It’s New Years Eve of 2020, and what a hell of a year it has been. This got me thinking about where I was this time last year, and where I want to be this time next year.

This time last year I had just gotten out of yet another overnight jail stay for yet another drunken rage fight at the bar. I was drunk, depressed, but not nearly as depressed as I had been previously in the year. I felt like I was finally moving forward after several years of self wallowing in my own sad state, after a nasty divorce.

Early 2020 looked promising, I started dating again, but did not actually do anything to improve my situation. I didn’t slow my alcohol consumption or make any career advancements. I had a lot of sex with a lot of different women, which curbed the lonliness and made me feel confident again, but it didn’t actually fix the problem.

In late summer, I stopped dating again. I had to move from my house to a small apartment with my children for financial reasons. The covid lockdowns kept me isolated, but I decided it was time to take advantage of that. I slowed, not stopped, but slowed my alcohol consumption and started really thinking about why things were still going sideways.

Now is the time to take back control.

I’ve decided to write down, explicitily hold myself accountable for all of my actions. Lay out an action plan of where I want to be and how I get there. The last month I’ve been journaling daily, every morning as soon as I wake. And what I discovered is simple…

The real problem I have is a lack of discipline and mental toughness

I find it easy to get myself pumped up to live my best, but those plans get abandoned as soon as something happens. I’m tired, so I relax and have “a cocktail” telling myself I’ll get back to work after, and don’t.

I buy a book I really want to read, and don’t find the time to get past the first 10 pages.

I let myself slide on diet, because it’s easy.

So I started researching…

I’m not the first, and I won’t be the last to face these problems. And the problem very much is a lack of mental toughness. A lack of self accountability and discipline. I know what needs done, and I need to do it.

I found a number of programs that I find intriquing. 75 Hard and 30 days of Discipline to name a couple. Both have the same goal…do hard things to build mental toughness. And while I find these great, there’s a few things I’d like to add.

90 Days of Transformation

Over the next 90 days, I’ll be taking lessons from participating in both these programs to varying degrees to set what I feel are the best of both.

1. Follow a diet – This means no cheat meals or cheat days. Measure and track everything you eat or drink and become aware of your consumption.
2. No alcohol.
3. Drink 1 gallon of water daily.
4. 1 hour minimum workout daily.
5. Journal everyday. Write everything down and hold yourself accountable.
6. Work on your grind. Minimum 1 hour a day working towards a professional goal, either your own business of some type or career advancement.
7. No pornagraphy or masterbation.
8. Sleep and rise at the same time everyday, including weekends.

These are the 8 habits I want to cultivate in my life. After 90 days I will review not only progress, but what the next 90 will look like. These goals might be different for you, but for me these are the 8 goals I have for myself moving into 2021.

If you don’t know where you are going, there’s no way to get there. 2021 is going to be difficult in a lot of ways, and if 2020 taught me anything is that the time to cultivate mental toughness is now, because when you really need it, it’s already too late to use it.