How can you be a better version of yourself?
Could you workout more? Eat more vegetables? Work harder?
There are 1,000 different ways each of us could get better. There is no ‘better human’, meaning if you do XYZ and will be the better human. No, there is only you, and only you know how you could get better.
Here are some End of Three Fitness suggestions to help you in your quest; all, some or none could apply to you. Really I am most interested in #50…help me with #50.
1.) Be ‘This Guy’
Don’t conform just because everyone else does…sometimes that is just not a good idea. Revolt. Join our revolution.
Read more about this photo here.
2.) Never regret spending time at the bar
Sometimes results come slowly and all this fitness stuff can be frustrating, but never regret the time you put in. The work will pay off!
3.) Wake up early…a lot
No one who rises before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich. -Chinese Proverb
If you want to get things done, quit complaining about time. Get organized, rearrange your schedule and wake up early.
4.) Don’t have a once-upon-a-time story…yet
Unless you qualify for medicare, it is too soon to have your ‘Glory Days’. Perhaps that is a stretch…But don’t be the 37-year-old who has already been there and done that in the fitness world.
Get out there and do work! You can be better!
5.) Get a crew, join an army
Going at it alone is never easy. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals and thrive.
At End of Three Fitness, we are building an Army. Read: Creating a Fitness Army
6.) Never be average – refuse mediocrity
If anyone ever convinces you that it is ok to be average…run from that person. Always strive to be better, to be different to be exceptional. Only you can achieve your dreams.
7.) Drop addictions
Whatever it is, cigarettes, sweets, fats, caffeine, social media, etc.. Quit the addiction. It doesn’t look good on you. You control you, nothing else.
8.) Help other people
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Chances are, you didn’t get where you are without the help of another…return the kindness.
9.) Worry less about consequences
Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success. – Denis Waitley
Don’t sweat the small stuff, or fear failure.
10.) Be known for sticking-to or finishing, not starting
Are you the guy/gal who always has the next ‘great idea’…but everyone knows you will never actually do it, or stick to it? Don’t be that guy!
Quit searching for the perfect program, it doesn’t exist. Pick a program the fits for you, commit to it 100% and I GUARANTEE you will see results.
11.) Reduce your debt…do what you want
Avoid debt, or get out of it and a lot of doors will open for you. Dave Ramsey knows what’s up.
12.) Be more productive
Stop pretending to be productive and be productive.
Read: Hacking Your Way to Productivity
13.) Try an End of Three Fitness 6-Week Challenge
Head over to EndofThreeFit.com and try a six-week challenge. You WILL be a better version of yourself at the end of the 6 weeks!
14.) Remember your training forever
Broken record here, since I say this all the time.
Track your fitness, stick with it and see your results. You don’t have to use evernote, but I recommend developing some system.
Read: “How to Use Evernote to Dominate Your Fitness”
15.) Settle less
The idea of “Things could be worse†or overall complacency is a terrible mindset for fitness and for life.
In fitness, if you are just a little overweight or a little weaker than you want to be, but you think well I could be even fatter or weakerso I’m doing pretty well.
You’re wrong!
16.) Make fitness a priority
Action expresses priorities. ― Mahatma Gandhi
If you are not working out, it is because you don’t want to. Make fitness a priority!
Read: Gandhi, Bruce Lee and the Priority of Fitness
Read: Making Fitness & Health A Golf Ball
17.) Add a home (garage) gym to the mix
Working out in your garage? At a commercial gym? At a CrossFit box?
It doesn’t matter, a little extra equipment at the house always comes in handy when you are limited on time.
Check out the DIY Corner.
18.) Challenge your thoughts on work life
While I do not think this book is the be all and end all to work life and entrepreneurship, it is great to get a change of perspective. I recommend giving it a read if you are stuck in a work rut and need that fresh perspective.
19.) Try your hand at entrepreneurship
This book, however, is more like a blueprint to the above change of perspective. If you are looking to start a business on the side and do not have a lot of startup cash…this is the book.
20.) Become a ‘better man’ in 30 days (men only)
Always been a huge fan of The Art of Manliness, I was even featured on their blog for the DIY Prowler.
They have a great series to follow called ‘30 Days to be a Better Man‘, that I highly recommend.
21.) Give Paleo a shot
Have you heard about this thing called the Paleo diet? It’s a pretty big deal.
Give it a shot, at least for 30 days, you won’t regret it.
22.) Never compare your inside to someone else’s outside
Never look at someone who is really successful, smart and fit and think, “Man, if I could just be like them.†or the “Wow, they are so much better than me.†Because the fact of the matter is, you have no idea what is going through their head.
You don’t know how insecure they might actually be, how stressed their family life is, or anything else about them. So if you compare your inner thoughts to their outer persona – you will always feel like crap. They will seem like a superhero, and you will feel mediocre.
23.) Enjoy Every Step of Your Quest
Life and fitness is a quest, and or journey. There is no culminating event at the end of each stage in life, or fitness, and there is no designated time for you to stop working to enjoy the view.
What you have going on today and tomorrow is your quest. Don’t always think, “If I could just achieve this one thing I will be happy,†keep after you goals but realize what you have and what you are doing.
Take time each day to realize what position you are in and what you have accomplished and enjoy what you are doing.
24.) Set The “Daily Threeâ€
This one comes straight from Tim Ferris in the book, The Four Hour Work Week (great read if you haven’t already).
Basically he says there really shouldn’t be more than three big, important things you need to do each day. Sure, life is full of little tasks that are repetitive in nature and you must do daily, but we are talking about accomplishment.
Everyday after you wake up, or the night before, make a list of three big things you want to accomplish for that day. You will find that you put more time and effort into each of these tasks and that they will be accomplished to the best of your ability, as opposed to a list of ten.
25.) Challenge/Scare yourself frequently
In fitness, you should do this on a weekly basis. Take yourself to that point where you are actually a little afraid of what will happen if you were to keep pushing yourself. The more you go to that place, the harder it will be to get there. Meaning you are getting in incredible shape.
In life, it is always easier to make a decision based off of security and comfort. Don’t be afraid to take that risk every once in a while and do something you truly want to.
26.) Be proactive – In everything
The bare minimum is the bar that most people set for themselves.
I have trained 100’s of military officers in physical fitness, and when we would prepare for any sort of physical fitness test or assessment the question I would get asked most often was,“What’s the minimum I need to pass.â€
It didn’t matter if they could do more or push themselves harder, some people only want to do what will get them by, the rest is excess.
If you become extremely proactive in fitness and in your daily life you will start to realize that other people notice that type of thing, and it will go a long way.
27.) Start a farm in your backyard
Why pay for a gym when you could build your own? Well, why pay for vegetables when your could grown your own?
Read: How to be a Suburban Farmer
28.) Have a cup of bulletproof coffee
How about a cup of coffee that will leave you energized for hours, eliminate any crashes, help you burn fat, gain muscle, and be an overall better human. Yea, give that a try.
Read: How to Make Bulletproof Coffee
29.) Stop caring about what other think
If any of your actions are due to someone else’s thoughts and opinions, or worse, their perceived thoughts and opinions…that’s a problem.
Who cares!?
30.) Make mobility a priority
We have to improve the way we move. Enough ‘that’s just the way I am’. More than likely, you CAN move better, more efficient and you CAN be more mobile
31.) Become a NOW man(woman)!
I know a work schedule doesn’t permit most people to do what they want to do right away. However, if you start with the little things, the bigger things may get a little easier. When you get home from work and you say I need to work out later, instead you will get home and say “I need to work out, and I am going to do it right NOW!â€
Try to be a NOW man(woman) today!
32.) Try an outdoor workout
You don’t ALWAYS need equipment. Try an outdoor workout. The elements are simple:
A.) Be outside (playground, park or under a bridge).
B.) Involve an odd-object to lift, carry or squat.
C.) Elevate your heart rate; the more the better.
D.) Last longer than 10 minutes but be less than 20 minutes.
E.) Must have a least 3 exercises.
33.) Learn some beast skills
Chairstand? Handstand? Headstand? Muscle-up?
Check out Beast Skills for awesome tutorials
34.) Stand up more
It seems like anything we do that is NOT like our paleolithic ancestors is going to kill us. Cavemen were functionally fit, had more efficient diets, buy the best car insurance and they rarely sat downIs there some sort of trend here??
Please Stand Up: Sitting is Killing You
35.) Start an affair…with a barbell
Smith machine? Leg press? Chest fly? Yea…you don’t need any of that. You can get incredibly fit without machines, without monster power racks, without a lot of stuff. All you need is a barbell.
36.) Quit over thinking! Freaking start!
Planning can foil just about any plan – ironic, I know. Reason being, you can really never plan too much. There is always another detail or bit of research you could do before you start.
I am telling you to plan less and do more
37.) RealizeIt’s not that big of a deal
Want to lose weight, gain muscle or do something awesome?
While it may be a big deal to you, no one else really cares, or should I say no one cares more than you . That’s why you should only do it if you really want to. I believe that everyone should be healthy, but there is a difference in losing 15 lbs. to be healthy and losing 30 lbs. just because others think you should. Or inversely, gaining 10 lbs. of muscle to get stronger or gaining 30 lbs. of muscle just to be bigger than “that guyâ€.
Now that you know nobody really cares about your goals but you (sounds harsh, but true), you need to realize it is not that big of a deal. If you are scared of working out, it is only because of what you have worked up in your mind.
Time to realize you can do this, you are capable and you will get it done. Also, realize it’s not a big deal and it can be started today. Get out and move!
38.) Hang out with some inspirational-s
Don’t hang around people who have a mentality of mediocrity. Try to surround yourself with people who are doing things a little bit differently and don’t care what others think. The other people will bring you down and make you think that average is perfectly acceptable. Then you’ll get to the end of your life pissed that you didn’t do more or become better.
Be inspired! Live inspired!
39.) Take baby steps
If you didn’t knowbaby steps are, in fact, steps.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.â€
Lao-tzu
even if that first step is a baby step
Start small…grill a chicken breast, slice some fruit and vegetables and put it in the fridge to have for lunch tomorrow. A baby step taken today that may help you avoid fast food tomorrow.
40.) Be the hero of your own life
It is easy to find a cool quote that someone else said, easy to dream about a life that isn’t yours and it’s easy to watch other people do cool things that you’ve never done. But who wants easy?
I don’t want you to jump in front of moving cars or run into a burning buildings to call yourself a hero. We are becoming the hero’s of our own lives. Let’s become the heroes of our lives and our fitness!
41.) Listen you your grandpa
Everyone thinks there have been revolutionary leaps and bounds made in the fitness world from nearly 100 years agobut has there? Honestly, all we have really seen is the population go from hard-working, active and healthy weights (nearly 100 years ago) to lazy, sedentary and obese.
Read: The 1920’s Knew Fitness…We Just Forgot
42.) Quit being a beginner
Don’t fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your s*** in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn’t matter. Start doing and believing in the stuff that works, and do it today and forever.
A Beginner’s Guide to Not Being a Beginner
43.) Go there
You know where I am talking about…
Go there!!
44.) Be fit enough to survive the zombies
Is your fitness ready for anything?
Read: Are You Fit Enough to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
45.) Start a personal revolution
A personal revolution at Eo3 is almost like a fitness bucket list, a list of things you want to be able to do, or have done, before you die. This is a little bit different than saying “I want to lose 10lbsâ€. If you wanted to tell a bunch of people about something really cool you did in your life, saying, “I lost 10lbs. onceâ€, is not that cool. However, saying, “I lost 10lbs. while training to climb a mountain, and OH YEA, I climbed the freaking mountain†is a lot cooler.
46.) Test yourself…
The only way to know where you are going is to know where you have been. We all may train a little bit differently and I don’t discriminate. I choose to do Eo3Fit with heavy lifting, that doesn’t mean you have to. If you like to watch TV while running on the treadmill or if you are trying to “spot-train†fatyou may have things a little backwards.
Support a fitness that you can regularly test yourself in, not 30 minutes of unmeasured elliptical time.
47.) Show everyone you are not like them
Don’t ever dumb yourself down or hide your passions to fit in with others.
Be different and be vocal.
48.) Sweat Daily
You don’t have to workout everyday, but sweat daily.
Try something new, explore, have fun…sweat in the process!
49.) Join a community of ‘Better-Human-Questers’
Want to know a great place to find other like-minded individuals who are all trying to be better humans?
Check out the message boards here at End of Three Fitness.
50.) Take the 21-Day Better Human Challenge
Add to the comments! Would love to know what YOU think!
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Please share this with any human being you may think would benefit from striving to be a better human, or if you just enjoyed the article!
Thanks for reading!
-Jerred
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