5 Lessons I Learned Doing 75 Hard

75 Hard is in the books. And what a journey its been. I can’t even begin to explain all that I learned about myself throughout the process.

But as I was coming into the last week, I tried to get really thoughtful about the core lessons I learned. And I wanted to share those lessons with you.

The Lessons

1. “All Your Excuses Are Lies”

Seriously, Jocko was right. I mean, I knew he was right but now I believe it with every fiber of my being. All the times I told myself that I didn’t have enough time or was too tired or too sore or not feeling it. All lies. Every one of them.

This challenge doesn’t care how much time or motivation you have. You either do the work or you don’t. You either own the day or you don’t. And if you don’t, you fail and have to start over. Its that simple. And guess what, that’s life. You either own your life or you fail. I’m at the point now where I can catch myself making the excuse and I can hear Jocko’s voice saying. “Lies.” So the lesson is, cut the bullshit and get to work.

2. “Your Why Has To Be Bigger Than Your Excuses”

This has been my mantra for the past year. But man, I had to remind myself so many times about why I was doing this. When you’re on day 22, exhausted, and that alarm goes off at 0400 – all you want to do is sleep. When you’re the only soul out walking or running at 0430 and you start to question why in the fuck am I doing this. That’s when the why matters the most. That’s when the why has to be so compelling that it drowns out the voice that says, “You’re already doing more than most. You don’t need to do this.” Make the why so big that it shuts that inner voice right the fuck up.

3. “Your Only Limit Is You”

Its true. All of it. Its not your family. Its not your circumstances. Its not your education. Its not your past. Its all you. Every negative thought. Every time you think you can’t do something. Every time you think someone or something is holding you back. Those are all excuses and therefore all lies. Its only you. You are holding you back.

So stop. Seriously, just stop. Do you want to do something but don’t know how? Learn how. Do you want to get in shape but not sure how to start? Step into the fucking gym or start walking. Do something! Because doing nothing is a choice. And its your choices that are limiting you. So make better choices and unshackle yourself from your own limits.

4. “You Have More Time Than You Think”

If you think you don’t have enough time, then I would like to refer you back to numbers 1,2, and 3. If something is important, you’ll make the time. But here’s the other part about time that I don’t think gets discussed enough. Your time is literally the most valuable resource you own.

Yes, believe it or not, you own your time. Learn to be extremely selfish with your time. If you are spending time on something or someone that isn’t helping you reach your broader goals or aspirations, stop wasting your time on it or them. Once you can get there, and narrow down what is truly important to you, you’ll find that you’ll have more time than you think. So get brutally honest with yourself and own your time.

5. “Don’t Let The Judgement of Others Stop You”

This is still one of my biggest struggles. You get those crazy looks when you try to explain what 75 Hard is to people but they don’t really understand why you are doing it. Or you get judged for leaving that party early because you aren’t feeling it and would rather rest and plan tomorrow’s schedule. And when it comes from those closet to you, it can cause you to question everything you are doing and amplifies that negative voice in your head.

But here’s the thing, you don’t owe an explanation to anyone. And if you choose to explain because someone is close to you and they don’t understand, that’s ok. At the end of the day, you need to do you. And as long are you are good with your intent and know that you are working on becoming on the best version of yourself, then the judgement of others doesn’t matter.

If you can look in the mirror and judge yourself worthy, then that’s all the judgement you need. So keep going and remember why are you doing this in the first place.

75 Hard Is Not For Everyone

Anyone can do this program but its not for everyone. It is one of the hardest things you will likely do in your life. The level of drive and discipline to get this done isn’t a commitment that people normally want to make. But, if you’ve read this far, you aren’t normal. You’re looking for something more and to be better today than yesterday. So get to work and get after it. You only got one shot at this thing called life. Make it count. And earn it.

If you want to learn more about the 75 Hard challenge, be sure to listen to this podcast by Andy Frisella.