Wise Owl Wednesday #18 - Motivation
May 27, 2020 5:49 pm
Happy Wednesday, Wise Owl Nation.
We're halfway through another week. How motivated are you today?
I woke up at 5:00 am today to write this newsletter because last night I didn't have the energy to write about motivation, which is ironic, in a way.
What is motivation anyway?
To me, motivation is the energy to create change. I've learned over the years that motivation is like rocket fuel.
- it's expensive
- it's powerful
- it does not last long
Motivation can give you the energy to blast off in the direction of your choosing, but it won't last long, and may take forever to return.
Since I am working through this conundrum of harnessing motivation, it is now the theme of this week!
Let's explore how to use motivation to find success together.
You can find all past issues (including this one) here.
_____________________________________
Was this email forwarded to you?
_____________________________________
Quote of the week:
Motivation is finite.
Eventually it runs out and you are left with your habits, daily routines, and systems.
I wrote about routines last week, but routines are only a small part of this process and require energy to create.
Lately I've found myself using those brief spurts of motivation to build systems that allow me to keep the momentum going while my motivation tank refuels.
Next week I will write more about systems specifically, so let me know if you have any systems you fall back on to keep your momentum going!
Tips or Tools of the week: Wisdom, Health and Wealth
Each week I share either three tips or three tools that will help you become wiser, healthier, and wealthier.
Wisdom tip of the week: The Motivation Bank
This is my favorite trick for pulling motivation out of nowhere when you don't feel like doing anything.
Build a motivation bank! What is a motivation bank?
A motivation bank is a place you put all of the motivational quotes, videos, and music you find that get you hyped to take action!
When you find yourself struggling to get started, where do you go? You go to the bank and withdraw some of that stored motivation. In fact, I started a spotify playlist of my songs I know get people going.
Feel free to check it out here, and add any of these songs to your own playlists.
What does yours look like? What songs should I add?
Let me know on twitter - @gpetticrew or reply to this email!
Health tips of the week: Tricks to make yourself do healthy things
No motivation to eat healthy, exercise, or meditate?
These are a few of the tricks I use to stay on track when the motivation is low.
When junk food is calling your name - Right now many of us are still (mostly) quarantined. We are in our homes all day long, and the kitchen is just a short walk from wherever we are. Having snacks, junk food, etc anywhere in the kitchen or home is a bad idea.
So eat it, or throw it away, but do not buy more. I can't tell you how many time's I've thought to myself "fuck it, I'll have some chips" then I go to the pantry and there are no chips!
When exercise is talking shit and you can't be bothered - Exercise is my enemy. It is always trying to tell me how hard it is, and how I should just wait until tomorrow, or whatever other excuse.
My tip for this is the principle of "No Zero Days" which means that I can stop exercising if I do "more than zero."
- Do 5 push ups instead of 10.
- Walk around the block instead of jog
- Do a squat or two before you open the fridge
- Do a few jumping jacks while watching Netflix
I'm seriously considering buying a damn sauna to avoid cardio exercise. 20 minutes in a sauna, as it turns out, is just as helpful as a 20 minute run for your cardiovascular system! If I get a sauna you're welcome to come try it out if you're in the Austin area.
When you can't find the time to meditate - Why is it so hard to just sit down, shut up, and breath?!
I follow the same No Zero Days principle as before. if I can just sit still, close my eyes, and breath for a single damn minute, that is a success.
Some ways to sneak this into your day:
- before your next zoom meeting, close your eyes and focus on your breathing, and think about what you want out of the call
- before you eat, take a minute to relax and just breath and think about how awesome the meal is going to be (this is one of the reasons many religions stop before meals to pray. It's free meditation!)
- When you get into your car, before you drive anywhere, take a few deep breaths
If you do all of these things, you might micro-meditate 3-4 times a day. That is huge! Doing this alone might put you in a better move and trigger extra motivation!
Wealth tip of the week: Create a buying buffer
How do you build wealth? You spend less, earn more, pay off debt, and invest. Which of those do we have the most immediate control over?
Our spending. I find myself most willing to spend stupidly when I am low energy and don't have the motivation or willpower to stop myself. To offset I make a deal with myself.
- If I want to doordash food I make myself wait an hour
- If I want to buy something expensive, I put it in a "To buy" list and wait at least week. I've found that if I continuously find myself wanting something over a long period of time, it might be worth it. Most times I get bored of the idea and move on.
I also ask myself the question "Would you have the energy to return this if you don't like it?"
99.9% of the time I do not have the energy or desire to return something, so I just don't buy it.
Utilize your inner lazy to fight your even lazier impulses! It works!
Do you do anything like this in your life to avoid making dumb mistakes? Reach out to me and let me know!
Book Of The Month: May/June
May's book of the month - coming soon
Why We Sleep - Okay don't hate me, but I am not quite finished with the final write up for "Why We Sleep."
I will be sending out a separate email later this week with the final write up including all of the four parts.
Look for that on Thursday or Friday.
In the meantime I'd like to announce the book of the month for June!!
In April we worked on wealth.
In May we worked on health.
Now we turn our focus to wisdom.
Introducing "The Obstacle Is The Way" by Ryan Holiday.
What better way to work on wisdom than to read one of the best books I've ever read on dealing with the bullshit of life.
I first read this book in September/October of 2017. On October 18th, 2017 my fiance suffered a catastrophic brain injury. It was an extremely dark time for me, her family, and my family. By whatever stroke of luck you believe in, The Obstacle is The Way literally teaches the mental framework to not only deal with the bullshit of life, but to get better because of it.
My fiance survived and has made miraculous recoveries over the last 2.5 years. Life is still hard and we both force ourselves to grow and get better using what we've learned from this book.
if you want to learn how to overcome life's bullshit, let stress wash away from you, and to become better because of the struggle, this book is for you.
** The links above are affiliate links. If you purchase the books with the links above, I receive a super tiny commission, which helps support this newsletter. Thank you! **
Resources
Welcome to the new Resources section.
I will be adding to this section over time as we find resources that will help you all.
- Check out the Wise Owl Store
- All Wise Healthy Wealthy Articles on Medium
- Start your own Sendfox Newsletter
- Free products to help you level up
*** If you’re interested in my upcoming Crypto course for beginners you can pre-order it now. ***
* * *
Share the Wisdom and earn rewards
Who do you know that would benefit from reading this newsletter?
Invite them to subscribe!
If you refer your friends to Wise Owl Wednesday you can now earn rewards:
Just share your personal referral link, and anyone that subscribes through it is credited to you!
Your personal referral link -
You have referred wise owls so far.
You can earn rewards if you:
- Refer 5 people - a 10% off coupon to the Wise Owl Store that does not expire
- Refer 10 people - Access to the secret VIP once-a-month newsletter issue I am currently working on
- Refer 15 people - Get a free Wise Owl Coffee Mug with your name on it, and a 25% off-coupon to the Wise Owl Store...that does not expire
- Refer 20 people - 50% off coupon to Crypto Capable - Beginner Course
Also, if you have ideas or thoughts in the following areas, please let me know!
- Books I should review
- Topics you would love to read about
- YouTube videos you'd love to watch
Let me know by replying to this email!
I read all of my emails.
You can also read past issues here!
