- The Movement Memo
- Posts
- The Pursuit of Less But Better:
read on: themovementmemo.com
read time: 4 minutes
Welcome to The Movement Memo, a bi-weekly newsletter where I share actionable tips to help you live your best day ever, every day.
Today's Programming
Movement: Friday Morning Conditioning
Quote: Overby on who you become
Lesson: The Pursuit Of Less But Better
Optimization: A Pre-Bed Routine
Today's Movement
Compete for 4 rounds for time:
500-meter row
10 cleans
100 double-unders
Leadville 100 MTB Prep
Today's Quote
“What kind of person do you want to be when you are old? No one will answer that they want to be half aware, lost in thought, and missing life, but the things you practice doing with your attention now, will be what you are then.”
I was on a call with an entrepreneur last week and he asked me a question that stopped me dead in my tracks:
“What kind of 50-year-old and 60-year-old do you want to be? Your actions today dictate who you become, and for the first time in the history of humanity we have the power to decide.”
This line hit me hard.
That phrase kept running through my head during my afternoon mountain bike training session.
• What are the “bucket list” items that I still want to accomplish?
• What are the areas where I want to continue to improve?
Today's Lesson Learned
In his best-selling book, Essentialism, Greg McKeown proposes a novel framework that emphasizes the idea that high achievers are better off following a disciplined pursuit of less.
He calls this doing “less but better”, a reference to narrowing focus and only spending your time on tasks that will create significant change in your life, health, or business.
He talks about how the skill sets entrepreneurs need to learn to take their idea from vision and bring it into this world is as simple as saying no.
Oftentimes the pursuit of “success” is the catalyst for failure.
Over the past 20 years, there has been an exponential increase in the number of choices people make every single day. People are now able to manage themselves. People are now forced to manage themselves.
The premise of the first part of the book is based on the idea of how can you create a filter for what is important and what is not.
For me, this comes back to the question I was asked on the call last week.
What sort of person do I want to become in 10 or 20 years?
My actions today dictate who I become, and how can I use my future self as a razor to make myself better today.
A simple psychological principle is that humans are much better at giving advice to others than we are at following advice ourselves.
In order to get around this, I leverage a simple reframe and ask myself:
“WWFED? What would Future Eric Do?”
This allows me to get out of my own head, and ask questions to the person best suited to advise me. (Future me!)
No one understands your wants, fears, and desires better than you.
The hard part is being disciplined enough to be honest with yourself.
(But I’ve found asking my “future self” for advice creates a layer of separation that makes it easier to gain perspective.)
Next time you have to make a big decision, give this a try!
Today's Optimization
Sleep is the single most important protocol in my recovery and I have used Beam every night for years. I control everything about my pre-bed routine, from when I stop looking at screens to what time I take Beam. The importance of the routine is almost as important as the product; the action of the making and dreaming beam signals to my body that it is time to get ready for bed.
Since taking Beam my sleep schedule has become way more consistent, from what time I am able to fall asleep, to consistently waking up at 6:30 am every day. I sleep through the night, every night, and wake up feeling energized, ready to train. Today Beam is offering Movement Memo subscribers a deal: 35% off your first order when you subscribe and then 20% off all following orders! Plus, when you subscribe, you will receive a FREE frother with your first order! Use code “EHINMAN” at checkout.
Know friends, training partners, or co-workers who would take value from weekly tips on a healthier lifestyle, enhanced accountability, and improved routines? Thanks for sharing!
WAS THIS FORWARDED TO YOU? Sign up here!
QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS? Reply to this email!
Publisher: Eric Hinman
Editor-in-chief: Bobby Ryan