ZombieFit™ :: Vol 4

Is it the thought that counts? Perhaps when the social context is receiving a gift from a well-intentioned family member at a birthday party...

Adequate preparation for the zombie apocalypse (literal or figurative), however, demands action -- and lots of it!

This week, we explore the crucial role that momentum plays in unlocking power across your life. We'll put the concept to work with the concrete example of kickstarting a durable exercise habit from a cold start.

Let’s roll…

Momentum starts with action

Last week, we explored Napoleon's Hill's philosophy on the definiteness of purpose. According to Hill, it all starts with purpose. From there, you draft plans to achieve the purpose, and these plans change as often as necessary to achieve that purpose.

Actions are where your plans make contact with reality. Plans are theoretical, and although you should "measure twice, cut once", you do have to engage the saw blade.

The "activation energy" to take action starts with a thought, and the thought becomes a decision. The perceived effort to take an action for the first time is often quite high because it’s at odds with routine behaviors that must change.

Fortunately, the perceived effort tapers off as momentum builds. We've all heard it said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and the same idea applies to momentum: momentum is initiated from a single action.

Momentum unlocks your power

Momentum is a powerful psychological construct, and it becomes physical when it makes contact with reality.

Your personal power output is the amount of work that you can perform per unit of time. For example, if you can complete more burpees than me in 10-minutes, then your power output is higher than mine. (And to answer that, you’ve gotta ask yourself one question…)

In business and life, having a higher power output typically translates to competitive advantage and is a desirable quality -- but wouldn't it be great if the perceived effort diminished (even slightly) as power output increased?

Well, let the good times roll. That's where momentum comes in...

From elementary physics, we know that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and objects in motion tend to stay in motion. The same logic applies to the basic human behaviors that determine our health, wellness, and the ability to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the unknown and the unknowable.

Momentum is transferrable

Momentum is intuitively transferrable (look no further than the billiards table or a clip of Mike Tyson punching someone in the mouth), and keystone habits (as popularized by James Clear of Atomic Habits fame) are powerful applications of transferred momentum.

Keystone habits tend to have a ripple effect across other areas in your life, and they create a chain reaction that causes you to naturally adopt other beneficial behaviors without any extra effort or willpower.

A keystone habit can be just about anything (exercise, sleep, meditation, hydration, journaling, etc.), and it's deceptively simple to kickstart a keystone habit. There's just "one weird trick"...

The one weird trick to kickstarting a keystone habit: start with only one thing, make it the tiniest action you can imagine, and schedule it as a non-negotiable.

Want to start journaling? Just fill up one page in a small pocket-sized notebook.

Want to start meditating? Just set a 1-minute timer and close your eyes.

Want to become an early riser? Just set an alarm for 5 minutes earlier than when you typically wake up.

The point is to just get the wheels turning, and you don't necessarily need to have a "goal" in mind. It might work out better if you don't...

Seriously -- start so much smaller than you think you should that it would violate your moral constitution. Make it a guaranteed slam dunk.

Sketch: kickstarting an exercise habit

Physical fitness is the ultimate flex in life, and it is essentially a prerequisite for surviving any apocalyptic scenario.

Here's what the chain of events to kickstart a keystone (exercise) habit might look like:

• Purpose: you desire to become stronger, faster, and harder to kill…
  

• Plan: You decide to kickstart an exercise habit from a cold start by taking short walks each morning.
  

• Action: You write down "I do solemnly swear that I will take a morning walk for 5+ minutes" on a sticky note and post it on your bathroom mirror before bed.
  

• Action: You stay true to yourself, and take a 5-minute walk in the morning.
  

• Action: With the remaining 25 minutes, you schedule 30-minute morning walks in your calendar for the next 6 weeks, (Walk at least 5 minutes, but block the full 30 minutes.)
  

• Action: You increase the duration of the morning walk by 1+ minutes each day until you work up to the full 30-minute block.
  

• Action: You increase the intensity of the walk along the way (or after the 30 days) by walking uphill, wearing a backpack with weight in it, putting the treadmill on an incline, carrying an odd object, etc.
  

• Action: after the first week, you add a trivial amount of calisthenics to the end of the walk. (e.g. add 10 reps of a bodyweight movement like lunges, air squats, sit-ups, etc.)
  

• Action: you gradually increase the intensity of the calisthenics by adding a couple of reps, additional movements, etc.
  

• You continue leaning into the incrementalism and build a stack of irrefutable proof that you are becoming stronger, faster, and harder to kill.

Once you've made a decision and taken decisive action for even a few days, you will already feel the momentum. Your confidence will build. You will naturally want to increase the intensity of the workouts and start setting lofty goals to make more progress. Resist that temptation -- at least until after the first 4-6 weeks.

Back to your primary motive: the purpose of the morning walk is to kickstart a durable exercise habit. The transferrable momentum is a beautiful side-effect that will naturally emerge. No additional effort (or jacket) required.

Have a bias for action

Whether you're looking for inspiration from Carl Jung, Aristotle, James Clear, or , the good ones will all tell you to minimize future regrets by taking action today.

Whatever you choose to do -- cultivate a massive bias for action.

Start simple. Stay consistent. Keep stacking good bricks. Extraordinary results come from repeatedly doing ordinary things for extended periods.

Until next week.

Command center -- out.
Matthew Russell
Head of Zombie Preparedness

P.S. - I’ve been working on new iPhone + Apple Watch app that delivers functional fitness. Always more to do, but it’s coming along. I covet your feedback!