By the end of January, I had reestablished my relationship with water and sleep. No longer did I identify as a night owl, but instead, I was setting a consistent sleeping routine. I had set up my phone so that by 11:00 p.m., it would go dark, and by 11:30, I'd be in bed. Having communicated with my wife, I was waking up at 6:30 a.m., and as a byproduct, we were having breakfast together.
My wife and I have always gone out on dates. Most often, we would leave our children with the grandparents or my brother and sister-in-law, and we would go out on a date. As far as breakfast, that would only happen on Saturdays. However, since I've changed my sleeping habits, part of my morning routine is making my wife breakfast, something I enjoy very much.
On February 6th, I decided to add another detail to my newly formed routine, start a workout regimen.
I had already addressed my sleeping habits and increased my water intake, so I knew now was the moment to implement a workout regimen. So I found a gym! The gym is at most 4 MI away from my house, a 10-minute drive or less. I found the gym midway through January but started going to the gym on the first Monday of February.
Now comes the fun part. I had decided to go to the gym from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, four days a week. And I have a workout buddy, my brother; while our goals may differ, this allows us to encourage each other on the journey.
When we first walked into the gym, we initially started doing a 30-minute circuit consisting of a full-body workout. We determined that we would do three sets of 30 lb 15 times. Initially, we wrestled back and forth with if we should do more or less only because 30 was something that we were confident we could do. However, understanding the power of the compound effect, we settled on 30 to build the required habit. As February is ending, so too is the 30 lb, and we are transitioning into 40 lb weights.
The idea here is to play the long game. Practical goals lead to radical life, and not the other way around. I'm excited to see the results that lie ahead, but I also am enjoying the journey.
There is another area of my life that I want to address. I had been very inconsistent with reading for quite some time. Yet, so many people in my network talk about the power of reading books, and I understand there is actual power! I made a list of the books that I found exciting and could bring value to me and those I serve.
One of the critical things when establishing a goal, habit, routine, or regimen is putting a time frame, indicating when you will do it, for how long you will do it, and when this should be complete. While I wanted to implement reading into my routines, I needed to establish a time frame for the books I was about to engage with.