Behavior #1: Exercise first

Health

Jan 2

Certain habits beget others, families of behaviors that live together, spawning and reinforcing each other.

Drink alcohol, and you’ll be likely to eat poorly. Eat poorly, and you’ll likely limit sleep quality and duration. Muddled as a result, you’ll seek stimulation from caffeine throughout the next day, continuing the cycle.

On the positive side, exercise. Do so, and you’ll be more likely to hydrate, to stretch, to eat foods that reinforce performance and health. This combination of diet and exercise will help you sleep better, giving you more focus and energy, which will once again give you the fundamental motivation and ability to exercise. Simultaneously, you’ll likely abandon smoking and drinking — it’s pretty hard to sprint and climb and lift when you’re limited by lung capacity and dehydration — crushing the negative spiral of behaviors in its cradle as you build a positive spiral of healthy behaviors in its stead.

Begin by exercising, and do it first thing in the morning. This not only kicks off your positive spiral as early as possible, it also gives you an immediate, primary accomplishment to build upon throughout the day. You’ll go into your family and professional roles de-stressed, focused, and with an expansive mindset.

Should your current schedule not allow this, consider going to bed earlier and getting up earlier, shifting your sleep schedule to accommodate a new start time. You’ll likely be “sacrificing” evening screen time for morning exercise — a trade with obvious benefits.