2913: The One Truth You Must Know for Long Term Success by Mark Fisher on Habits for Healthy Living

[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:24] So, press play on Good Sleep Tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Health Daily, The One Truth You Must Know for Long Term Success by Mark Fisher of markfisherfitness.com and I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator.

[00:00:50] Hey there, welcome to another edition of Optimal Health Daily. This is one of just a few podcasts in the world where blogs are read to you. And on this show, you get the added bonus of hearing my commentary at the end. Oh, and another bonus, on Fridays, I answer your questions. Now, to check out our other shows, just search for Optimal Living Daily wherever you're hearing this. But with that, let's get to today's post and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:21] The One Truth You Must Know for Long Term Success by Mark Fisher of markfisherfitness.com It's too cold. It's too hot. We're exhausted from events, work, and social. We work too much. We fight with our spouses. Our kids exhaust us and sometimes we get sick. Sometimes we just don't feel like getting out of bed.

[00:01:45] This is not a new experience for humanity. Whether you're an athlete that doesn't want to train, a teacher who has unruly students, or any office worker on a project that just doesn't excite you, this happens. So how do you deal with it? The English Dictionary defines perspective as, quote, A way of regarding situations, facts, and so on, and judging their relative importance. End quote.

[00:02:12] For many, putting things into perspective can be the perfect nudge. War Stories I woke up early on Saturday, February 1st, and just felt like I was coming down with a cold at the end of a long work week during the coldest month I can remember. I admit to feeling sorry for myself. I didn't want to get out of bed, and I felt like calling into work sick. As often happens, the voice of my dad sounded in my head.

[00:02:41] It was hotter than this at the Battle of Tarawa, and colder than this at the frozen Chosin. Get up. You'll be fine. I got up and sent a text to the skipper and Chris, two tough Marines. One was a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps with my dad in Vietnam, and the other, the son of my dad's late best friend, Mark. I relayed the voice in my head to them. The skipper responded bluntly, Get the F with it. No whining.

[00:03:08] His words worked not only because they were true, but they also made me laugh, which always helps me. Basically, the Battle of Tarawa was a 76-hour fight in World War II, where the U.S. had about 3,200 casualties, and the Japanese forces were completely wiped of almost 5,000 men. The frozen Chosin battle in the Korean War saw U.S. forces lose almost 11,000 men, and another 7,500 in the aftermath

[00:03:35] due to the negative 35 degree Fahrenheit weather. Both of these are examples of pure health. These are obviously extreme examples. History tells us of thousands of similar stories. Numerous friends tell me stories of families that came to America, sacrificing everything for a dream of something bigger. They came here to discover hard times, tough days in coal mines, sweatshops, and grueling days in the fields. Others tell of their parents working hard days,

[00:04:04] taking on second jobs to help them live their dreams and get a college education. Others gain perspective from losing someone close to them or a friend or family member that is or has been struggling from a debilitating illness or disease. For many, these familiar stories provide perspective as well as inspiration and motivation on the toughest of days. Getting a PR in perspective. In the journey to health and hotness, perspective also plays a major role.

[00:04:34] Recently, in the Dragon Lair at Mark Fisher Fitness, a ninja expressed legitimate frustration with her inability to do a push-up from the floor. Another ninja struggled to speak to me through tears at his inability to deadlift for a certain personal record or PR. Dozens of ninjas going through our Snatched in Six Weeks program emailed me with panicked concern after three weeks when they hadn't seen the scale start to move. This truly happens all the time, and it makes total sense.

[00:05:03] We want results now. We commit our money, time, and hard work to achieving them. And when it doesn't happen in the time we want, meaning right now, it's totally natural to be frustrated as hell. I asked, what's another way to look at that push-up? She thought for a moment. Well, when I started, the barbell was set to number eight, and I did six reps. Smiling, I responded, where is it now, and how many did you do? It's on number three,

[00:05:33] and I did 12 reps. She was beaming. This fresh perspective in the moment helped her see her great progress. A discussion with the frustrated ninja who didn't hit his deadlift personal record led to him remembering the fact that, a year ago, he had never heard of a deadlift, much less even done one. And with the understandable frustration of ninjas not seeing the scale move in a few short weeks, the conversation can effectively turn to looking at the new habits and lifestyle changes they are making.

[00:06:03] Many are looking at food a whole new way, committing to exercise like never before, getting good sleep, drinking water, and thinking about why fitness is important to them to begin with. Even our own past can give us a little perspective on our lives. Looking at what we were doing just a short time ago and reflecting on the times we overcame something difficult and persisted, like remembering the breakups, heartaches, and tough days at our jobs, we can use this and compare it to our current circumstance. And perhaps,

[00:06:33] it can provide fresh perspective on what is truly happening and how far we've actually come. Through the hot pink cover of my Madonna slash rent microphone, I hear myself, what were you doing at 8 a.m. five weeks ago? Were you still in bed? Were you standing in line ordering donuts, bagels, and muffins? Here you are today, in class, with a water bottle in front of your mat, sweating, and focused. How does this feel in comparison to what you were doing back then?

[00:07:03] How might this be getting you a little closer to your goals? Looking ahead. Look into your future. Look how far you've come and dream of how far you can go. Stories and personal experiences of surviving through tough times, persisting in the face of insurmountable odds, and acknowledging your improvements along the way can give you the nudge of perspective you need. Give it a shot. When you're having a hard time, find your perspective. Write it down. Think of a time

[00:07:32] you overcame something and write down exactly what you did. The same things that led you to that success can help you. If you can't think of anything, try a book. You may look to a book about Lincoln or maybe the great bestseller Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Make it happen. Find it and use it. It exists. If you can make it this far in six weeks, imagine three or six months or even a year. Look how far you've come compared to where you started.

[00:08:02] The journey never stops. You just listened to the post titled The One Truth You Must Know for Long-Term Success by Mark Fisher of markfisherfitness.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. Have you ever had this situation come up? You're walking up some stairs or a hill or maybe even hiking up a mountain and on your way you stop for a moment.

[00:08:31] You stop, turn around and look behind you. You look at how far you've climbed and you take in the view. Put another way, you've stopped to get some perspective. And just as today's author Mark Fisher said, every once in a while it can be good to stop for a moment and get some perspective. If we're struggling with finding the motivation to continue, getting some perspective can be very motivating. And as Mark said, getting perspective can look different depending on what we're chasing. When I was helping my patients

[00:09:01] with weight loss, something I would encourage them to do at the very beginning of their weight loss journeys would be to keep a pair of pants hidden somewhere. Then, after some time, usually when their weight loss started to slow down, I had them dig up those old pair of pants. They would be able to see in a very real way how they've changed their bodies over time. And usually, this was enough to motivate them to continue on their weight loss journey. So, the question now is,

[00:09:30] where are you feeling a little less motivated? And where can you find some perspective? Alright, that'll do it for another edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you have a great rest of your day. And I'll be back here tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits.