Hello Queens, I’m back! For those of you who don’t know who I am, my name is Athena Cochrane. I’m the owner of RelianceLegacy.com, a life’s purpose finding blog. I’m also an RVP for Crowned For Success. YAY! Last time I was on this platform, I did a blog post called 30,000 Foot Perspective On Dreams. Today I want to share a few tips on how to have a healthy mindset when it comes to establishing and maintaining great a routine.
Earlier this year, I learned why I do things and why I don’t do them. The book that changed my mindset is called The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin. I don’t want to spoil her book, and I recommend it to anyone looking to understand themselves more, but I want to share what I took away from it to maintain a consistent routine. I think the timing of this is perfect, considering it’s the last month of the decade! We all want to start 2020 off in an impactful way, right?
Why Do You Do Things The Way You Do?
Growing up, I played competitive soccer. I always showed up for practice, I never missed a game, unless my mom made me stay home because I was too ill. But if I had it my way every time, I’m the person that showed up early and stayed late. You can count on me to give 100-percent in every practice and game. When I stopped playing competitively, I would hardly – if ever – go to the gym or workout by myself. I went from being a highly competitive, in-shape athlete to being a couch potato. I would repeat and attempt the same process of starting to working out and then find myself giving up a month later.
Understanding Yourself
When I came across the book I mentioned earlier, Gretchin Rubin explained the reason behind someone like me showing up for others but not showing up for myself. She wrote the reason I do that is because I have an “obliger tendency.” I work better when someone is waiting for me to show up and when someone is counting on me to be there. During those few days reading about my tendency and the overlapping tendency I share, which is an upholder, I decided I wanted to change this habit, and I understood how I could do that. When I began my personal growth journey, I was taught that a routine is the best way to create good habits.
I decided I wanted to work on something that has been really hard for me to do by myself. Can you guess what it was? YES, working out! I wanted to correct something that has bothered me for far too long. The end result of this routine I was creating was not to lose weight but to establish that I didn’t need someone to hold me accountable. All I needed was the right mindset and something to work towards.
What’s The Problem?
I realized that there are typically two problems that people face when attempting to create and start a routine. First, actually starting and two, being consistent when we do start. How do we make sure we instill good habits to create a great routine? My simple answer is, it always leads back to our mindset. We need to train our minds to think differently than what we have learned and been taught all our lives.
We need to really understand and believe why we are doing this routine in the first place. Take brushing your teeth; for example, you almost don’t need to think about it. You just get up and do it when you wake up or go to sleep. We want to make our routines that easy. There are short term routines, and there are long term routines that we can create for ourselves. Any great routine needs to serve us in a beneficial way.
Tips To Help You Master Your Great Routine
Understanding who we are as individuals also helps in making a great routine. I like rewards for a job well done, so I rewarded myself with getting my hair done when I lost a certain amount of pounds, and I bought a few new shirts when I hit a new goal. But the biggest reward for me during the beginning of my routine and still is to this day; I take a week off during my workout blocks. It has really helped me see the value in my workouts and how it’s helping me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I even miss working out towards the end of my break.
A huge part of creating a great routine is making one that won’t burn you out. It does, however, need to challenge and motivate you. Don’t cheat yourself when designing a routine by making it too easy and don’t make it greater than you can handle at the starting point. Work up to it. If needed, make adjustments during your routine.
Finishing Strong
Lastly, the biggest thing when creating a great routine is to keep your momentum. Darren Hardy calls it, “Big Mo.” “Mo,” being motivation. Whenever I thought about giving up, I kept hearing his voice, or I guess in this case, his words repeat in my head, “don’t lose Big Mo.” My first mentors would remind me that when you get going and stop, it’s always harder to start again. Why? Because you are starting from ground zero. Why would you do that when you just put in all that work to get going? It all comes down to our mindset. Going back to the first tip, we need to truly believe in why we are doing this routine in the first place.
Behind Every Great Routine Is A Great Mindset
I want to remind you; you have it in you to do anything that you want to do in this life. Routines that are going to give you the biggest impact in your life and help you achieve significance are the routines that challenge you. The routine you create needs to be bigger than brushing your teeth every day.
A mentor of mine used to say, “when your head hits the pillow at night, you need to know that you followed through on everything you said you would do. Otherwise, it makes it easier to give up.” I encourage you to rest your head on your pillow with peace, knowing that you gave your day and your routine your all. I have gotten out of bed before to follow through on my routine.
Your Routine Depends On Your Mindset
I’ll wrap up with this, and it always comes down to your mindset. It all comes down to a choice we make every single day. Sometimes during my exercise block, I wake up with the intention of working out, but I really don’t want too. Then my self-talk kicks in, and I remind myself, “if I don’t want to do it, it probably means I should do it.” So what are the things you probably should start doing today?
Remember to find me on Instagram, @athena1029, and also be sure to check out my blog, RelianceLegacy.com. If this post resonates with you, and you would like more information, please send me a message on Instagram. You can also find me on the Crowned For Success’s YouTube and podcast channel.
Edited by Kaitlyn G.
