WEBVTT 00:00:01.290 --> 00:00:03.390 Hello, my name is Austin Shadle, and welcome 00:00:03.390 --> 00:00:05.710 back to the Life Endurance Podcast, where we 00:00:05.710 --> 00:00:07.889 explore methods of unlocking your true potential 00:00:07.889 --> 00:00:10.330 in the greatest endurance race we all partake 00:00:10.330 --> 00:00:13.769 in, life. You will be amazed what you can achieve 00:00:13.769 --> 00:00:16.890 when you have no other option. How creating a 00:00:16.890 --> 00:00:19.589 situation where you have no other option, by 00:00:19.589 --> 00:00:22.769 choice, can be used to force the most out of 00:00:22.769 --> 00:00:25.730 us. I was listening to a podcast, and the story 00:00:25.730 --> 00:00:28.010 of how the author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame 00:00:28.010 --> 00:00:30.989 was struggling to finish their novel. As the 00:00:30.989 --> 00:00:33.530 deadline to finish was quickly approaching, he 00:00:33.530 --> 00:00:36.310 took the most drastic measures possible to force 00:00:36.310 --> 00:00:39.229 him to finish. He locked himself in a cold room 00:00:39.229 --> 00:00:41.770 with a desk and a single blanket so he could 00:00:41.770 --> 00:00:44.689 not be completely comfortable. He had an assistant 00:00:44.689 --> 00:00:47.649 transfer food and supplies under the door. He 00:00:47.649 --> 00:00:49.969 made it so there was nothing to do except work 00:00:49.969 --> 00:00:53.570 on his book. Per usual, the example I bring up 00:00:53.570 --> 00:00:56.909 is extreme, and even David Goggins tells us to 00:00:56.909 --> 00:00:59.679 do as he says and not as he does. because going 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:02.359 to extremes all the time is rarely the best path. 00:01:02.539 --> 00:01:05.239 But that doesn't mean we can't learn from others' 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:08.519 extremes. Alex Hormozy is a more modern example 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:11.459 of this. When he needs to do deep focused work, 00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:13.980 he sets a timer and spends that entire amount 00:01:13.980 --> 00:01:17.299 of time alone in a dark room with earplugs and 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:20.019 only his computer with the specific task on the 00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:22.870 screen. And an example of the result of this 00:01:22.870 --> 00:01:25.890 is that in four years, Alex wrote three books, 00:01:26.010 --> 00:01:29.250 sold tens of millions of copies, even breaking 00:01:29.250 --> 00:01:32.870 a world record for book launch sales. So we look 00:01:32.870 --> 00:01:35.750 at stories of when people have no other option 00:01:35.750 --> 00:01:38.650 or create environments that provide no other 00:01:38.650 --> 00:01:42.090 options. We see the amazing things they overcome, 00:01:42.390 --> 00:01:45.609 the exceptional innovations they create in technology, 00:01:45.829 --> 00:01:48.810 the situations they've saved themselves from. 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:52.239 What's the common denominator? They only have 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:55.519 two options. Take action on the necessary task 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:58.739 or take no action at all. In these situations, 00:01:58.900 --> 00:02:01.680 the only way to procrastinate is to literally 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:04.799 do nothing at all. And in that situation, I think 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.640 most of us would choose the single option over 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:10.580 no action at all. By removing our options, we 00:02:10.580 --> 00:02:13.759 make it nearly impossible to procrastinate. A 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:16.259 big part of procrastination is struggling to 00:02:16.259 --> 00:02:19.310 start. But again, when we only have a single 00:02:19.310 --> 00:02:23.050 option, it becomes so much easier to start. And 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:25.530 we will find that once we start and build just 00:02:25.530 --> 00:02:28.330 a little bit of momentum, that's when our motivations 00:02:28.330 --> 00:02:32.050 truly surface. You remember and feel why you're 00:02:32.050 --> 00:02:34.969 doing the work. That emotion and drive you thought 00:02:34.969 --> 00:02:37.770 was lost while you were procrastinating. And 00:02:37.770 --> 00:02:40.590 this allows us to build even more momentum and 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:43.870 deep work capability. I did this throughout the 00:02:43.870 --> 00:02:46.830 entirety of my time in college. Engineering school 00:02:46.830 --> 00:02:50.009 was extremely difficult. There was hours and 00:02:50.009 --> 00:02:52.750 hours and hours of deep work required to pass. 00:02:53.050 --> 00:02:55.770 Part of why I succeeded is that I rarely did 00:02:55.770 --> 00:02:58.250 homework or studied in my dorm room or apartment. 00:02:58.550 --> 00:03:01.729 I almost exclusively did my work in the library, 00:03:02.069 --> 00:03:05.229 classrooms, anywhere that the only thing I could 00:03:05.229 --> 00:03:07.830 do is work. If I didn't want to have a lot of 00:03:07.830 --> 00:03:10.289 people around, I would spend hours in the back 00:03:10.289 --> 00:03:12.710 rooms of the library. Where there were rows and 00:03:12.710 --> 00:03:15.909 rows of old books, it was always hot, but it 00:03:15.909 --> 00:03:19.430 was quiet. It left me no other options. I'll 00:03:19.430 --> 00:03:21.969 admit, these days I struggle to recreate that. 00:03:22.210 --> 00:03:24.289 So I'll leave today's life endurance takeaway 00:03:24.289 --> 00:03:27.389 as a reminder to myself as much as advice to 00:03:27.389 --> 00:03:30.370 anyone listening. If you're struggling with procrastination 00:03:30.370 --> 00:03:33.870 or focus, try going to the extreme. Create an 00:03:33.870 --> 00:03:37.449 environment that removes choice. Identify your 00:03:37.449 --> 00:03:40.370 most important task and allow nothing else in 00:03:40.370 --> 00:03:43.539 front of you. Remove comfort to a level that 00:03:43.539 --> 00:03:46.439 forces you to want to take action so you can 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:49.340 return to comfort and you'll probably be surprised 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:52.960 of what you can achieve. I hope today's episode 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:55.960 added some value to your own pursuits. Please 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:58.400 subscribe and take a brief moment to share if 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:00.819 you think this could help others. To learn more 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:03.360 about my background, follow me on Instagram at 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:06.159 TheEnduranceBeast. To support yourself as well 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:07.979 as the podcast, check out my affiliate links 00:04:07.979 --> 00:04:10.930 below. Thank you for listening, and as always, 00:04:11.090 --> 00:04:12.909 I look forward to sharing the next episode.