8 WAYS TO LEVEL UP IN 2020

2019 might have been one of your best years yet, or one of your worst years.

Whichever it was, we can both agree that you are reading this post and are still breathing. So, let’s consider it a GREAT YEAR! There is, however, always room to improve, and to enable yourself to be happier and more successful, and to more fully enjoy your life in the forthcoming New Year.

The New Year is an excellent time for people to set goals for themselves for the upcoming year.

Many people generally fail to fulfill their New Year’s Resolutions that they previously set, because they slacked-off in one way or another.

It is great to set goals and have goals guide you in the right direction, but the most important way to obtain positive results is having the right habits and systems set in place to make your goal much easier to achieve.

 Instead of looking so far into the future, it is better to look at what you are doing each and every day to improve yourself.

The compilation of small, meaningful, but consistent habits over time adds up to big-time results.

With any new habit that you are trying to implement, CONSISTENCY is the most important factor. If you cannot be consistent with the habit, it is not worth writing down and it is not worth focusing on.

Here are 8 things that you should be focusing on in 2020 to improve yourself and to make 2020 your best year yet.
I can promise you that, if you focus on these 8 things, and you follow through consistently, you will have one of your best years!

It would be very easy for me to list 8 ways to level up, but the most important thing is how to actually do it. I have made sure to include an action step at the end of every desired new habit.

Let’s Level Up:

1. Focus on ONE training goal every 3 months!

-In today’s day and age of digital overload, it is very easy to get caught up in many different interests that sway you to one direction or the other.
-Instead of getting caught in the digital loop. choose ONE training goal to improve yourself in the GYM, and ONE training goal to improve yourself on the FIELD.

-Change up the goal in the gym and on the field every 3 months.

Within the year, you should be able to nail 4 top priorities in the gym and 4 priorities on the field.

Action Step:

-Get out a piece of paper (or a journal) and a pen and write down your main goal that you want to achieve when training on the pitch.

-Underneath that, write your main goal that you want to achieve in the gym.

-Make the goal that you set a top priority when you are planning your gym sessions and your field sessions.
-Change up your goals every 3 months.

2. Get More High Quality Shut Eye:
-The better you sleep, the better you will feel, look and perform.
-Sleep is, by far, the most important factor in improving every aspect of your life.

-If you don’t sleep well, you won’t be able to perform at your best.

-You also will not be able to make the best decisions in day to day life.

Action Step:
-Set a goal of the time when you want to wake-up in the morning.
-Subtract the number of hours of sleep that you feel allow you to function your best (generally 8-9 hours) from when you need to wake up.

-Get into bed 30 minutes before the desired “go to sleep “time and get to sleep by your planned time every night.

-For Example: if you want to wake up at 7:30 AM, get to sleep by 10:30 PM. That is 9 solid hours of sleep!

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3. Hire a coach to help fast track your goals:
-It’s time to stop with the guesswork.
-Time to drop the ego, someone always knows more than you and is always better than you.

-Invest your money in a high-quality coach to help you reach your goals faster and in a more efficient way.

 Action Step:

-Find a coach who has already done what you want to do, and a coach who has great experience and who has been in the industry that you want to get into for many years.

-Search through Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google and ask friends for recommendations.

-For example: if I want to build my online business, I will hire a coach who has already built a successful online business and has proven to do so in a fair and just way, not some guy who is chilling on the beach on his laptop, and posting Instagram pictures of him in front of Ferraris.

4. Meditate:

-This will make all of your other goals easier to achieve and maintain.

-The benefits of meditation are endless.

-Mediation has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety and make you more focused. This will help you be a calmer, more productive and happier person.
-As little as 1 minute per day of meditation can and will improve your life. But your best bet is trying to get in at least 10 minutes per day.
-You have the time, FIND IT.

Action Step:

-Have a set time in your schedule every day where you take time to get away from everyday life and breathe and just breathe.

Personally, I meditate every morning at 9:30 AM.

-Try this while lying on the floor:

(breath flows through your nose and your diaphragm the entire time)

Inhale (Breathe in) for 4 Seconds

Hold at the top for 7 Seconds

Exhale (Breathe out) for 8 Seconds

Repeat for a total of 10 breaths.

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5. Continuing Education:
-You can always learn more.
-Invest in online classes (such as what you can find on Udemy), read books, listen to podcasts, listen to YouTube lectures (Ted Talks).
-In today’s day and age; you’ve got it all. Maximize your human potential by using what you have at your fingertips to the best of your ability.

Action Step:

-Instead of listening to music when you are in the car, on in transit, listen to a Podcast or an Audiobook that interests you.

-Set a time in your schedule and commit to 30 minutes per day of continuing education.

7. Set Goals:

 -Setting goals is a very important part of being successful and achieving what you want to achieve in the upcoming year.

Action Step:
-Start by setting long-term, outcome-based goals (what you want to achieve at the end of the week, month and year).
-Then reverse-engineer by setting daily process goals to get to your long-term goals.

For Example: if you want to lose 5 pounds within the next month (outcome goal). You could set a daily process goal of walking 10,000 steps per day and having a caloric deficit of 300 calories per day.

 Last, but not least., and, arguably, the most important one that there is!

8. Have Fun:
-I understand that you are reading this article because you want to level up, but there is no need to take life so seriously.

-As Jocko Willink says, Discipline=Freedom. When you are disciplined, and you manage your time in the right way, you will be able to have more fun, and spend more time with family and friends enjoying the true fruits of life.
-Remember, the most important part of your life is the strength of your relationships!

Action Step:

-Say “no” to things that don’t serve you, so you can do what you need to do.

-Do what you need to do, so you can do what you want to do!

As you see, the most important part of this all is being able to manage you time. Invest in a high-quality journal and/or calendar where you can plan out your days, weeks, and months. When you put something in your calendar, make sure that you have the grit and willingness to go through with it and get it done!

I look forward to 2020 being your best year yet!

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to contact me. I am always here to help!

Love You & Happy New Year!

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