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Nine Ways To Jump-Start Your Life

This article is more than 9 years old.

We need another article on SMART goals like we need practice sitting in traffic.  After spending thirteen years in military special operations, I think a completely different perspective might shine some new light in an otherwise unlit room of the goal-setting arena. Here are nine ways to kick life in the you-know what, not just this year but every year:

1. Gut Check Yourself Every Day. In BUD/S we had a motto: “The only easy day was yesterday.” Find a personal challenge to aspire towards every day. It could be something as simple as holding the door an extra thirty seconds for somebody, letting another car in "your" lane, or running for an extra minute at the end of a treadmill workout. Whatever you do, aim to stretch the metaphorical mental rubber band more and more every day because without pushing yourself, there is no growth, no learning, and no improvement.

2. Adapt, Adapt, Adapt! Adaptability builds resilience. After the first time I was shot  (yes, you read that right—the “first” time) it took me about fifteen seconds to realize that I was okay and that my team needed me. Feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to help the situation, so I needed to adapt--immediately. To adapt means to re-purpose something into a suitable or usable context. A few ways to do so include turning an insult into a lesson in self-awareness, speaking to the positive, redefining an old perception into a new perspective, or converting a once-obsolete product into the next best idea.

3. Speak every day. I’m not talking about standing in front of the mirror and telling yourself how great you look. Instead, whenever you have alone time, choose a random topic to speak out loud to yourself for just two minutes. It can be something as simple as seeing a license plate and debating to yourself the creative design of its shape or why there should be eight numbers instead of seven. Be creative. The purpose of this daily exercise is to improve a couple things:

  • Your Creativity. By looking for ways to connect random “things,” you force your brain to look for solutions and why they tie-in together, rather than just simply seeing two different objects that don’t.
  • Speaking Is Paramount. I cannot think of a single effective leader in history who did not speak well. Consider this: Stephen King writes every day, 365 days a year, and you know what? He’s not exactly an unsuccessful writer. If you want to improve something you need to do it consistently,  and speaking is no different.

4. Stretch. Yes, stretch your muscles. Stretching is always preached upon and there are myriad ways to stretch but the fact is, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Stretching is not sexy, not exciting, and never feels like you’re getting anywhere, which is probably why so many people blow it off. However, sitting down all day or limited activity does nothing but stifle joint mobility and make you feel stiff. Recommendation: Stop what you're doing at the top of every hour and move around, stretch your muscles, loosen your joints. Doing so will do two things:

  • Help you feel better
  • Motivate others to do the same

5. Aspire To Be.  Practice your values, exercise your behaviors. Anything and everything slowly fades away into the sunset without a focused attention, and values are no different. Ben Franklin used to assign himself a value to practice every day in his quest for moral perfection. He would then map out his progress on a chart to visually depict his strengths and weaknesses, and thus know to improve upon the latter.

6. Choose Learning Over “Failure.” The word failure is in quotes because it’s not something I believe in. Failure is a mindset ; it’s a willingness to accept the current state of being for what it is rather than seek the next milestone to improve it. Every setback, every criticism, every seemingly negative "thing" in one’s life can be flipped over and immediately turned into something positive from to learn and grow from simply by changing your perspective. There are two ways our brains work, according to behavioral science and motivational speaker Anthony Robbins: To find pleasure and to avoid pain. That’s it. The secret is to find ways to associate more pleasure with things you avoided in the past because our brains don’t know the difference between perception and reality—they just “know” whatever you tell it.

7. Build Your Body, Build Your Mind. You’ve probably heard it before, but a strong body yields a strong mind. In John Ratey’s book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, he discusses how to alter your mood, improve your memory, enhance your focus, and develop greater mental acuity through exercise. The bottom line is, exercise helps you not just for the beach, but for the boardroom, too.

8. Debrief Yourself. In the military we conducted after action reviews (AARs) after every training evolution and mission. We examined everything from mission conception to returning back to base and everything in between. Specifically, we wanted to examine the difference between what was intended to happen and what actually occurred. AAR's are not just something you can implement within your own team or organization, but for yourself, too. Personal reflection helps you identify any gaps that exist between your espoused values and behaviors, and reality . Then it’s up to you to fill the gap.

9. Make Sure Your Ducks Are In A Row Before Complaining To Others. Nobody wants to listen to little Johnny complain about something that he himself violates – his word, a promise, a commitment. Stick to your guns, keep them clean, and they will (figuratively speaking) work when needed.

What's on your list? Share your comments below.

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