2942: How Building One Little Habit Can Net You Half a Million by Chris Reining on Personal Transformation

[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, How Building One Little Habit Can Net You Half a Million by Chris Reining of chrisreining.com and I'm Dr. Neal.

[00:00:48] Hey there and welcome back to a bonus Sunday episode. I'm bringing an article to you from one of our other podcasts, this time from Optimal Finance Daily. But not to worry, the principles you'll hear in this episode definitely apply to health. Now, this is a bonus episode of course, meaning that this is a little addition. Nothing's being taken away. And I think you're going to enjoy this one from the host, Diana.

[00:01:12] So, with that, let's hear another article and Diana's commentary as we optimize your life. How Building One Little Habit Can Net You Half a Million by Chris Reining of chrisreining.com A lot of people ask me how it is living in Madison, and I tell them that it's one of the most livable cities in America. It's so livable, I just got rid of my car.

[00:01:41] It does revolve around the schedules for the University of Wisconsin Athletic teams, that and the Green Bay Packers. I don't care about sports, but that's not a popular thing to say here when people feel so strongly about these teams. And if you're someone who doesn't care about sports, you go watch highlights on YouTube so you can talk to people who can only talk sports. I was watching a Packers video. They were playing the Dallas Cowboys with a minute and 13 left, and were down three with the ball.

[00:02:11] Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback, drives 75 yards down the field and scores a touchdown. The Packers win the game. What I find most interesting is what Rodgers says about that touchdown during the post-game press conference. The moment isn't as big as you think it is. It comes down to the little things executed perfectly. The Packers wanted a touchdown, an outcome. Most people want some outcome.

[00:02:39] They want to be, I don't know, the author of a best-selling book, a famous speaker, or rich. But they don't want to repeatedly do the little things it takes to get them there. They don't want the process to put in the work required. Having a best-selling book means sitting down every single day and spending two hours on your writing. Being a famous speaker means crisscrossing the country to give a hundred talks on your own dime.

[00:03:06] Getting rich means spending less than you earn and investing the difference. This is how you get an outcome. But here's the thing. Doing the little things over and over again takes self-control. Maybe I'm good at self-control. I remember as a kid, my parents would give me and my sister soda once per week on Saturday nights. My dad would line up three little cups, filling them halfway with soda and topping them off with tap water.

[00:03:32] This cruel little exercise taught me that self-control is a muscle. If you use it, it gets stronger. And if you don't, it gets weaker. Here's another example. Two years ago, I wanted to build more muscle. So I started doing this full body workout from Reddit. Three times a week, I'm walking one block over to the park to do these exercises. And after a few weeks, you form a little habit. And then it just becomes what you do.

[00:03:58] The reason you're working out three times a week is because you work out three times a week. Make sense? And eventually, you've been working out three times a week for 114 weeks. And the bigger that number gets, the more it scares you. All it takes is skipping one day for that number to go back to zero. You probably think this sounds nuts. But this is how you build long-term habits. You start small and then you use the fear of starting over to make you stronger, to practice self-control.

[00:04:29] This works equally well for your personal finances too. Most people say they want to earn more money. And the easiest way to earn more is to spend less. You can double your income if you cut your expenses in half. So where do you start? Why not start with something small, like the $5 a day you spend on coffee? It doesn't have to be coffee. It can be whatever little thing you repeatedly waste money on.

[00:04:53] Once you form a little habit of saving $5 a day, then you form a little habit of saving $20 a day. Maybe that comes from the $15 you spend eating out. It might help to think of this like a snowball rolling down a long, steep hill. That's what you're doing by saving $5 a day here and $15 a day there because that adds up to $600 a month. That $600 a month becomes $7,000 a year.

[00:05:22] And that $7,000 a year becomes $35,000 every five years. And that $35,000 every five years becomes $175,000 in 25 years. But wait, there is more. If you invest this $20 a day, getting a 7% return in 25 years, you have $500,000. Wow. Half a million for just $20 a day.

[00:05:49] Yet people still complain to me that they can't do this. And I think the reason they can't do this is because they listen to that little voice in their head. Missing one time is okay. You worked hard. You deserve it. You can try again tomorrow. The hardest thing in life is probably self-control. So just start with one little habit. Do it over and over again. And then go build another little habit and another.

[00:06:15] Now you have a bunch of little habits creating so much momentum that you won't be able to stop. That's how you succeed. Just like Aaron Rodgers said. You just listened to the post titled, How Building One Little Habit Can Net You Half a Million. By Chris Reining of chrisreining.com. Oikos presents 15 Seconds of Strength. Here we go. Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him. Oh, that's tough, Jim.

[00:06:45] Looks like a five-trip load at least. He grabs the first bag. The second. Bob, it looks like he's trying to do it all one trip. He shimmies the door open, steps over the dog. Oh, and he stumbles. Oh, right into the kitchen without missing a beat. Jim, now that's a man who eats his protein-packed Oikos. With 15 grams of complete protein in each cup, Oikos Triple Zero can help build strength for every day. Oikos. Stronger makes everything better. I love the topic of habits because they're just so powerful when it comes to changing your reality.

[00:07:14] The term self-control feels so heavy to me. I think it sends the impression that building habits are harder than they need to be. The key for me for changing any habit has been to start small, focus more on consistency than progress, track that consistency, and prioritize my mindset.

[00:07:36] I think mindset is so important when it comes to habits because your thoughts create a chain reaction that eventually lead you to taking action. The phrase thoughts become things sounds so woo-woo, I know. But to me, it's not about magical thinking. There seems to be a clear process as to how thoughts become things. Your thoughts manifest as the words you say to yourself and to other people.

[00:08:06] And when you say these words enough times, they solidify as beliefs. beliefs. I think you need to truly believe something on a deep level in order to take confident, consistent action. So when it comes to your finances, if you don't truly believe that the little thing you waste money on every day is going to make that much of a difference to your finances, you may be able to use willpower for a little while to resist, but you'll likely not make a long-term change.

[00:08:35] This to me is where self-control and effort is required. But what if we put that effort into changing our beliefs? When action flows from belief, it's easier to commit to that action. And over time, that action becomes a mindless habit. It takes much less effort to stick with it. These habits are the building blocks of our realities and habits are built unconsciously or consciously.

[00:09:04] This is why listening to a podcast like this daily can have such a positive effect on your spending and other money habits. Because you're getting to the root of your behaviors through your beliefs. And that should do it for today. Have a happy rest of your day. And I'll see you in the Friday show tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits. Thanks. .