5 Habits To Unleash Your Inner Beast and Calm Confidence

ME·DI·O·CREˌ mēdēˈōkər/

Adjective – of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.

Synonyms: ordinary, average, middling, middle-of-the-road, run-of-the-mill, commonplace

 

According to Dictionary.com, the word “mediocre” originated from the Latin “mediocris”, which means “in a middle state, literally, at middle height. Part of the word “ocris” came from old Latin, translating to rugged mountain, or apex.

Too many people today are willing to settle for mediocre: to be in the middle of the mountain, almost there at the top, but not quite finishing.

But along the way, we saw an obstacle or some distraction and turned aside.  Comfort won out over the dream. A route to a dream worth having is rarely comfortable. We have something within us that can be incredibly successful. We see the beauty of that mountain and we want to reach the summit so we can see the view from the top.

But the journey to obtain that view is often difficult and fraught with danger and distractions. There are plenty of steep cliffs and loose rocks that make our footing unstable. Good thing there are inns and respite areas along the way that call for us to just take it easy.

It is only those that know how to unleash their inner strength and be a beast that can muscle through the difficulty to get to the top. How? By forming habits.

 

Here Are 5 Habits To Help You Be a Beast and Achieve Success

1) Morning Rituals

The desire to be a beast is within every living soul, ready to be unleashed and set free to pull you through the challenges and help you bypass distractions that WILL come into your life. Tasting success early in your day can awaken it, setting you on course to shape the rest of it.

While different for everybody, these morning rituals (3-5 small tasks) can give you a sense of accomplishment. The quote from the movie Better Off Dead comes to mind:

“I think all you need is a small taste of success, and you will find it suits you.”  

These need to be simple things that you can do pretty much regardless of what your schedule looks like. Things on my morning ritual list include a four-shot espresso, prayer, Bible reading, a shot of apple cider vinegar, taking a multi-vitamin, flossing, and making my bed.

I finish all of those things before I do anything else. When I do that, I know that my day won’t have been totally wasted. The beast likes success and will want more. Wake him up with daily morning rituals.

 

2) Daily Evaluation

What in the world is going on in your head?

In order to be a beast, you need direction. If your mind is cluttered and distracted, you can bet that she will run in a thousand directions and get nowhere.  

Early in your day, look at those things that you expect to take place. Consider past mistakes and resolve to make sure that whatever those tasks are, that you will do it right this time.

What does right look like? How should you walk into that meeting today? What are you going to do when that annoying person stops you in the hallway? Visualize as many scenarios as you can. Evaluate how you did handle them in the past. Evaluate how you want to handle them if they should come up again.

Consider your personal ethos. How can you live up to your own high standards today? The beast needs direction: evaluation can help you direct her so that she serves you and does not harm you.

 

3) Annual Life Analysis

The beast likes challenges. Once a year, it is good to sit down and envision them, so that the beast within can start to get excited. 

When I was a child, I had a dog that loved to go for a walk. The difficulty was that he would practically pull my arm out of the socket when he took off. The excitement for him was overwhelming (even though I rarely went where I wanted to go).

When the beast gets excited, he will pull you toward the mountain top (as you have given him direction). At least once a year, I like to track where I spend my time for a full week. At the end of the week, I summarize where I spend my hours. I nearly always find something that is taking more of me than I realized.

In those areas, I strive to find some way to get more bang for my time. The other habit I have is sitting down and setting goals to achieve for the next quarter or the year ahead. When I imagine achieving those goals, I can sense my desire to be a beast roaring with excitement! I know there’s no holding myself back now.

 

4) Circle of Friends

When you hang out with winners, you’re more likely to be a beast, hungry for success. If those beasts within your circle of friends speak the same language, they will motivate each other to do great things.

Surround yourself with men and women who long to achieve as badly as you do. If you spend too much time with family and friends that are content with the status quo, they won’t you achieve. Unfortunately, if you spend too much time with those who have sleeping beasts, yours too, will want to nap and waste time.

Seek out those who are full of energy and strength, those that want to get to the mountain top and see that view. Give the beast a good set of friends to push them.

 

5) Bedtime Rituals

Your day is almost over. How do you draw a great day to an end?

When my kids were small, we developed some good rituals that helped them go to bed without a major struggle. Bath, jammies, bedtime stories, along with bedtime prayers and they quietly disappeared into dream land. The bedtime ritual gave them a sense of normalcy and security.

Even as adults we can gain the security that comes from bedtime rituals. Before I go to bed, I set up the coffee maker so all I will need to do in the morning is turn it on. I know that my morning brain struggles with the setup, but my mind at night can do this right. I set out my journal and my Bible so that I can find it without waking up my wife. With those tasks done, with either a hot shower or bath, I am ready for bed.

I have calmed my mind and all that I could do in this day is complete. I can sleep peacefully knowing that I have given my all. I also know that the beast is also getting settled, focused on calming down. It is in the calm that the beast is being strengthened, awaiting to be unleashed in the morning.

 

~

Those that have gone on before are telling us of the view from the top. Regardless of how good a communicator they are, it is impossible for them to accurately describe the view.

So you must strive to see it for yourself. Take a breath, be a beast, and climb to the top. I expect to see you there.

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