Floss One Tooth...
I’m not trying to reinvent the habit wheel. James Clear & Leo Babauta are experts on habits. I’m just passing along some tips that work for me…
Here’s a summary from Clear, Author of Atomic Habits:
"Dream Big, But Start Small
If you’re serious about making real change — in other words, if you’re serious about doing things better than you are now — then you have to start small.
(credit: www.jamesclear.com)
Wouldn’t it make sense that if we wanted to form new habits, the best way to start would be to make tiny changes that our brain could quickly learn and automatically repeat?
What if you started thinking of your life goals, not as big, audacious things that you can only achieve when the time is right or when you have better resources or when you finally catch your big break … but instead as tiny, daily behaviors that are repeated until success becomes inevitable?
Focus on Lifestyle, Not Life-Changing
Too often we get obsessed with making life–changing transformations.
Life goals are good to have because they provide direction, but they can also trick you into taking on more than you can handle. Daily habits — tiny routines that are repeatable — are what make big dreams a reality.”
Floss One Tooth
Authors Tim Ferriss & Neil Strauss on habits…
Tim says, “My quota for writing is two crappy pages a day.”
By setting the bar low, he can simply get started. Once he starts, he’ll likely hit his goal and go far beyond it.
Neil (my favorite writer) compares writing to flossing your teeth.
“Set the goal of flossing only one tooth a day and you will more than likely continue to floss the rest of them. It’s getting started that is the hard part. As a writer, I can confirm that starting is the hardest part. So lower the cost of commitment for yourself.”
Feel Great
I’ve had bad sleep habits since the pandemic.
My routine: watch TV while staring at my phone until midnight… spend the next 30 minutes dozing off until I muster the strength to drag myself from the couch into bed… THEN, fall asleep while scrolling and drop my phone on my face (I’m a back sleeper).
Dragging myself from the couch into bed.
Two weeks ago I decided to fix my sleep. Here are last week’s stats…
Here’s what I did…
- Finally hung the blackout curtains that were sitting in my closet for 6 months.
- Finished eating dinner at least 2 hours before bed (tried for closer to 3).
- Stopped using all electronics one hour before bed. This was tough, so I started with 5 minutes and worked my way up to an hour.
- Got in bed by 10pm (give or take a few minutes).
- Forced myself to stay in bed until 7:30. I told myself, “You’re not allowed to get out of bed, so go back to sleep or just lay here.”
Rock a Nice Little Bod
Get quality sleep!
“OK, OK— WE GET IT!”
Seriously though… I feel great superhuman. I wake up refreshed and have energy throughout the day and during my workouts. If you’re struggling with sleep, fix it. It will make everything else in your life better. Let me know if I can help.
Enjoy Life
Last night I saw Nate Bargatze at the Greek Theatre (this is the correct way to spell theatre) in Los Angeles. It was a perfect night at an awesome venue. Nate & his crew are hilarious. He has specials on Amazon & Netflix if you’re interested.
How can you create a new health & fitness habit by “flossing one tooth?”
Can you do one pushup? One squat? Walk outside for one minute?
Can you stop using your phone one minute before you get into bed? Then work up an hour or more?
Nice Little Body of the Week
Football is back! Tommy proved a nice little body doesn’t have to look any particular way.
Eargasm of the Week
Thank you for reading.
feel great. rock a nice little bod. enjoy life.
steve
P.S. Bacteria build-up causes gum disease and can lead to heart disease as it finds its way into your arteries.
This is the best floss:
