Achievement Inertia: Making Discipline Easy
“10 more steps, Armaan, that’s it. Just one foot in front of the other.”
Sweat beading down my forehead, mouth hung open, shallow breaths grasping for air, eyes glazed, this is what I look like at 7 AM. The clock turns from “59:59” to “1:00:01” as I smack the red, emergency stop and my body comes to a halt. Panting like a dog on a summer day, I double over to catch my breath and just feel the moment.
Even though my muscles are sore, my forehead’s covered in sweat, shirt drenched and cold, I feel amazing. More than amazing. I come out of this trancelike state and return to reality, remembering I’ve got to head back to cook my meals, write, go to the gym, continue with the day. But after doing what I’ve just done, all that stuff comes easily. All that is no worry to me. All that is just stuff to do, and I’ve already won the day. Chest out and shoulders back, I walk out of the University gym triumphant and ready to take on whatever comes my way.
That’s the beauty of my morning cardio. The beauty of Achievement Inertia.
Lately I’ve been waking up from 6–8AM, jumping out of bed, throwing on some clothes, drinking a coffee, and going out to do my cardio. 11 weeks out of a bodybuilding show, I’m doing a lot of cardio. 60 minutes daily, and that’s increasing pretty soon. Hitting a weight training workout really hard, and then having to stay for another hour to slave away on the treadmill or Stairmaster sucks, but ever since I started doing the cardio fasted and in the morning, I’ve just felt amazing.
Yes, waking up early is hard. Getting up and seeing the clock turn from 5:59 to 6:00 AM as I walk out to hear the whir of construction, chirping birds, and the howl of the wind through empty Boston streets. But it’s incredibly rewarding. It kinda feels like that scene from that one Will Smith movie, I Am Legend. But seriously, waking up early and doing just makes you feel like some sort of movie protagonist. And even though I’m all for being modest and having an uninflated ego, sometimes it’s fun to pretend you’re in a movie.
Anyways, slaving away on a treadmill at 7 AM, or going for a run, or hitting a workout, or writing, or doing anything which requires discipline is great, but the true value is in what comes after. The benefit of doing something difficult in the morning is that it makes the rest of the day much easier, you get something which I like to call Achievement Inertia.
After sweating my ass off early in the morning, editing a video, sitting down to write, picking up my camera, or anything which may usually be accompanied by some procrastination, is 10x easier. I’ve already done something difficult, so why not continue that? If I’m able to get through an hour of panting and sweating and challenging my body, why should this work be harder?
Achievement Inertia starts your day off with a win. It build momentum for what’s to come. Instead of scrolling on TikTok for an hour or watching the news or having to jump out of bed and haphazardly rush to work/classes, achievement inertia allows you to begin the day with discipline, feel great about yourself early, and makes everything else you do 10x easier. In the past 2 weeks I’ve been doing this, procrastination has been at an all time low, and I’m sure you’ll find similar results.
Achievement Inertia Activities I’d Recommend:
Physical Activity(running, workout, exercise class)
Writing(Journal entry, short article/story, etc)
Reading(Preferably a great nonfiction book to flood your mind with positive ideas early in the morning. Try Meditations or The Magic of Thinking Big to get your gears working)
Meditation(if you’re a beginner or you experience lots of friction when you meditate)
Any other activity which may call for some procrastination, do it early and you won’t regret it.
Anyways, that’s it for me, thank you guys, I appreciate you, and take care! ❤
