Yow, what’s up? Glad to see you here again. 😁
Have you ever seen those videos about “Amazing body transformation in 3 months”? Have you ever been inspired to improve yourself?
If that’s the case, I think a personal Level-Up Journey might just be your answer.
I like to see life as a game that I have to play. And I don’t like being stuck as a noob so I personally enjoy going on my own Level-Up journeys because it feels great mastering and working on my craft.
Even though I have decided to go on a lifelong Level-Up Journey, I like to split it up by the month. I find it easier to manage and it also allows me to change things up so it’s not always the same routine over and over again. That being said, you ready to get started on your own?
Just a quick disclaimer. I’m not an expert productivity guru. All that I write about is based on my own experiences and what has worked for me. Take the parts you want/like and leave the ones you don’t really vibe with.
The Importance of First, Defining
Following the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How convention, let’s start off with Who.
Before defining these goals, remember that you are doing this for YOU. You are doing this for YOU to feel healthier. You are doing this for YOU to feel better. Sometimes, we tend to adjust our goals or plans because of what others might say or think. I feel you though. This is one of the problems I still face to this day.
Moving into What, it’s critical to take the time to clearly define not just your goals but also what success looks like when you achieve your goals. Remember that it’s okay to be selfish with your goals. While you’re at it, you need to know the reason you’re doing this. It will be tough to stay motivated especially on the days that you don’t feel like doing anything. Your inner voice will get you to quit in an instant when discomfort rears its head… that is... if your Why isn’t clearly defined.
Oftentimes, we set very vague goals such as “I want to be rich” or “I want to be more confident” but that doesn’t really tell you when you have accomplished those goals. It really helps to quantify your goals since that would make it measurable and easier to tell when you’ve accomplished that goal or if you’ve made any progress.
So a simple example would be, instead of setting a goal of “I want to be fit”, set a goal of “I want to lose x amount of weight” or “I want to be able to do 25 push-ups in a row”. And of course, once you reach these goals, just raise the bar and set the next one.
However, it is important to start small. We tend to get really motivated at times and we start setting these huge goals that will be hard to achieve when first starting out. And then we get disappointed when we don’t achieve them. Your big goal should have many many smaller baby goals that will add up and help you achieve your big goal.
When I say small, I mean like really really small. Let’s say, you’re not the type that has never done exercise except during PE classes. Even if your goal might be to jog 1km, start off by just remembering to block off your time. Perhaps change into your sports attire. You don’t even need to start moving yet. Of course, it might seem a bit extreme but setting up these really small steps that will progressively grow until we reach our goal is more sustainable. It’s also easier to start building momentum.
If you find quantifying some of your goals to be difficult, no worries. Write/Type them somewhere first. You can always come back to it later on. I usually use either Google Docs or Notion to write out and store my goals and ideas.
I will touch on the How, When and Where a little later. We still have a bit more defining to do.
Some Help With Defining
I generally like to split my life into different areas that I can work on. It’s less overwhelming that way. This is a concept that can be carried forward into probably every problem you face.
Instead of looking at the problem as a whole big thing you have to solve all at once, break it down into smaller, simpler parts. Then, work on solving each small part and before long, you would have solved the whole problem. Of course, it’s all easier said than done.
So for example, here’s a rough outline on how I split my life to revolve around these four areas:
Physical 🏃♂️
Emotional 🤪
Spiritual 😇
Financial 🤑
By examining your own life, you can determine how you want to split your life into different categories. These four areas I followed were taken from “The Roommates”, a channel on YouTube that focuses on helping men and women level up.
Under these four areas, I’ve categorised some activities for you if you’re unsure where to start:
*Go with activities you enjoy but these are just a few examples
Physical
Work Out 🏋️♂️
Go for runs/walks 🏃♂️
Stretch / Do some yoga 🧘♂️
Get enough sleep 😴
Drink enough water 🌊
Emotional
Spend more time with family or even spend more time alone ⏱
Meditate 🧘♂️
Read a book / Listen to an audiobook or podcast 🎧
Spiritual
Spend more time with God 👼
Learn more about & apply your religion’s values and principles 📚
Financial
Start setting budgets 📊
Track your expenses 🧾
Learn more about financial literacy 💰
Learn more about investments 📈
(Btw for those interested in financing, follow @thewokesalaryman on Instagram for advice on personal finances for non-financial people. All their posts are in comic form so it’s easier to understand.)
You don’t necessarily need to tackle each area at once. Go at your own pace and take small steps. You could choose to do one activity from each area or maybe do three or four activities from one area. Whatever floats your boat. While you’re at it, share this blog post and ask a friend to tag along so you can hold each other accountable. It might just be more fun with a partner.
Defining Some Non-Negotiables
Setting some non-negotiables is a small step towards working on your self-discipline. These are the activities that will help give some structure to your day. Non-negotiables are also a way for you to incorporate small 5-10 minute practices into your day which will compound over time. Thus, bringing you significantly closer to achieving your goal!
Small steps, great distances.
- Eric Thomas, Motivational Speaker
An example of some of my non-negotiables:
Reading the bible every morning 📖
Cold showers in the morning 🥶🚿
Do at least one exercise on Duolingo 🦉
My morning routine consists of a lot more than the activities stated above which generally takes at least an hour or more. One day, during my A-levels, I woke up later than usual and didn’t have enough time to go through my entire routine. However, because I defined my non-negotiables beforehand, I knew which activities were more important and which were an added bonus. Remember it’s not that some of these activities are not important. It’s just that some of them have a higher priority compared to others.
Of course, this is all just a start. I recommend setting goals that aren’t too hard to accomplish on your own, just to get the ball moving. However, if you do plan to add larger, more challenging goals (the ones that you feel really pushes you out of your comfort zone) to your Level-Up Journey, I suggest giving this video a watch. It’s a TED Talk by Tim Ferriss where he talks about how “Fear Setting” could be more useful than “Goal Setting”.
Faith Without Works is Dead
Aights, now that you have defined what YOU want, now it’s time to define How, When and Where. Based on a concept of implementation intention from Atomic Habits by James Clear, defining When and Where you are going to do a specific task will increase the chances of you doing it.
The implementation intention formula goes along the lines of :
I will [BEHAVIOUR aka your How] at [TIME aka your When] in/at [LOCATION aka your Where].
Pairing the small steps discussed earlier together with the implementation intention, you should go over it in your head. Using the “Jogging 1km” example, write it out somewhere or set a reminder on your phone stating:
I will change into my sports attire at 5.00 pm in front of my closet
I will walk 200m/400m/500m/1km at 5.00 pm around my neighbourhood
I will jog 200m/400m/500m/1km at 5.00 pm around my neighbourhood
(Btw, Atomic Habits by James Clear is an amazing book that touches on habit formation. I recommend giving it a read.)
And that pretty much sums up the importance of defining. So just a quick recap, remember:
Who: You
Why: [List of your reasons]
What: [List of your goals]
Implementation Intention:
I will [How] at [When] in/at [Where]
Alright, I hope you derived value and inspiration from this post and now have the intention of going on your very own Level-Up Journey. Should you choose to get started, do update me. I would love to hear about your progress or any possible obstacles you might be facing. You can find me @iannangg on Instagram.
*Message me first because I might reject you if idk who you are.
Anyway, stay tuned for the next post where I cover more about getting started on your personal Level-Up Journey.
Till then, stay safe, happy and healthy. 😎
- ian
Random Info Snippet:
A quick shortcut for those on Windows laptops, to split your screen is by pressing the Windows + Arrow Key Left or Windows + Arrow Key Right.
It's time to get the ball moving. Don't learn financial literacy from Zern Tan though XD.