Have you seen the new docuseries about Michael Jordan called The Last Dance?  

I didn’t know this about Michael Jordan until a few weeks ago… but he had a secret club called “The Breakfast Club.” 

After a 3-year playoff losing streak to the Detroit Pistons in the late 80’s, Jordan decided to triple-down on his already legendary practice habit by creating a secret “club.”

He realized he needed to improve his strength and endurance to overcome the Pistons, so he set up a morning workout habit to specifically improve those traits. 

It wasn’t long until some of his teammates became curious about his early-morning routine and joined him. 

Every morning as early as 5 o’clock, they’d get together for intense workouts and then have a nutrient-rich breakfast to help refuel, repair, and rebuild their bodies. 

This was in ADDITION to their normal practice schedule!

Back then, this holistic approach – combining nutrition and fitness – was considered groundbreaking.

It’s common now because it works …  but the Chicago Bulls went on to become a legendary team, dominating the NBA in the 1990’s by winning 6 championships!

This is a great story for so many reasons, because the same strategy can be applied in our everyday lives. It isn’t just for pro athletes and wealthy celebrities.

First, the Bulls had a goal – they wanted to win, but first they needed to beat the physically dominating Pistons. 

Jordan took control of the situation by figuring out what needed to change.

Then, he created an intentional, step-by-step plan to make that change possible, and hired a trainer and chef to help him. 

He didn’t wait for his team to buy into his new morning workout habit – he started on his own.

And when they saw his success, his teammates joined him – and they made a serious dent in sports history.

Think about how you can do this in your OWN life. What’s that first step YOU can take?

Have you ever been checking your phone … or vegging on the couch … and suddenly start thinking about a goal you want to work toward?

It’s a little push from deep within you – something you can feel in your gut. Almost everyone has felt this way at one point or another.

Maybe you finally want to clean up your eating to improve your health.

Maybe you want to start working out so you get your energy back and feel stronger.

Or maybe your home is still feeling a little too “lived-in” after the coronavirus situation and you get an urge to organize and clean.

Whatever the exact push is, author and motivational speaker Mel Robbins calls it an instinct for change.

She also says that unless you do something about it within 5 seconds, that instinct will die. She came up with the 5-second Rule (based on real science) to help keep that instinct alive.

Basically, as soon as you have that instinct (as long as it’s one that supports your goals!), you count backwards …. 5,4,3,2,1 and then you DO IT! And guess what? It works.

Your brain wants to protect you and keep you safe and comfortable. 

As a result, it sees change as a threat … so it will do whatever it can to shut down that change, including sending you a bunch of thoughts to keep you doing the same-old, same-old. (Thank you, prefrontal cortex!)

That’s why it’s so important to take action on those gut-level urges IMMEDIATELY … before your prefrontal cortex has a chance to take over.

This can apply to so many areas of your life. Here are just some examples of “instinct” urges you might feel:

• Walking to the kitchen to prep tomorrow’s meals 
• Speaking up at a meeting at work
• Lacing up your shoes after work to go for a jog

This can lead to LIFE-CHANGING results now and into the future! 

The more direct action you take toward your goals, the more in-control you’ll be over your life. 

This will lead you to bigger urges and bigger actions – and bigger success.

Pretty exciting, right?

Not sugar coating it: the first few times you implement the 5-second rule it may seem painful. You might be feeling really comfy on the couch, in the middle of a Netflix binge, when all of a sudden you think about a chore you’ve been putting off or that you really should be working out. The last thing you’re going to want to do is get up and actually DO it.

Just count backwards from 5 … and do it anyway. 🙂 You can always go back to the couch afterward, right?

Ready to get a little nerdy?  Ready for something crazy!?

If you’ve ever studied “behavior change”, one of the first things you learned about is the “transtheoretical model of change.” Sounds complicated but it’s not!

It was developed back in the 1970’s after researchers studied smokers who were trying to quit. They broke down the “5 Mindset Stages” people go through to create a new lifestyle change.

In a nutshell, those stages are:

• Precontemplation – This is before you’re aware of a “problem” (like the need to quit smoking) or are even thinking of making any changes.
• Contemplation – You’ve got a problem that you want to solve, and you start thinking about making some changes.
• Planning – This is when you are planning to actually make the changes.
• Action – When you’re in the process of changing.
• Maintenance – You’ve successfully made the changes and are maintaining them!

I want to talk about the jump from “Planning” to “Action” … because it is so easy to get these mixed up with each other! 

It’s also super easy to get stuck in planning mode. I for one can be guilty of this!

This is especially true with all the info online, where you can literally spend hours going down one rabbit hole after another looking for the “perfect” solution to whatever problem you’re trying to solve.

Being educated and informed is always a good thing! But sometimes we confuse that prep/planning time with actually taking ACTION toward our goals.

Basically, it boils down to the fact that spending 5 minutes going for a brisk walk will get you closer to your goal than spending a half-hour shopping for the right sneakers or reading articles about the “perfect” diet or fitness routine. 

(Raise your hand if you’ve ever been guilty of this! We’ve all done it from time to time.)

It doesn’t have to be a BIG action, but taking 1 or 2 steps in the direction of your goal will help you get to the “maintenance” state sooner than later!  

If any of this sounds familiar to you, try experimenting by stacking some action RIGHT into your planning.  Go for that walk (or eat that apple instead of a candy bar) AND do your research if you still feel like you need to gather more info. 

It’s all about taking IMPERFECT action. And if you want to jump to the front of the planning line, this is our specialty at Peak Santé! I would love to help you create a custom blueprint for success to help YOU reach your goals! Simply Hitt Reply to this email to schedule a free discovery call.

Make it an amazing day!