Edition #7

Hi All!

Here is your weekly serving of practical guidance and inspiration to ensure you live your life with purpose. Feel free to forward this along to friends and family. Enjoy!

I wanted to give a quick shout to the 8 amazing individuals who have joined us since last week. Thanks for being here and welcome to the Never Idle team!

Read Time: 5 Minutes

Master Your Mindset

Follow Effort, Not Passion

Have you ever been told: “Just follow your passion, it will take you where you want to go.”

On the surface, this sounds logical. “Yea, I’ll just do what I love. That will bring the results I’m looking for.”

This is some of the worst advice you can receive or follow. Let me explain.

Research has shown that only roughly 20% of people have an innate, pre-existing passion. That’s about 1 in 5 people. So I guess 4 out of 5 of us are just shit out of luck huh? Of course not. We just need to follow a different approach.

Passion is defined as a strong, barely controllable emotion. When you look at it from this lens, it starts to sound a little weird. Most sound advice would recommend not acting on emotion as it can make us irrational and lead us to do things we regret.

So what should you follow instead?

Instead of looking deep down in the depths of your soul for a burning passion that may not even exist or if it does, likely won’t lead you to where you want to go you have to prioritize work ethic. Effort. Contributions.

I understand this scares a lot of people. “Blah, I gotta work hard - screw that.” Well, if you want to be a top performer, sorry - yes you do.

But there are other reasons why prioritizing effort is so important. To develop skills. To build mastery. To find enjoyment. And…wait for it…to develop a passion. Let’s look at this sequentially:

1. Work hard at something (Put in effort)

2. Continue until you become good at that thing

3. When you become good at something you will likely enjoy it more

4. When you are good at something AND enjoy it, you will want to master it

5. When you are good at something AND enjoy it AND are working on mastering it, there is a very good chance you will become passionate about it.

So you see, we aren’t looking to take the passion out of your pursuits. We are simply not leading with passion.

Think about it this way. If you wanted to build a fire, you wouldn’t say “Once there’s a fire, then I’ll put some logs in there.”Because you understand you need the logs to light the fire in the 1st place.

Well, your effort is the 1st log. Your improvement is the 2nd log. Your enjoyment is the 3rd log. Your mastery is the 4th log.

With all your logs in place, your fire — your burning passion — is ready to ignite.

As Seth Godin says, “Do what you love is for amateurs. Love what you do is for professionals.”

Go give effort and uncover your passion.

Hone Your Habits

Sleep - The Foundational Habit for ALL Other Good Habits

Sleep. We all have to do it. But some of us do it better than others.

Those of us that do it better aren’t expert eye-shutters, pillow-fluffing professionals, or laying-down luminaries.

No, none of those things. The people who sleep better have better routines and habits that promote better sleep.

If you feel tired all the time and constantly drained of energy, it’s likely not because you missed your 4th cup of coffee — It’s likely you have been neglecting the most important source of fuel you can give yourself — quality sleep.

Why Quality Sleep Is So Important

• Helps you heal physically

• Manage stress

• Consolidate memories

• Improve motor skills

• Recover from illness

• Provides energy

• Promotes quality cognitive function

Essentially, sleep is a mental and physical magic pill.

I want you to prioritize getting quality sleep like it’s the most important habit you can ever build — because — well it is the most important habit you can ever build.

Much of the quality of your sleep is dependent on your actions leading up to when you actually get into bed. Here are the keys to focus on:

• Establishing a consistent sleep window - Monday, Friday, Sunday, no matter the day of the week go to bed and wake up at the same time. Now I understand life happens. If you get invited to a party you want to go to then please go. Have fun. But generally you want a consistent sleep window to set your internal clock on a particular sleep-wake cycle.

• Get some rays - Sun exposure helps to regulate sleep patterns and make you more alert. Try to get this in the morning for 5-15mins.

• Reduce caffeine - I get it, you love your coffee. So do I. But the amount and at what time you consume it is very important. Limit your intake to about 3 cups or less a day. As for when to drink it - Wait about 90mins before waking to have your 1st cup as this gives your body time to become alert naturally and with proper cortisol levels. Have your last cup 6-8hrs before bed to avoid blocking the adenosine signals that are vitally important for sleep.

• Reduce alcohol - Jeez, Austin’s no fun. Less coffee and now less alcohol? Similar to above, have a drink or two with friends now and again and enjoy yourself but generally alcohol severely impacts your REM sleep, which is essential for brain function. Booze can also affect your breathing, which makes staying asleep more difficult.

• Stop eating 3hrs before bed - Heavy meals close to bed can cause your body to work harder trying to digest when it should be resting. Also, try to stop drinking fluids 2hrs before bed to avoid or limit bathroom trips in the middle of the night.

• Prime your environment - Your sleeping environment should be dark, cool, and free of electronics. Try to get blackout curtains, keep the room temperature between 60-67°F, and avoid electronics 1hr before bed at least.

• Let yourself unwind - Give yourself some time to mentally and physically settle before bed. For example, I read before bed. Whatever you choose, allow yourself time to settle before hitting the hay.

If you want to go deeper down the rabbit hole of enhancements to achieve better sleep, I highly recommend checking out Matthew Walker aka ‘The Sleep Diplomat’ for science-backed evidence and solutions for sleep.

All the other habits you want to build become so much easier when you are well rested on a consistent basis. Stick to making quality sleep your top priority and watch your life improve dramatically.

Catch those Zzz’s my friends.

Words of Wisdom

You can complement this weekly newsletter with short reminders, ideas, and thoughts about personal development by following me on Twitter.

Thanks for reading! And always remember…

Slow and steady. Never Idle.

Until next week,

Austin Sargent