Fit for Life: My Battle with “E-D”

Fit for Life: My Battle with “E-D”

For years, I have been dealing with “E- D,” and from what I see and read, it’s a common issue amongst men.

As a matter of fact, if you are reading this article E-D has affected you in some way, shape or form.

If you are a man, and you have, or are experiencing it, you know it can be mentally stressful.

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If you are a woman, it may directly, or indirectly affect you in different ways.

I have had help overcoming my E-D on different levels.

I have gone to therapy, attended workshops, and even gone through a 75-hour evolution called The Project.

Through The Project, I had 5 Alpha men beating me, and 12 other men down, physically, mentally, and emotionally for 3 entire days to help build us back up and become stronger in all aspects of our everyday lives.

Being around these men is what has helped me really focus in on my ED.

My girlfriend has tried to help, only to become frustrated.

I have tried reading books, magazines, and using various methods on the internet to no avail.

In one evolution during The Project, the instructor, a former Marine focused on the one thing we all need to develop and keep developing our entire lives… Emotional Discipline or ED. (What were you thinking?)

And that’s where I made my breakthrough.

 

Yes, ED aka Emotional Discipline will either make you or break you on many levels in life, and there are 3 categories or zones that we can use to break it down.

We have the green, red, and blue zones, and I will explain each one with a few details, so you can determine where you are, and bring yourself back to the middle.

The green zone is the middle and where you want to be most of the time.

It’s when you are levelheaded, and things are rolling along without adversity, setbacks, or obstacles blocking your path. It’s where we can focus, think rationally and be the most productive.

Everything and everyone around you is firing on all cylinders and life is good.

This is because you are structured, and have things planned out. You aren’t in this zone by accident.

You intently put yourself here by keeping your physical, mental, and emotional health in check. You are eating well, getting to bed on time, hitting the gym regularly, and planning your day for productivity.

You are feeling your best in this zone and are performing at your highest level of productivity. Your relationships are good, you physically feel good, and your business and finances are rolling along in the right direction.

But BEWARE, because things can change in an instant, and in all probability, you will find yourself in the red.

The red is a place where you lose control, and things will spiral downhill quickly. There are a million different things that could put you in the red, and have you act out irrationally in a millisecond.

 

A breakup/fight with your spouse, gossip on social media, a lost deal, a traffic incident are all things that will cause you to go from green to red in an instant.

These are the things that add stress and anxiety to our lives and cause us to act irrationally.

If someone says something negative about you on social media, you first instinct is to lash out.

You angrily type in ALL CAPS then finish the sentence with a lot of !!!

Or someone cuts in front of you on the road, and you tailgate them, just to teach them a lesson. These are things that will put you in the red, and by acting out, you will probably make things worse before you solve anything.

Everyday stress can put us in the red also.

I was talking to a member in my gym this week and telling her how great she looked. She said she lost 13lbs. because she was stressed about taking her nursing boards and wasn’t eating properly.

This is an example of everyday occurrences that will put us all in the red, if we are not prepared to deal with it.

The good news is I have a solution that has worked for me, and I learned it from my Navy Seal buddy.

I was telling the girl at the gym to start thinking about her nursing boards on 3 levels.

Best, worst, and average case scenarios.

 

Best case, she studies hard (which I know she will) and aces the test.

Average, she gets distracted, doesn’t study enough, and barely passes, then the worst case is that she fails and has to retake the boards.

That’s it, she lives to fight another day, the world won’t explode, and she knows what to do the next time. It’s not a great outcome, and no one wants to fail, but the worst case isn’t fatal.

I use this whenever I get pushed into the red. When covid hit, I used the best, worst, and average-case thought process to keep my business running. If an employee were to leave, I do the same. Usually, the worst case is that I need to work longer hours until a concrete solution is determined.

You just hit your 20# goal at the gym. You just closed a big deal. You just had your best financial month of the year.

Now you are in the BLUE ZONE, but beware.

This zone could bring you to the level of complacency, and COMPLACENCY KILLS!!.

What I mean by this, is when we get a few wins under our belts, we tend to fall back and ride the wave too long. When that happens, we get out of our rhythm, lose momentum, and bad shit starts to happen. Things roll downhill faster than you think. When we get complacent while we are on top of our game, there is only one way to go.

 

That’s why it’s important to stay consistent and avoid complacency.

 

We all know the person that lost 20# then stops working out. What happens?

Or the person that has a good year, buys a fancy car, and the next year they are selling it.

Why is that? Complacency, and taking too many victory laps, or eating too many cheat meals.

Basically, letting off the accelerator.

When you have self-awareness and exercise your Emotional Discipline, you won’t let yourself stay in the blue and red zones for too long. You know better and work yourself back to the green zone.

I have been getting better with this over the years and have worked hard to keep myself in the green. We sold 70 challengers for September, but I told my team we need to keep the needle moving forward and keep driving leads in the building because when the holidays come, things slow down.

It is in all our best interests to keep working on improving and getting better on all levels of our life.

When you get in the red, use the best, worst, and average-case scenario self-talk. When you are in the blue, do a quick victory lap, pat yourself on the back, give a quick atta boy, and get back to doing what got you there.

 

Get back in the GREEN!!

 

Committed to your success,

Coach Matt