Being the best, you can be in all aspects of your life.

I’m sure we have all heard this sentence before? Usually on the internet or some social media ‘influencer’.

But what is the meaning of this sentence? The very definition of success is ‘the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.’ But many successful people have tunnel vision. Is success owning a billion-dollar company?? Some would say yes but what are the other areas of their life like? Are they healthy? Is their relationship good? Do their kids love them? Are they lonely? Do they have any friends?

Two years ago, I made this the existence of my life. Not to be the best in the world at everything I do but to be the best I can be. This means I was going to be the best Dad, the best husband, the best employee, the best athlete, the best brother. It means giving everything you have and not resting until it’s done. No sitting on the couch playing video games, no sitting around glued Instagram but everything I did focuses on being better. Yeah, I still watch YouTube videos at 10pm but the videos I watch were videos for personal development. Yeah, I might have a sleep in every now and then but It’s so my body could recover. Yeah, I had bad days but as long as I had more good days then I was winning. As they say, one-foot forward is still moving forward.

But how do you change your mindset to make this your everyday? Here’s how I did it and here is my story.

Back in early 2018 I realised that, although, I was a semi successful Police Officer that had climbed up the ranks in a considerably fast time and had my dream job, I’d hit a wall in personal development… I’d put on a small amount of weight from a lack of consistency in the gym, I’d stopped being a good husband, I’d spend most of my nights watching stupid YouTube videos till late at night, I’d stopped making an effort as a good brother and son and I’d lost my passion for locking up bad guys.  And to top it all off my wife and I were arguing about everything.

It was about this time that a good friend of mine sent me a podcast with David Goggins and Joe Rogan. I’d loosely heard of Goggins and seen him on a few YouTube clips and thought he was a bit extreme. But I sat back and listened. At the end of the podcast I’d seen what the real Goggins was like. No different to you or me. In fact, he come from less. A man that had come from the depths of hell and turned his life around. His message was simple “Get after it every day”.

So that day I got my whiteboard from the shed and wrote down my goals for the month and wrote down my tasks for tomorrow. They were simple tasks but they had to be done. No excuses. I said to myself if I failed to complete all my tasks that day, I was a failure. The very next day I got up at 5am and went for a run, I stretched, I made a healthy breakfast, I spent the day doing all the menial tasks I’d usually brush off, I made an effort to be a great husband, I rang my mum, I messaged my sister, I did all the things I had put on that board the night before. I completed each task… And guess what? I felt amazing. That night I did the very same thing but this time I added a few extra things like signing up for a triathlon and cooking the wife dinner. The very next day I completed all the tasks again!

I made a constant effort that whatever it is that I’m doing I’m giving it my 100% and nothing less. No excuses I just get it done and I have no me time until it gets complete. Now this doesn’t mean I have to be the  best at everything and if I get beaten in a workout or someone scores better than me in an exam I’ve failed, it just means that when I look back at the day or week I can say that I gave it my all.

Over time this work ethic and attitude got stronger and you’ll find that anything you do, you’ll dominate. You won’t settle for not getting up when you set your alarm. You won’t settle with an unplanned workout. You won’t settle with missing your kids bath time. You’ll be present in everything you do. This will have a flow on affect to your relationship, work, friends, money, commitments and most importantly your own self-worth.

So, the message of this story is simple. You have two options in life. Be a winner or be a loser. The decision is yours.