#1: EMPLOY THE 80/20 RULE:

So you can be more efficient and productive.
The 80/20 rule is something I am intrigued by and something I want to focus on more in 2020. It’s one of the most helpful principles for good time and life management. .
The principle states that 20% of your activities will account for 80% of your results. .
It can be applied in a variety of situations. When you become aware of it, you see it more and more in so many different areas in life. .
For example, you wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. .
Or, 80% of your stress comes from only 20% of what you’re dealing with. .
Or how about this one: .
20% of what you do in training gives you 80% of your results. .
Wouldn’t it be awesome if you knew what that 20% was so that you could focus on it more and not waste so much time on the other stuff?
You often see people who appear to be busy all day long but seem to accomplish very little. Or people who spend hours at the gym training but never really get any results. .
This is almost always because they are busy working on tasks that are of low value while they are procrastinating on the one or two activities that will actually get them REAL results. .
The secret is to find out what the 20% is, and focus on it to produce that 80%, while getting rid of the rest.
So, more results from less effort. I’ll let you know how I get on putting this into practice in 2020.

#2: GO ALL IN ON YOUR GOALS

You can't build a strong body, an impressive squat, a business that thrives or get to the next level - with one foot in and one foot out.
If you’re only half in, half out, when shit gets tough (and IT DAMN SURE WILL) you will question everything. Should you throw in the towel or should you roll up your sleeves and keep grinding?
When you are half in half out, you give yourself the option of not succeeding. But when you go all in, quitting is not an option, and you will WIN if you just don’t quit.
2019 was the year I chose to #goallin on my own business – and I am so glad I made that choice! When you are crystal clear on your goals, you aren’t easily swayed and distracted.
If you’re stuck or uncertain about your fitness/nutrition goals and don’t know what to fix to get to the next level, *cue me* I can help you figure that out. Getting you unstuck is my specialty. Check out my program and get the support you need.

#3: YOUR WILLPOWER IS NOT THE MOST RELIABLE METHOD FOR CONSISTENCY

You need systems more than willpower to achieve your goals and changes your habits.
If you don’t change the system that is causing the current negative result – and you attempt to rely on motivation, it’s like treating the symptom without addressing the cause.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last couple of years you have probably heard of @james_clear book Atomic Habits. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. He talks about this very topic – which is what has inspired this post and my entire style of coaching.
We aren’t always motivated– which is why it’s so much easier to stay on course when we depend on systems and habits for the days when we don’t have the motivation or willpower within us.
We think we need to change our results, but the results are not the issue. What we actually need to change are the systems that caused those results.
Systems will always outperform willpower.
Examples of systems: .
?? Preparing some food for the week is a simple system you could set up that removes the need for relying heavily on willpower. When you prepare food in advance you don’t have to decide at the moment when you are exhausted after a long day between takeaway or cooking from scratch because your food is ready in the fridge.
.?? Pre-committing to a specific activity is another example of a “system”. If you are hoping to exercise consistently do something like pay for and schedule your PT sessions in advance. Get some skin in the game and hold your future self accountable by pre-committing.
If you want to be successful change your systems and habits. That’s the secret sauce and the difference between those who get results and those who don’t.

#4: YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE

A discovery that is both depressing and at the same time totally freeing: You're probably not the exception to the rule. Acknowledging this allows you to let go of all the excuses and puts you back in the driver's seat of your life.
The first time I’d ever heard mention of this “rule/exception” theory was in the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You”. Where Alex (Justin Long’s character) explains that it’s better to assume you’re the rule & not the exception. In the movie, he’s speaking in terms of dating & relationships, but it was like a light-bulb went off for me when I first watched it.
Because I realised this statement is true in so many different areas of life. Considering yourself the exception to the rule just sets you up for failure. The thing is we often tell ourselves this because we don’t want to face the harsh truth, which is: Everything is your fault.
And it’s actually extremely freeing when you finally accept this. Because by not identifying yourself as “the exception” you stop making excuses for things thinking that the “rules” just don’t apply to you. When you stop making excuses, the possibilities for success are endless.
For example, with health, nutrition, fat loss, muscle building etc., when you accept this – you stop blaming “your genetics” or thinking there’s some mysterious thing wrong with you – or that the law of energy doesn’t apply to you - which is why you can’t lose fat, improve your health or build muscle. You accept that you are not the exception, but that you just aren’t taking the right actions and being patient and consistent enough.
In life when you accept this rule, you don’t underestimate the value of hard work in getting what you want and don’t expect to spontaneously get lucky. You know that no one is coming to save you, you have got to save yourself. No one is coming to “fix” you. You need to get your own damn closure
In the beginning, telling yourself you’re not an exception can seem like a harsh blow to your ego. I get it. Buuut it’s actually really liberating because it enables you to own your choices and steer your life any direction you want.
And personally - I wish I could travel back in time & tell my 20 something year old this.

#5: THE ANSWER TO SUCCESS LIES IN THE NUMBER OF REPS YOU PUT IN

I'm  not only talking about reps in the gym. But reps in life. Just sheer volume of experience will outweigh everything else when it comes to accomplishing something in life.
This applies to any skill you want to develop or get better at - as well as to things like tracking food, lifting weights, and knowing how to get a specific result.
I’ve been around long enough in the fitness world to have seen the power of reps and consistency when it comes to training and nutrition - in not only my life but in hundreds and hundreds of others. .
Want to learn how to track your macros? You have to put in the reps and practice! .
Want to get stronger and increase your squat? REPS!
Want to get better at cooking? Put in the reps in the kitchen! .
Want to be better at a skill, build a business or get good at something? It’s literally reps and reps and reps of practice. .
In this day and age it’s hard to avoid the desire for instant everything. Especially when you look at the online highlight reels shown to us every day. .
But the real work is always done behind the scenes. This is what building anything worthwhile will take: reps and more reps of the boring work. Most people don’t sell that stuff either because it’s not “sexy” .
But it’s the truth. The best way to get better at anything? Expose yourself to it repeatedly. Get the right amount of reps, at the right effort and intensity, in an intelligent manner – trying not to create further setbacks for yourself (Guilty of this one! – but making mistakes are all part of putting in the reps too). The truth is that success doesn’t come as “naturally” as it sometimes made out to look. It takes a long time; countless hours, knock backs, knockdowns, sleepless nights, tears, and lots of REPS. Most people are not an overnight success. .
But if you learn to be okay with quietly working behind the scenes, not needing constant validation or ego boosts, not expecting anything to happen quickly – just putting in the REPS over time – the best things WILL happen.

(TO BE CONTINUED WITH THE NEXT 5....)