If you know me, you know I believe that mindset has an enormous influence on outcome. I understand, as Mike Dooley says, that THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS.
And it's that understanding which nudged me to take some time away from the "noise" on social and main stream media. Noise that is full of chaos, confusion and fear. Why, for the love of God, would I (or you!) want to attract or become more chaotic, confused and afraid?
We wouldn't! So it seemed logical to me to take my focus away from those things that I don't want and just say F* IT!
F*IT is a principle I developed to narrow my focus to the four areas that I feel are important in my life.
Family, Fitness, Finances, and Fun
As a business owner for the past 17 years, I've learned that there is always a crisis, always a reason why you can't be successful, and always plenty of bigmouths to remind you of such.
I've also learned that when I focus on what's important, and learn to ignore the noise, things tend to always work out. ALWAYS!
If we hear something enough times, we will eventually believe it, whether it is a positive or a negative message. Media is a powerful influence in our lives, and currently about 95% of the messages from MSM are negative. Maybe more. So knowing that "Thoughts Become Things," it became obvious to me that limiting my consumption of that negativity had to be a good idea.
I'm not gonna lie and say I haven't been anxious, concerned or directly impacted by recent events, but because I F* IT everyday, I am able get past all the negativity quicker than the average guy.
Each morning I make a conscious effort to think about what I can do to improve on all four areas. I simply take a few minutes to think about what I want to accomplish in regards to each of the Four F's.
FAMILY
Family comes first in my house, by default. We have three kids that need to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, get to school (or be home-schooled), get driven to and from activities, etc. But even if it wasn't first by default, it is my most important responsibility, so I focus there first.
I want to be there as much as possible, and when I say "be there" I mean physically AND mentally. It's not difficult to become a smart phone zombie, staring at our screens and not being present in each others' lives. I make it a point to intentionally be present when I'm with my family, and I ask the same of them. This simple conscious thought has greatly improved our family life.
FITNESS
This comes right behind family, because nothing truly works if you aren't feeling well. There are countless studies that show fitness improves essentially everything in your life. It boosts you mentally, physically, emotionally and energetically.
But I didn't need to read too many studies; I just observed the most successful people I knew, and quickly discovered 100% of them make fitness a priority.
I make certain that my CrossFit Workouts are scheduled in my calendar 4-5 days per week. If it's on your calendar, it's more likely to get done. I could speak for hours about how fitness will improve your life, but instead I'll just ask you to seriously consider making fitness a priority in your life.
FINANCES
I have been, what some people would consider, wealthy. And I have been broke as hell.
And I remember that when I was really struggling financially, I felt AND looked like crap! I was overweight, constantly stressed, out of touch with my family, had high blood pressure and was not having much fun at all.
It was a miserable place I never want to go back to. That's why I focus daily on building and growing assets, greatly reducing the risk of going back to where I don't want to go. I have developed simple strategies to track my financial status, and I strongly encourage you to do the same. I share these strategies with my clients and in my mastermind groups, and with my blog subscribers (that's you!) when requested.
FUN
Fun comes in many different forms and can often be achieved alongside the other three F's. For me, CrossFit has become fun. I love the challenge of the workouts and the people I train with daily. So by going to CrossFit, I not only have fun, but I am achieving my fitness goals at the same time. And when my wife or son join me at CrossFit, I hit the trifecta!
Make it a habit to say F* IT
They say it takes, on average, 66 days to form a new habit. And the F* IT strategy requires you to form several new habits that you'll stick to daily. But for now, begin the habit of simply considering your four F's daily. And to do that, you have to assess where you currently are in each of the four categories. ***see below for some help with that.
Then, I suggest you pick one thing, (just ONE THING) you can do EVERYDAY for the next 60 days, to improve on each F. Every morning, before you jump into the day, take five minutes (just FIVE MINUTES) to consider what you can do to improve your FAMILY, FITNESS, FINANCES and FUN that day.
How are your FAMILY relationships? How can you improve/enjoy them more?
How is your FITNESS? What do you do to exercise? What are you eating?
What's happening with your FINANCES? Do you want to earn more? (Duh) Are you happy in your career/job? Are you comfortable and satisfied with where you live?
What are you going to do for FUN?
Now before you say that you are too busy or that you have a unique circumstance, I want you to understand two things:
We're talking about five minutes.You have the time, you just choose other things.
We all have challenges in life, but I guarantee you we all know someone who had it much worse and still succeeded.
One thing I encourage you to do, starting RIGHT NOW is begin eliminating things that will not improve your F*IT mindset. Media, toxic people (family and friends included), junk food, etc. You don't have to go cold turkey with this, but start working towards it.
One idea is to do what I did and take Facebook off your phone. You can still access it from a computer, but it GREATLY reduces time spent mindlessly surfing other people's opinions. You'll be amazed at the difference that one change will make!
"They" estimate the average person spends over two hours each day on social media. Maybe you can use that time for something much more positive, like taking a walk, bike ride, etc. Better yet, take a bike ride with your family and kill two F's with one stone.
*** Just like with your GPS, you need to know your starting point before you plug in your destination. My Pre-flight Checklist is a great tool to help you determine where you're currently at, and how you're spending your time. Go here and get it now and then begin saying "F* IT!"