can’t. Remember why you’re doing this and who you’re doing this for. The end result of having a side business or running a marathon will be so worth it and you will appreciate the tough times you went through. It will make those tough times that much more enjoyable.

Think big picture, focus on the end result, embrace the boredom and keep chugging along.

As I open my eyes I notice how groggy I feel. I’m also slightly hungover. Not interested in doing any type of movement or physical activity. Just give me one more hour of sleep. This internal battle goes on for a while. Looking up at the ceiling this small voice inside me shouts to get up. I reluctantly listen and grab my journal. My day has now begun. Today is one of “those days”. A day where you don’t want to do anything. You’ll always have these type of days no matter how successful or driven you are. It’s in our nature. But how do we reduce the number of days and what should we do when we start feeling like this? The last thing you want to do is skip whatever you had planned for your day ahead. Pushing through and doing the work is what separates the good from the great. So what should you when you have this feeling? There are a couple tricks I have learned to combat these negatives thoughts. It’s not a foolproof plan but it will help you keep on track.

Keep your eyes on the prize

Focus on the end result everyday. Think big picture but realize how important consistency and hard work is everyday. If you wake up feeling like crap you can change your attitude. You need to do the work eventually so why not now? What I use for this is the five minute journal. I write down three things I’m grateful for, three things that would make the day great and then right down my daily affirmations (I am motivated, driven and worthy..). This helps me start my day off on the right foot by helping me realize how blessed I am. You don’t need to buy the five minute journal to write down these items but I would highly suggest it. Do this at the beginning of every day before anything else.

Just Do it

This is simple. Just do it. Wake up and do the worst thing you have to do for the day or whatever is on the top of your to do list. “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” – Mark Twain. This is one of my favorite quotes but it’s so true. Do the worst or hardest thing first thing in the morning and the rest of your day will be easy. You feel accomplished and motivated. It’s going to suck and it’s not going to be easy. But remember, just do it and everything else falls into place.

Remain consistent

Consistency is the key to success. When having one of those days remind yourself that everyday counts. Every second matters. So how do we remain consistent? What works great for me is to block out a portion of time on my calendar to where i do my most important work. Usually first thing in the morning or right before bed at night. You have to block this time and make it sacred. No matter what happens you must do your work at that time every day to create consistency to the point where you won’t even have to think about it. It becomes your routine. If a friend asks you do do something at your blocked off time you kindly let them know you can’t. This will help you power through those days and kick their asses.

Keep pushing through. Get rid of the bad habits and create new ones. This is your time to shine. Don’t let “those days” get in the way on your path to success. Pushing through these tough times separates you from the majority of the population. Keep your eyes on the prize, Just do it and remain consistent.

Running is one of the most stress reducing activities you can do. Runners high is real and its very addicting. Going out and running some solid miles feels fantastic. You feel accomplished and excited to do it again. But that day will come when it becomes repetitive and gets boring. You don’t feel like going to run. You get home or wake up and don’t even want to think about running. When this happens you can do 1 of 3 things: 1) Give up, 2) Go run, 3) DO SOMETHING ELSE. You don’t always have to be running to stay in “running” shape. There are several different activities you should tie into your weekly schedule to make sure you never get bored of running and, if you’re trying to compete, stay ahead of your competition. This, my friends, is called cross training and it will save you and your mind.

Boxing

Boxing is one of the hardest physical activities you will ever do in your entire life. I have never sweat more in one hour then when I did boxing. It’s hard as shit. If you thought running 5 miles was tough go to a boxing class for one hour and you’ll change your mind. The best thing about boxing is it’s difficulty. It’s the perfect combination of speed, power and stamina. Those three traits are crucial for running. Stamina is a no brainer, speed helps you go fast for a long period of time and power is the grit to push through as hard as possible the more tired you get. After getting into a solid 2-3 months of running I would highly suggest taking a day off and adding boxing to your weekly regimen. It’s going to be harder than your run anyway and will push your body to the limits.

Lifting

Lifting is an activity that needs to be apart of your routine immediately. Lifting weights help you become stronger as a whole. It can be tough to do on a consistent basis but is something that should be mandated. Start out very small when incorporating lifting and start off with low weights. For running especially you’re going to want to do more reps with less weight for increasing your strength and stamina simultaneously. Start off lifting arms one day and legs another with very minimal time initially (10-20 minutes). These exercises don’t have to be crazy tough to see and feel results after a few weeks. So, like anything, start off slow and easy, increase weights and reps as you progress, and please don’t take yourself too seriously in the gym.

Swimming

Swimming changed the way I ran. It helped me gain strength, push myself beyond my limits and increased my confidence more than I ever imagined possible. I had no idea what I was capable of until I begin swimming. It’s a grueling exercise but swimming for 20 minutes 2-3 times a week will change you physically and mentally. You don’t have to swim fast or have the perfect form but you must be willing to put the work in. Start off doing laps for 10 minutes and then practice on running form in the shallow end for the last 10 minutes. If you’re feeling good add 10 more minutes swimming under water from end to end holding your breath as long as possible. That exercise is what really changed me. You can hold your breath twice as long as you’ve ever thought possible. This exercise alone increased my confidence exponentially. I began to push myself harder and harder on runs and helped me become more confident in my abilities in multiple areas of life not only running. Swimming took me to the next level and should be an integral part of your schedule.

Remember, these activities go hand and hand with running. If you want to become great at running or just finish your first 5k you need to dedicate a large portion of your time to training. To make that move you need to include these specific activities. Don’t be afraid to switch it up! Try Boxing on Sundays, Swimming on Wednesdays and lifting after running on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Now initially you’re going to want to slowly add these activities to your weekly routine. Once you get into the swing of things add more work. Push yourself, be confident and don’t be afraid to fail. Most importantly have fun 🙂

Running can be a daunting task to begin. Where do I start? How many miles should I run per day? At what speed should I run those miles? Should I run everyday?

A lot of people enjoy the idea of running but when it comes to actually putting together a game plan for running few people know where to start. Like anything and everything else in the world you must first take small steps before you go all out. Did you learn to walk before you crawled or Run before you walked? You must take baby steps to ensure you don’t risk severe injuries or form bad habits. This list contains my three most important rules for every runner. Follow these steps and you’ll surely be headed in the right direction.

Take the first few days slow

The first few days of running are not going to be enjoyable if you sprint for 30 minutes everyday. After the first day you won’t be able to move. Then you will start taking days and poof, there goes any shot of you having a consistent running plan. So, for the first few days you just want to focus on running minimally. Walk to warm your body up for five minutes, then run (SLOWLY) for two to five minutes depending on how your body reacts. Do this for 15-30 minutes for three days a week for your first week. if you’re feeling good add more time or a day but don’t overdue it. Initially it will feel very foreign so stick with this routine and increase the amount of running as your body begins to respond to running on a consistent basis. Again, you don’t want to start off running a ton of miles and you definitely don’t want to do this fast. These first days are crucial. So try not to overdue it.

Have a positive Mindset

“You can do this!”, “Don’t give up!”, “I’m too tired..”, “I’m not in good enough shape..”, “Running isn’t my thing..”

We all have good days and bad days. There’s no denying that. When you have a negative mindset it will ruin a run for you. When you stay positive throughout a run you can run for days and no one can stop you from your goals! So keep a positive mindset at all times whether you’re running or not. Positive self talk will help you push through those first few weeks when beginning to run. Don’t fall into the trap of telling your self you can’t do it because blah blah blah. You can do it! And you will do it! Remain positive throughout the first few weeks of training and you will realize how much of a boost it has on your running ability especially during the tough runs. Every time you feel yourself becoming negative repeat this, “I feel great, I’m confident in my abilities, I love this, Pain is temporary”, and remember the end result.

Set achievable goals

So you started running. There we go! Great job! Now what..?

When first beginning to run you need to understand the why of running. Why are you starting? Why do you want to do this day in and day out? Are you proving people wrong? Are you trying to finish your first 5k or run a marathon? Establish your goals before you even begin. Understand why you want to put yourself through this. This is important because you’re going to start running and it’s not going to be easy, it’s a lot of work and a huge time commitment. So know before you begin why you’re doing what you’re doing. Post your goals on the fridge or on your wall at work so you remind yourself why you do what you do. This will reaffirm why you’re doing this through those tough times when you want to quit. But most importantly you let everyone else know that you’re committed to achieving your goal.

Remember, you can do this but it will not be easy. Always remember you’re not alone. There are tons of other people who were in your same place, at square one. Set achievable goals, keep a positive mindset and start off slow. Don’t expect this to happen over night. It will take a lot of time and hard work. Shit, who want’s to be amazing at something without getting a little banged up and dirty along the way? That’s what makes the end result that much more enjoyable. Have fun and be safe out there. Oh yeah, happy runnings.