INSTEAD OF DOING MORE, HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED DOING LESS?

I know it sounds bizarre, but I’m actually being serious.

Doing less is so much freaking better. I don’t mean that you should do nothing (unless that fills your cup up and your bills are still being paid and you’re mentally and physically still existing in a world where you understand up from down), but I do think that there is something to be said about doing less, instead of more.

For years (and years and years) we’ve been running on empty, chasing the hampster around the wheel going forty miles an hour with no real idea of why we’re doing the things we’re doing. We’ve been conditioned that more is better - whether from work, toys, appliances, friends, credit cards, procedures, fancy lunch boxes for our kids, or shoes. We’ve been told we can go and get whatever we want, and we can have it all - and then some.

We have been conditioned that working forty hours a week is doable, but fifty might get us closer to our goals. We’ve been conditioned to believe that unless we have a side-hustle, we’re not going to really be able to buy the house, have the kids, do things we want - like travel the world, have a fridge full of food we actually feel like eating, purchase eco-friendly everything and take vacations with our friends and family to places that everyone on Instagram is going to (to name a few). We’ve been told that newer is always better. We’ve been given the tools to, quite literally, ask for something and have it show up on our doorstep in under ten minutes! If we want to be the best (which apparently we should) we’re going to have to put in the most amount of effort!

I’m sorry, but, can we slow down? Is anyone actually realllllly benefiting from this chaos?

If you’re like me and you’re wondering if it is possible to simply want to be good at something, instead of the best at something - I’m here to let you in on a secret - it is. You don’t have to be the best. You don’t have to be first. You don’t have to be so stinkin’ busy that you’re eyeballs feel like they’re going to fall out at night. You don’t have to try so bloody hard all the time. 

Sometimes, more often than not, it is okay to simply just exist at a slower pace. 

Sometimes, more often than not, it is okay to have accomplished one or two big things off your to-do list instead of running yourself into the ground trying to accomplish everything.

Sometimes, more often than not, it is okay to have less, because guess what - less is more! I would rather have three pairs of shoes that are so comfortable I couldn’t imagine not wearing them than having twenty pairs of shoes that hurt my feet every time I wear them. 

Sometimes, more often than not, choosing to enjoy your weekends instead of cramming more work in for whatever reason you think is worth it, will give you more enjoyment and satisfaction in your life. 

Sometimes, more often than not, a handful of quick sweaty workouts during the week is going to be more beneficial than putting the pedal to the medal at the gym seven days a week.

Sometimes, more often than not, it's okay if your counter is messy and your dirty dishes are still in the sink.

Sometimes, more often than not, participating for the simple act of participating is enough to fill your cup - you don’t always have to come first, or get the most praise from anyone who is watching.

Sometimes, more often than not, the bigger and better and newer the thing is, the less likely it's going to really truly make you feel all that great for a good chunk of time.

Sometimes, more often than not, choosing a cheeseburger, bag of chips, or two slices of cake is going to make you so much happier than a couple of carrot sticks and a diet beverage that has a million ingredients you can’t pronounce (that you bought only because all the cool kids are drinking it not because you actually like it).

Sometimes, more often than not, having abs doesn’t result in happiness.

Sometimes, more often than not, doing less does, in fact, give you more.

Right now, in our Facebook Group Be The Fire Fitness Fam, we have just launched a week-long Mental Health Challenge that sort of, let's be honest, revolves around this very idea. Instead of trying to accomplish everything at once and thinking that the only way to succeed at anything is by doing more, we’re encouraging our community to slow it down a bit. Pick one thing a day that you want to accomplish, and then feel proud of yourself for accomplishing it. Instead of constantly wishing that you could be different than you are, we’re asking that you take note of things about yourself in the moment, that you do like. 

So often we get asked what the easiest and quickest way to get in shape is and the truth of the matter is this - there is no easy way, and there sure as heck is no quick way. Your health is something that, if it is important to you, you will need to work on it over time. Slowly, bit by bit, you can start to make some adjustments to your exercise and nutrition habits, and slowly, bit by bit, you’ll start to see (and feel) the results you’re looking for. If we were to tell you to adopt certain habits and push you outside of your limits too much, too soon - the result may be admirable, but it won’t be long-term - and when it comes to our health, we believe in long-term. We don’t want you to be only sold on losing twenty pounds and having abs - we want you to be sold on the idea of living a great life with a body that you love and trust. We want you to desire to live in a body that takes you places and does incredible things for you - a body that you feel great in and a body that you’re proud to call your own. These results happen when you put in small, consistent effort over time. These results also happen when you allow yourself to go slow, trust the process and trust yourself. These results happen when being first isn’t the only thing that's important. These results come when, we believe, you slow down (take deep breaths) and love yourself through the process.

Our Mental Health Challenge (which you can check out HERE) is something we hope will set participants off on the right foot, for the next few months of their life. The things we are encouraging participants to do are things that we truly believe can be carried on long after the challenge is over. The tasks are simple and they include but are obviously not limited to prioritizing movement, practicing gratitude, accomplishing one task per day, and getting out of our comfort zones.

Because - sometimes, more often than not, we’re all more capable than we give ourselves credit for, and often we don’t need to change everything in order to feel better about our situations. Small tweaks, here and there, can be the secret to our success - knowing that success is different for every single one of us and that we are the only people that get to decide what success means for us. 

Personally, for my wife and I, we find that the more we slow down and really enjoy the simple things in life - getting enough sleep, a nutritious meal, laughter with friends, time outside, reading books, and experiencing new things - the more we truly are at peace with who we are and what we’re doing on this earth. All too often I find myself getting caught up in what's next that I forget to enjoy what is right now. It’s consuming to think about all the things I haven’t done and forget to be proud of the things I have. But when I sit and actually write out what I’m proud of myself for on any given day, I realize that I am doing a lot and have a lot to be proud of - but if I don't make time for that practice, I often end my days feeling like I’ve let everyone down and that I haven't accomplished anything.

Slowing down has been the greatest practice of my life, I think anyway, and the more and more I talk to people, I find that they too have been learning the exact same thing. Sure, there is still a rush of getting a million things done and being first - don’t get me wrong - I just have way more appreciation for the slow, meaningful things that often get overlooked.

One thing that has helped me a lot in the last few years is having a Daily-To-Do-List. No, I have not done this every day for the last few years - that would be too perfect. I have, however, and I will admit this to you, felt happier and more accomplished on the days and weeks that I remember to do it. My Daily-To-Do-List isn’t dramatic or lengthy or really filled with anything overly spicy. It's basic, and with absolutely no shame, I’ll tell you that there are on any given day things on my to-do-list that I should be doing anyways (for example, I always write ‘have coffee’, ‘brush teeth’, ‘get ready’, ‘read my book’, ‘go for a walk’ even though I pretty much always do those things). I often sometimes go back to my to-do list and write down things I’ve already done just so I can cross them off!

The realization at the end of the day that I have, in fact, accomplished things is something that realllllllly (like, really really) lights me up. It doesn't matter to me at all what the task was, all that matters is that I end my day thinking that I’m amazing and that I accomplished most of the things on my to-do list. On the contrary, if I just go about my day and do all the things that I normally do but I don't have a to-do list, I don't feel as great about myself as I do when I have my Daily-To-Do-List covered with BIG checkmarks at the end of the day (even though I’ve done pretty much all the same things that make up the majority of my list).

My wife, on the other hand, would NEVER put something on her Daily-To-Do-List that shes’ already done - but guess what? We’re not the same people. We’re allowed to be different. Our brains are wired completely differently and that’s totally okay. I would never have so many things on my list and just carry today’s leftovers to tomorrow like she does - because that would make me feel like I dind’t do enough - but for her, it allows her to look forward and to see what’s coming.

However, we both thrive on having a Daily-To-Do-List because it encourages us to slow down, choose the things that are personally important to us, and really focus on those things. If today there are ten things on our list? GREAT. Tomorrow might only have seven, and that's awesome. Yesterday may have been busy and I maybe chose fifteen things to do (or maybe instead of writing clean the house as one task, I chose to write clean bathroom, do dishes, finish laundry, vacuum, and mop so at the end of the day I felt like a damn queen). 

Anyways, I don’t have much else to say on this point other than the fact that sometimes, as I said before, less is more. 

Doing less, having less, or needing less. 

There is so much beauty in going slow, loving what you have, and trusting the process. 

My advice to you is to find joy in the little things and know that even if you don’t do everything perfectly, you are still perfect because you are you, and that is all that you can do perfectly anyway.

My advice to you is to also head over to our Facebook Group Be The Fire Fitness Fam and join in on our seven-day Mental Health Challenge that is happening RIGHT NOW. There are a ton of prizes up for grabs, but in all honesty, I think you’ll get a lot out of simply participating - the prizes are just a great incentive.

See you there!