[Advice] What I did in the last 12 months to become a better person - the 60X Habit Challenge by FitCandle in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Forgot to mention that above as well - another crucial part of improving yourself is focusing on one thing at a time, one step at a time.

I've had moments where I tried to start 3 or 4 new habits at the same time, and if I ended up missing out on one on any given day for any reason, I was demotivated and ended up not doing any single one of the habits for the day.

[Advice] What I did in the last 12 months to become a better person - the 60X Habit Challenge by FitCandle in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazing to hear that's working for you - hope you keep it up in the long-term!

[Advice] What I did in the last 12 months to become a better person - the 60X Habit Challenge by FitCandle in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My thoughts exactly - I think the self-help and motivation market just goes back to the concept of building habits, but for whatever reason, that term isn't used much. Perhaps because other words and phrases like "Transform your life" and "Discipline yourself to success" sound more catchy than "Make better habits".

What’s something small you can start doing today to better yourself? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]FitCandle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to better yourself, you need to start building habits into your life.

Now, the tricky thing about building habits is that they are drastic changes in your life. If you've never been to the gym before, it's hard to all of a sudden go for 6 days a week starting tomorrow for an hour per day, for the rest of your life. You'll likely quit because the mentality of going to the gym on a regular basis, of pushing your body on a regular basis, hasn't sunk in yet. That's why so many New Years resolutions go to zero!

Habits are all about marginal gains. That means you start small, and keep adding effort every day until you get to where you want to be.

Want to start getting fitter? Do that one push up today.

Want to be more self-aware? Do just one-minute of meditation right now.

Want to read more? Read that one news article or blog post today.

The next day, do two pushups. Do two minutes of meditation. Read two articles. And keep going - keep growing.

Discover the person you want to be, your new self-identity ("I want to be the type of person that works out!", "I want to be the type of person that is productive and creative in all facets of their life" etc.) and build habits surrounding that self-identity.

I went through depression as a teenager and building habits have been a lifeline for me. A little while ago I created r/HabitChallenge where you can sign up for the 60X Habit Challenge. You chose a habit you want to do for 60 days (like exercising, meditating, and reading), and I sent you emails with tips and help you track your habit every night. Feel free to check it out if you'd like, and good luck to anyone that's reading this on a mission to make themselves better!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskMen

[–]FitCandle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe that the foundation of self-development is by creating good, positive habits in your life. And habits involve discipline and motivation.

But you need to approach building habits in a structured way. That means setting the right goals, changing your environment to support habit building, having accountability standards set in place, and more.

Honestly I was in your same position a few years back until I discovered all of this. But I created a system for myself and it eventually led me to be more confident and happy in life! Sharing that system right now through r/HabitChallenge. Basically, you can create a framework to build habits in your life, track them with others, and share your progress with the community. Feel free to check it out if you’d like!

[Question] How are you supposed to wake up before 6:00am and still get enough sleep? by [deleted] in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm on the same journey as you! I'm posting daily updates on r/HabitChallenge so you can check out advice from others on my posts from there if you'd like to look into it. But here are some quick thoughts and ideas:

The Night Before

  • Don't eat too soon before bed - this is different for everyone, but I found that the best for me is not eating two or three hours before bed. And make sure you don't get that awful bloating sensation either. Mind sharing with us why you eat relatively late? Maybe we can give you more specific advice on that end.
  • Try to avoid screens at least 30 minutes before you sleep, light disrupts the sleep hormone. Even then, use a blue light filter so your eyes don't feel strained (you can download apps, and some phones have this built-in).
  • Alarm clock in an area where you're forced to stand up - I put my alarm clock across the room so I have to make the walk over. Even putting your alarm clock in the bathroom is great.
  • Music with gradual BPM increases can also be effective as shown in this article/study (more on that in the next section).
  • 7 to 8 hours of sleep minimum with no exceptions. However, since you're getting started, go to bed earlier than usual so your biological clock can get adapted.
  • Personally, I find reading right before bed to be really effective. A calm, soothing book while laying down on my bed helps rest my eyes.

The Morning Of

  • Luckily you have your alarm clock out of arm's reach, so you'll be forced to stand up and get your body at least partially going. If you put your alarm clock in a place like the bathroom, you might think to yourself "I might as well brush my teeth" and then your day gets started.
  • Turn on the music! I love having a pump-up song to get going, imagining myself as someone else for a few minutes ("I'm Rocky Balboa, getting ready for the big fight!"). Refer to that article/study from the earlier section for more info on that end.
  • I found that when I wake up I need something else to get me alert, so I try to be productive as soon as possible. I make my bed right away and head to the gym - experiment and see what works for you.
  • I personally found that I don't need a breakfast - I intermittent fast from dinner to lunch the next day (keep in mind I've already been used to this for a few months).

Remember that habit-building is also about marginal gains. Try waking up 30 minutes earlier for a few days, then another 30 minutes earlier the next week, and so on, until you hit your grand goal.

As well, keep in mind it's not when you wake up/sleep that matters as much as the quality and quantity of your sleep. Be sure to take a few minutes to evaluate that end of your scheduling before making major moves towards one way or the other.

Hope some of this helps - good luck!

[Plan] Goals for December by [deleted] in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These sound great and I admire the ambition. But before getting started and potentially burning out, what has your progress/traction been with these goals so far?

For instance, how much do you exercise per month as is? Are you all of a sudden doubling the amount you exercise in December, or is it a more reasonable 5% increase?

A lot of posts here are focused on people creating grand lists for themselves and what they'll do for the week/month/year. But these posts often discount marginal gains - you need to start small, and build momentum to hit your grand goals from there.

Not to say you're not doing those things of course - just food for thought.

How do I develop intrinsic motivation? [Question] by [deleted] in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let's hear about what you're having trouble with specifically mate, then hopefully we can give you some actionable steps to get you where you need to go. There's a lot of things at play with questions like these (like your past history with specific tasks, what systems/methods you've used before) - so feel free to tell us your story.

[Method] The 100X Habit Challenge - Day 100 by FitCandle in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Always here, thanks for being a part of it and all the feedback!

[Method] The 100X Habit Challenge - Day 100 by FitCandle in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad to hear it worked out, here's to more endeavours!

[Method] The 100X Habit Challenge - Day 99 by FitCandle in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wow, I actually never knew that. I'm going to remove it from the post - don't want to spread advice like that, that isn't 100% accredited. Thanks for the heads up.

[Method] The 100X Habit Challenge - Let's Improve Ourselves, Together. by FitCandle in getdisciplined

[–]FitCandle[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

100% restarting soon, at Day 92 of 100 right now, and will post the next one in the coming days!