This is part 3 of 3 from a series all about health and showing up at your best for your business. Check out episode 142 How to Wake Up Well Rested & Have More Energy to Show Up in Your Business with Tanessa Shears. And episode 143 Unlock More Creativity, Productivity & Magnetism by Working WITH Your Cycle with Renae Fieck.
I just wrapped a 75 day mental toughness challenge and I’m sharing with you what motivated me to complete one of the most intense challenges on the internet— 75 Hard, TWICE.
For 75 days I worked out 2x a day for 45 minutes each, (one of which was outdoors regardless of weather), drank 1 gallon of water, read at least 10 pages from a non fiction book, took a daily progress photo, ate super clean (with no cheats, no dairy and no alcohol)…
All while having my highest podcast download month, signed my largest 1:1 client contract, spoke on my first live stage of the year, and had the biggest ever launch for my program.
I believe that your energy, emotions and attitude impact how you show up in your business. And as a personal brand using your voice on live and virtual stages, you must have strategies in place to show up at your best— not leave it to chance.
So tune in to hear my top 4 insights from my experience (some may surprise you) and get ready to be inspired to elevate your life + business.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT associated with the 75 Hard Program, Andy Frisella nor I am a health, fitness or wellness coach. This conversation is simply my experience completing the interpretation of the program. You can learn more about it right here.
You might also enjoy the episode I recorded with my friend Frannie who originally inspired me to do the challenge in 2021, EPISODE 103 Keeping Promises: Our Experience with the #75HARD Challenge.
Ok, so what exactly IS the 75 Hard Challenge?
Created by Andy Frisella, 75 Hard is not a fitness program, but rather a challenge about developing mental toughness.
The idea is that to accomplish anything great, it comes down to your own mental resilience, and your ability to NOT listen to that little voice that tries to keep us small and safe (Andy call is it your inner b*tch voice, I call her nagging aunt Bev)
Every day for 75 days you must complete each of the following tasks. If you miss even a single one, you start back over on day 1
- Two 45 minutes workouts (can’t be back to back)
- One workout must be completed outdoors
- Drink 1 gallon (128oz) of water
- Read 10 pages of a nonfiction/personal development book
- Take a daily progress picture…
- Choose a diet and stick to it
- Zero cheat meals, No alcohol
This was the SECOND time I completed the challenge, the first being in the spring of 2021 (I recorded a conversation with my friend and fellow business owner Frannie all about that experience).
Inside this episode I share the reason WHY I completed this program, both times. What changed between the two, and what happened in between.
What I want to share TODAY, is the specific lessons I took away that have made me show up better for myself and my business.
I’ll keep the notes below brief, so I highly recommend listening to the audio for the full story.
Would I recommend the challenge to others?
Maybe. Only you can make the choice. I really don’t think that the challenge itself is anything special— but rather the full commitment to doing the things that will inevitably lead to growth.
Think about it, if you moved your body and ate clean every single day, you’d see physical progress
If you focused on reading every single day, you would grow.
The problem most face is following through on their commitments, so if you’re feeling compelled for a big change in how you show up for yourself, then this might be it.
4 Important Life Lessons I learned from my second round of 75 Hard Challenge
1. Sometimes your hard path is to go “easy”
I’ve always connected progress to pain— whether it’s professional growth or exercise.
If I’m not sweating or uncomfortable, how could it possibly be working? Growth requires work. Sitting in silence or going slow— that was fine for others, but it just didn’t resonate with me.
Until I was forced to slow down.
About 2 weeks left from completing my first round of 75 hard last June, I’d been working out intensely for 2 months (and seeing incredible results), but I noticed 2 things:
- Even though I was starting to get a visible six pack at the top of my stomach, my lower belly still had the mom pooch
- I was having a lot of digestive issues and it didn’t matter what I ate, every night I was bloated and uncomfortable.
After many google rabbit holes, a “Let’s Talk about Constipation” workshop by Dr Will Bullsiewicz (seriously, there’s digital courses for your GI 🤣), he shareda random, uncommon reason for issues— traumatic birth.. and some TMI things I won’t get into.
Long story short(ish), a few days later I discovered I had severe diastasis recti (about a full bandwidth gab in my abs… and I was more than THREE years postpartum).
I had to immediately stop the intense wormwood and start rehab. Which was slow and boring and I hated it… so I ditched out a few weeks into it last summer.
The thing is, we have a tendency to think that hard means more exertion.
For me— hard meant committing to do the “easy” thing. Which included what seemed like lame breathing exercises and stupid moves on a yoga mat.
Well, jokes on me.
Those seemingly “easy” workouts quite literally kicked my ass by progressing each week, and I just officially completed my first ever online course— an ab rehab program (which is highly ironic given I work in the digital course industry!)
Taking this lesson forward— what if we started considering the “easier” options? What if we more often asked how we can bring more ease into our life to get bigger results?
Why not adopt the mindset that sometimes the “easier” way is the harder way. We must learn to slow down, build the foundation to create a bigger impact.
This might not feel sexy or exciting but it might be exactly what you need.
2. Make decisions before you can negotiate them.
Having a list of things to accomplish every day changed my internal dialogue from if to WHEN.
While I won’t be keeping super strict life rules for everything, I will be deciding some non-negotiables for myself.
What are the things that you will do every single day? Will you drink half your weight in ounces of water? Will you not drink during the week? Will you spend time reading or journaling each day?
It is not a matter of if you’re going to do it; it’s a matter of when.
By pre-deciding and drawing the line between our boundaries it removes the decision-making process and prevents those moments where you’re going to make bad decisions. Remember that we’re not in the best choices when we’re short on time or feeling tired so putting some parameters in place for you to free you up from making those choices in those moments would help you make smart decisions and propel you towards your goal.
It doesn’t mean you’re gonna be controlling all those things. That’s why I recommend that your non-negotiable list should NOT be long because then you suck the joy out of life. 😉
3. You must schedule your priorities — no matter what.
We all have a ton of things on our calendar and to-do lists, but knowing that you blocked off a time on your schedule for the things that matter will help you stick to them.
Your schedule will mold around your priorities so when you schedule it, you make it work. Plus you’ll start noticing that a lot of the other things that are filled up on your to-do list are not actually that important.
4. Complacency will creep up on you. Always keep an eye on your next level.
Sometimes life starts moving on autopilot and we backslid a bit in areas of health, personal growth and relationships. It happens.
But if you’re not careful, time will pass and you’ll realize that you’ve been drifting.
Take stock in all the areas of your life— and where do you want to excel?
So start by asking yourself, what is your next level look like for you and what lessons might you need to learn to reach your next level? Be curious and open with exploring different things and remember that there’s always a next level for learning.
Previous Episodes / Links mentioned:
Keeping Promises: Our Experience with the #75HARD Challenge – Ep #103
Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard Challenge
Did you enjoy this episode? Here is some related content that you may be interested in:
- Your New Mantra: For Now, Not Forever – Ep #118
- More Than #Selfcare: Create Capacity for Your Success – Ep#45
- Leading with Compassion – 4 Principles to Adopt When Navigating Fear or Uncertainty – Ep #30
- How to Focus on Inner Work to Achieve that Outer Glow – Ep #20
- How to Get Present and Push Through Discomfort with Athea Davis – Ep #13
- How to Get Unstuck and Achieve Goals that Actually Matter – Ep #07
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