What if there were steps to success you could follow that would take you to the level above the one you’re at? What if you could then lock in your gains and make that level your new normal?
Would you take those steps?
There’s a lot of talk these days at “leveling up,” and it’s used casually. But if you’re serious about growing and getting better, it’s exactly what’s required. You need to make the next level your level.
Without leveling up, you’ll become a victim of reversion to the mean. The gains you made will be wiped away by falling back into comfortable and familiar habits. It’s this phenomenon that keeps people stuck.
There are steps in front of you. These steps lead to success. Success is available to anyone, including you.
- Decide you want to change. Without setting an intention, you won’t do the uncomfortable things required.
- Figure out what you want. Get clear on the change or life you want.
- Figure out what actions you’ll need to take. Gain knowledge and develop a plan.
- Execute.Take the required actions.
- Lock in your gains. Make this new level your level.
As you go through each of these steps, take the time to write your thoughts and answers.
Are you where you want to be?
We spend too much time doing and not enough time thinking. Are there things about your life you want to change?
- Are you where you want to be in your career and with your finances?
- Are you satisfied with your relationships and personal life?
- Are you happy with your physical and mental health?
- Are you content and do you have peace of mind?
Where do you want to be?
If you desire something different or better than you currently have, what do you want?
Be clear in what you’d like your life to look like. I encourage you to think about these six key areas
- Family life
- Community life
- Money and career
- Learning for the sake of learning
- Physical and mental health
- Peace of mind and contentment
We have a free goals course I encourage you to take advantage of to gain clarity into what you’d like your future to be. If you’re more visual, you can read this post about putting together a vision board.
What will be required to get there?
Losing 50 pounds, getting debt free and developing a better relationship with your kids will be difficult, but worth it. You know you want to change, you know what you want your life to look like, what’s required to make it happen.
- In each of the six areas, what new learnings will be required?
- What support will you need?
- Where can you get the learning and support?
Breaking through your current level
We’ve all seen footage of a space shuttle launch. As the shuttle accelerates, the main engines burn a half-million gallons of liquid propellant provided by the large, orange external fuel tank. Once it’s moving, it requires a lot less fuel.
You have a current level. It’s where you’re comfortable. It’s what you’re used to.
Everything in your life makes this level what it is; the food you eat, the time you spend on your phone, how you spend your money, all of it.
Breaking free and moving to the next level will require an enormous amount of energy up front; just like the space shuttle. Once you’ve broken out of your old habits and established new ones, it’s easier to maintain.
How to do it
In each area that you want to make a change, develop a plan. For example, say you want to lose weight.
- You’ll determine how much weight you want to lose and when you’d like to lose it by
- You’ll figure out what your diet will be and you’ll develop a meal plan
- You’ll decide on an exercise program and when you’ll do it
- Whatever new learning you’ll need in nutrition or exercise, you’ll figure out where to get it
- Whatever support you’ll need, hiring a trainer or having meals delivered, you’ll arrange for it
Big changes need to be broken down into actionable steps. You can use this model for many of the changes you’re wanting to make.
How to make this your new level
The term Yo-Yo diet refers to the phenomenon that occurs when someone gets motivated to lose weight, takes drastic action, then regains the weight once they stop the drastic action.
I want you to avoid falling prey to the Yo-Yo effect, regardless of the change you desire. Earlier, I talked about locking in your gain. That simply means creating new habits and procedures to make your next level your level.
Your SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)
- Checklists. One day, perhaps many of the things you need to be successful will be second nature. Until that day, make a checklist for everything that needs doing. For example, if you meal prep on Sundays for the week, make a checklist of all the ingredients and the process for making the meals.
- Calendar. What gets scheduled, gets done. If you don’t put all of your important activities into your calendar, they’ll get bumped by some other “emergency.” For example, schedule all of your important family activities from practices, to family dinners, to date night with your significant other.
- Automate. The more we can take our hands off the wheel, the better. For example, set up automatic payments for all of your bills, including credit cards. Set up recurring contributions for all of your saving and investment accounts.
- Delegate. Get a trainer, a coach, or join a mastermind. If there’s an area you lack in, find someone or something that can support you in your change.
Feeling and thinking; body and mind
Our bodies want comfort. In fact, they crave it.
And I appreciate that about my body, and I’m grateful that it wants me to relax.
But it doesn’t know any better. It doesn’t know that I’m trying to accomplish big things. It doesn’t know that I’m trying to make a difference in people’s lives.
And neither does yours.
Your body wants you to be comfortable. It wants you to return to “normal,” to revert to your mean.
It can’t see the future like your mind can. You’ve taken the time to think about the life you want for yourself and your loved ones. You’ve made a plan and you’ve executed it. Your body’s just going to have to come along for the ride.
And it will. It’s just going to take a little time for it to adjust to the fact you’ve leveled up and this is in fact, your new normal.
That is, until you level up again.
We’re here to support you however you need. Check out our courses or connect with a coach, we’ve got resources that can help.
We’ve got three free courses as well: Our Goals Course, Values Course, and our Get Out of Debt course.
Connect with one of our Certified Partners to get any question answered.
Stay up to date by getting our monthly updates.
Check out the LifeBlood podcast.
You got this!