Meltdown: How to turn your hardship into happiness

by Jamie Alderton

Your discipline is like a battery: when you wake up in the morning it is fully charged. Everything you see and do throughout the day drains your battery and, depending on the day, your discipline is depleted at different speeds.

Prudence – The ability to govern oneself by the use of reason Courage – The choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation Temperance – Moderation or voluntary self-restraint Justice – The moderation or median between selfishness and selflessness – between having more and having less than one’s fair share

‘Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity.’

One of the most powerful things you can train your mind to do is to do something even though you don’t want to do it.

The first of my ‘cold-water cure’ tips is: ‘Do something you don’t want to do every single morning.’ This could be going to the gym, taking a cold shower, writing for five minutes each morning. Commit to doing it whether you want to or not and this will help you build an incredibly powerful mindset.

Two of the most important things you must learn when it comes to success in anything are patience and commitment to doing a small amount consistently each day. Imagine what you could achieve in a year.

Twenty push-ups a day Seven pull-ups a day One book chapter per day Five minutes’ journalling every day Messaging appreciation to one person a day Learning three new words of a foreign language per day Getting better at a skill in ten minutes a day: handstands, throwing, singing

‘You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.’ JOHN C MAXWELL

What did you do to improve your health today? Did you have fun today and if so, what was it? What did you learn today? What’s the biggest thing you’re grateful for today? Who do you remember helping today? Did you get angry or triggered today? How did you deal with it? How have you improved your wealth today? What can you do better tomorrow?

‘I will keep constant watch over myself and – most usefully – will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil – that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do. And yet our plans for the future descend from the past.’ MARCUS AURELIUS

People who don’t know what they want to do People who know what they want to do and don’t do it People who know what they want to do and do it

Much of this inaction and procrastination is due to a large number of things, including: Fear of failure Lack of meaning Self-doubt Perfectionism Laziness Distraction

Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn once said, ‘If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.’

PERSISTENCE This is defined as ‘a firm continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.’