Ep.34. Raise The Standard

Ep. 34. Raise The Standard

We unpack why willpower keeps failing and how raising your standard starts by changing the environments that shape your habits. We share real stories from faith, family life, nutrition, and work to make lasting change feel practical instead of overwhelming. 
•how environment shapes habits more than motivation 
•why “back to reality” happens after big moments 
•removing options to make discipline easier at home and work 
•setting clear standards with food and daily routines 
•building accountability that does not reward excuses 
•creating purpose-driven spaces for focus at home 
•running an honest life audit to remove negatives and add positives 
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Transcript

Blame, Temptation, And The Donut Table

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You know, I I love referencing back to you know Adam and Eve in the garden. You know, everyone wants to blame Eve, right, for eating the fruit, not realizing that Adam was standing right there. And then as soon as God comes and calls him out, the first thing he did, well, she did it.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Like, I can only say no so many times until I'm saying yes. And I would take something off that table all the time. But it wouldn't be every time. It would be like it'd be in my head, like 30. That donut did look really good. In the 30th time, I have the donut. And it's essentially like if that's your problem, it's saying to everybody, hey guys, if you put it on this table, I'm throwing it away.

Welcome And Why Standards Matter

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Welcome to the Rise and Travis Podcast. I am Nick Urankar with Braxton Cave. And today we have, if you're on YouTube, you will see we've got some nice lighting setup. Um and I'm drinking, I think, my first energy drink right now. So you'll see that sitting here if you're watching on YouTube. If you are, please subscribe. Same thing with on Spotify, anyplace that you can listen to us, we'd appreciate that. And uh, if you get any value from this, please share it. Um, we have not said that at the beginning of a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

We haven't, it's been at the end. So If you didn't make it to the end, that's your first time hearing it.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Yeah, I felt like it just it was it was time. So anyway, thank you for being here with us.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yeah, so on today's episode, we're gonna talk through the idea of you know raising your standard in your life and and all the different aspects that that could, you know, could come along with that, whether it's changing your environment, you know, the books you read, the podcasts you listen to, you know, the way you set up your office at work or your home office or your gym. There's a lot of different things that you can do, and uh a lot of it just revolves around environment. And I think that's probably where we'll spend the biggest chunk of our time today, is just talking through you know, so many people feel stuck in their daily routines, and a lot of times the breakthrough happens when there's just a shift in environment.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

Yeah, so even like a move, it could be in on top of that too, it's the people. So your environment is the people that are inside that environment or around you. Um, which is where I think if you're in a work workspace or workplace, you're obviously probably become friends with some of them, even though they might not be your people, they might not be somebody you enjoy, but you'll realize you take characteristics away from who those people are. Uh, and I think when you're trying to raise your standard, it's more of being the example and being the person that's setting where we're going over the person who's following, hoping that somebody else is going to take you someplace.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Yeah, it's funny that we landed on this this episode or this topic because just this morning after we went uh for a run, I recorded a video talking about our experience or my personal experience from the Brandon Lake concert we went to, and how

Environment Shifts Through Faith And Worship

SPEAKER_01 3:27

my whole message in that was how you know we get in these routines. So I'm I'm gonna speak specifically on me here of like in my faith routine of you know doing a daily devotional, going to church, or you know, being in my truck listening to worship music, going to that concert and changing my environment of where I worship, I I've been sending text messages in my family's group text, like I can't explain it any other way than life-changing. Because I feel like it just opened up so many different doors that within my heart were shut. And you know, so and worship's always a big deal to me. Like music and worship is really how I connect in my faith. And so being in an environment with 15,000 other people worshiping, singing, and you know, Brandon was on stage and basically he talked about raising the standard as men. He was specify he was speaking specifically to men of like raising the standard of how you lead your family in faith, and showing the example of that. And I was just like, it just it rocked me. It it hit me different than any other environment that I had been in prior. So I think it was a great example.

Why Vacation You Disappears At Home

SPEAKER_00 4:48

I I think that's an awesome example, and then the hard part comes with you don't get to be you don't get to live in that environment. Right. And then in a week, two weeks, three weeks, what happens? You fall back into old patterns, your heart starts to close. And that and I'm not saying that that's what's gonna happen, but I know for myself, um you can right, you go on a family vacation and everybody's different. You're connected, you're it's amazing, and then you come home, and the minute you walk in the door, the exact all of your personalities inside your home come back, and you're like, wait, what I mean, and we joke in my house that my wife has a vacation, Chelsea. And yeah, so we we remove ourselves from these amazing places or environments, and and all of a sudden we fall back into these habits. And I think there's a good um I think what they said in like Vietnam, a lot of people when they went to Vietnam, they got into drugs, like a high volume like cocaine and but then when they came back, they did not struggle to get off of it. Because the environment that they were in there was way different than back home. They'd never done it. And they come home and they didn't have to go through therapy, they just stopped doing it because that environment did not condone it.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

It's you know the number one quote I think of anytime anyone goes on vacation or they have time off from work or whatever, what's the number one thing they say? Back to reality.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

And it's like, man, why does reality have to be different than you know, this what we truly want? You know, it's so often, you know, people talk about, you know, I want to I want to build a life that I don't have to take a vacation from. Yep. But yet we're not actively doing the things we need to do to create that vacation environment.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

So is there anything that you've changed to this point coming back from? Because it was on I think Thursday night we went to the concert. There was a bunch of us. Um Brand Lake concert, awesome. Recommend going if you get an opportunity. Uh, but is there anything that you've thought about? Because I think we fall into that, right? We come back, we're on fire, we're excited, and this can be in multiple different ways, and we're like, wow, I'm gonna start doing this. Is there anything that you've started doing? And if so, have you changed your environment to make it easier to do it?

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Well, I think one of the things when it comes to specifically just like music in general, like I I listen to all different types of music, um, but just being more intentional, like especially drive in this morning, and I I took Copeland to he had baseball evaluations and you know, just listening. Normally I throw on some country or some hip hop and maybe you never know. You don't know. Um but just being more intentional, and we you know, we were listening to worship music, and and worship music is so different now than it used to be, right? Like you got Brandon Lakes and Forrest Franks and these guys where you can you can play what sounds like you know the hip hop style of music, more upbeat music, um, but where the lyrics are uplifting versus I remember when I was growing up and I started to want to get into my faith when I was in my teens and stuff, we'd go to like acquire the fire and these and they would tell you like burn your CDs, get rid of like I remember I was like, Oh, I paid for them myself.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Like, do I really have to? And I think even at the concert, he was like, We're living in a like it's different. It's not, hey, you have to be perfect, you have to do like music isn't what it was. Like the he I think he said it, Jesus when he was 20 is different now. Like the Jesus that he knows now, yeah. He's like, before it was like, be scared of him, like, okay, you know, burn to do these things, and now he's like, now I'm like I'm friends with him.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Yeah, yeah. I mean he plugged the the new song he's him and uh Laney Wilson wrote together. Yeah, that's all about that. So I think that this quote really, you know, sticks too because you know, so many people look at it as like I lack discipline.

Discipline Gets Easier When Options Leave

SPEAKER_01 9:06

I just can't change because I lack discipline. This is a me thing, but really this quote says most people don't lack discipline, they're just living in environments that make discipline harder than it needs to be. This one to me speaks volumes to when it comes to like nutrition. Like, you know, so people will have like a nutrition plan and a meal plan and they do great, but yet they still have Oreos in the cabinet or you know, things that they know they shouldn't be eating. It's like if you set yourself up for success and don't have the option of those, like how much easier it doesn't take discipline, it takes it there's no option.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

And now, Mad, so like I love that because I think this all the time in in our house. If somebody randomly walked over and they opened up our fridge, what would they say? If they open up our pantry, what would they say? Like, am I living the life that I say that I am? Or if that happened on a random day, what would they say? So for somebody who wants to change like their nutrition, tell a friend, hey, I don't want to eat like this, blah, blah, blah, and I'm gonna send you a picture of my fridge in my pantry every single day because that's the proof. That's your environment. So if you're somebody who's like, well, I can't just like get a new fridge, can't just like get a new pantry, okay, set up a way that you let the world know, tell somebody what you want your life to become, and then say, I'm gonna show you. Because if we don't if if you say to somebody, oh, I want to eat well, but you know that like what's the number one excuse for somebody with kids? Well, but my kids, but my kids need no, they don't. Your kids only know it because you brought it in the house. Right. Like, they're not gonna go hungry.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Yeah. Natalie and I actually went through this probably a couple years ago, where we always had like some you know, treats, right? Snacks for the kids in the pantry, and and it got to the point where like that's that's all they ever wanted. And so it was like nope, no pantry snacks. And and so we finally got to a point where like we get to choose what's in the pantry. So yeah, we still our kids still have snacks, like they're still normal kids, but like it's the better alternative. So it's like, hey, I want a snack, correct? Go for it. Like what whatever is in there isn't bad for you, so like go nuts.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

That's part of it, is you can you know, in a way to start something like this, I think changing your environment, it's a lot easier to do it where you kind of say, if we're talking on the nutrition side, all right, we are no longer bringing these things into our house. And you remove them immediately. You don't say, well, when they're gone, we're not rebuying them. You remove them immediately and you state, this is how we are now. And you bring in the new stuff, whether it's you move it, right? Move things in different things into different places. But I think so many times we say, Oh, well, I'm no longer gonna go out and buy these this food at the store, or at like, I'm not gonna go to Taco Bell, I'm not gonna go to McDonald's, I'm not gonna go and eat out, I'm gonna but yet you walk into your house and you open the fridge and it's the same crap. You go in the and you're just like, Well, I'm just not gonna eat it. Yes, you are. I'm gonna eat it too. I think a great example that I would always use is when I was first married, um, I was working a regular job, and if you work in court, I'm probably sure you guys and people listening, if you're working in an office with a lot of people, there's probably candy, and somebody's probably bringing in cookies or donuts or some some snack that most likely they had too much of at their house, and they're just like, oh, we don't want to eat it at home. And I would there would be a table at work that you would walk in and out, and you'd have to go through the main area, and there was a table, and it was always full of stuff. And then I'd always get the argument, you know, like, oh, you just need more willpower, you need more willpower. And I'm like, I got tons of willpower, but on the 30th trip, like I can only say no so many times until I'm saying yes, and I would take something off that table all the time. But it wouldn't be every time. It would be like it'd be in my head, like, oh gosh, like there that donut did look really good. In the 30th time, I have the donut. And it's essentially like if that's your problem, it's saying to everybody, hey guys, if you put it on this table, I'm throwing it away. It's not asking, can we not do this? It's saying that. Because here's the thing you don't have to live in an environment that you don't believe in. That's raising the standard. And if somebody's like, well, don't throw it away, I'm bringing it in. No, I'm throwing it away. I'm setting a standard that this is something like I'm not willing to walk by and eat. I didn't do that. But now knowing who I am, I would do that. If you want to bring it in, cool, bring it in. You set it on this table where I can see it and I'm throwing it away. Put it in your locker. Keep it in your car. Like hand it out one by one to people who want it. Do not set it here. Like, and and I would rather somebody be mad at me for telling you how I'm going to be. This is my expectation. If you can't live in that, don't do it. Because this is what's going to happen.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Well, and I think the other thing it it it compounds because, like you said, you may walk by it 30 times and say no, 29. On that 30th time you do it, but so you're not saying yes every time, but you're saying yes every day.

unknown 14:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

And then that compounds, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:28

And that's will you only have we all have so much willpower. Like, that's I always say, like, my goal is to set my life up to where I don't have to use it. So that way when I do, I have more I'm have more strength.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Right. Yeah, I mean it's it's like the concept of you know, you're not lazy, you're just surrounded by the wrong things. And, you know, so people will think, well, then I'm I'm the problem. I don't have the discipline, just like you just went through. Um, but we all know our environment shapes our our thought process, our habits, our standards, and you know, again, quiet quietly compounding it's ultimately who you become, and then you look back and you're like, wait a second, I I didn't used to be the guy that ate cookies and brownies and these things, and but then before you know it, you are.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

And like when you're so good ex like the branded lay concert, like coming back, like obviously the way for me, like thinking about my relationship with my wife, relationship with our kids, and then talking about that aspect of like, okay, here's our environment, here's how we're living. For me now, it's like, well, if there is something where I'm like, well, it's because of the kids, and I have to do this, and it creates this willpower, right? I'm walking by and I don't want to, why not ask our families? Who are we? Who are we going to be? Who do we want the world to see us as? Because we need to be that person when we walk out of these doors and inside these doors. And how I think so many times we don't include the closest people to us in helping create that environment. So, like you said, we're not lazy, we're just surrounded. Like, truthfully, there are so many things I believe that we're trying to fix alone. And when we can bring the people who are in it with us, they'll probably speak the same truth. If you just rip something away from your kids, they're gonna get mad at you. But if you ask your kids, is this really making us a better family?

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Yeah, I mean, the the cool thing is you're at a stage where you can probably have some intentional conversation around that. Um, obviously at our kids' age, it's a little

Family Standards And Phone Boundaries

SPEAKER_01 16:46

harder. Um But then I think it's even more on Natalie and I, right? You you only get so much time to really shape and develop your kids, right? Until they they start making their own decisions. And yes, you hope that you laid a good enough foundation or that they still, you know, are close enough to you to where they'll listen to your advice and the way you live your life, but I feel like that's something right now where I'm like, I want to take full advantage of that. And you know, Abby being nine, and you know, we're I feel like every day I'm like getting closer to where she's you know, she's starting to become a I don't even want to call her a young woman yet, but you know, she's still a little girl to me, but um, you know, she's definitely wise beyond her years and she notices everything. And so I it just makes me want to be better.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

And I so it's funny you say that. My so recently, my oldest, we basically we we have limits phone stuff, and I took off basically I said, Hey, you get four hours on your phone. Now somebody might be like that's insane. Well it sounds insane to me, but that's where we've fallen, is like you get four hours, you can't go and it's your so it's your responsibility to hold yourself inside of that. Because I think at a certain age, a lot of times kids will say, Well, just tell me not to. Or even at like six, she's sixteen, tell me not to, or how like they want they want the accountability in the sense of like, don't let me fall off, whereas it's like no accountability is like if you should be able to not fall off, and then I just am walking with you. I'm not I'm not the one who's holding you the entire way. And she basically just the other yesterday I woke up this morning, so I looked at her time and it was way so I don't check it every day. It was way over four hours. And a lot of times I'll try to like talk at them because they're old enough and you're just like, this is what we do, this is how we are, right? And she was asleep and we were leaving, and I'm gonna just read you the text. And I just said, Good morning. After reviewing your phone, again you are not holding yourself accountable to your phone rules, which you promised you would. I don't believe you know how serious I am about this. You said you would do four hours and your phone would not be in your room after nine. Why is this happening? And she responded, Yes, I'm so sorry. I've been going completely over my time recently, and I am sorry I was not being responsible about it. I don't know even what happened. I just stopped checking it, which is my fault, and I will be more accountable about it again, like I was in the beginning. Now, I read that to you, and I loved it for her, but we'll obviously talk more, but I read that because I think in the stage that I am, it's about setting a standard and knowing that knowing that people are going to fall short, but ultimately raising that standard so that the m they fall short of a higher standard, if that makes sense. Like this this sh we used to have it very specific. Like now she's growing up. Like, I gotta tell her, like, there's gonna be people who are gonna ask you to do something, they're gonna give you a week, and they're gonna come back in a week. They're not gonna come to you every 12 hours, every day, they're not gonna check on you. And if you aren't holding that standard, you're gonna be there's gonna be repercussions. And I think in our own lives, we don't have somebody who comes back to us and says, Hey, this is what you said, this is what you promised. And I think that's where when we're talking about changing our environment environment, it's getting around people who can do that. It's not about, I think we want, we think people are just gonna fix us and tell us, and it's like, no, no, no, no. They're gonna be the person that when all of a sudden you're feeling that way of like being away from the concert for three weeks and realizing like, oh shoot, I'm falling short of what I had told myself. The person like hits you right when you're feeling that I'm falling down, I'm I'm messing up, and they're basically like, no, let no, you got this. Like, lift you back up, make sure that you're on the right path. And that's I feel like as a parent, it's our job to not do everything for them, but it's to set the standard and have them understand what why are we doing this? You committed to this. What can we so I'm I don't know what's gonna happen, but I just felt like sharing that.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Yeah. Well, I think it's also you we we talked about this before we started um recording today, is just you said, you know, we want people in our lives who will fix us, but it's like we want it, we want them to fix us the way we want. Yeah. And we want them to almost like, if we mess up, like passively, you know, it's okay. I mean, you could have handled it that way. Hey, you went over on your time, like it's Okay, but let's let's do better. Like that that would be the passive way of going about it. Instead, like you are very to the point of like, hey, you're not doing what you said you were gonna do. And so many times in life, I feel like we don't have those kind of people in our life. You know, especially,

Accountability Without Excuses

SPEAKER_01 22:17

you know, I can't speak on the women's side because their relationships are very different. Yeah, than the way men are, but I feel like a lot of times, you know, guys will just you know let things go. And you know, I I love referencing back to you know Adam and Eve in the garden. You know, everyone wants to blame Eve for eating the fruit, not realizing that Adam was standing right there. And then as soon as God comes and calls him out, the first thing he did, well she did it. Um so I think that's our job as men to not be passive and hold each other accountable. That's I mean, and it's not just men on men, it's in our relationships. And and I tell Natalie the same thing, like, if I'm ever doing something that's outside of like who I am or what I say I'm going to do, like I need you to call me out. I'm not perfect. Yeah, never will be. Um, so I need like those built-in barriers to keep me in line.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

Well, how so because I feel like this is a problem with myself, which has got to be a problem with other guys. We ask to be held accountable. And this could be from an employer, this could be from family, friends, and then as soon as we are, we have an excuse. How can we fix that? Because I feel like so many people get mad when you're being held to a standard that you ask to be held to.

SPEAKER_01 23:53

I feel like we've talked about that before. Like you you say, you know, ultimately it comes down to do you really want the things you say you want? Yeah. Because to me, it's like if if you are chasing something and it's truly what you want, like you should be the one leading the way. Like, yes, it's great to have the accountability there, but you shouldn't be relying upon the accountability. And I think that's a lot of times where people are like, I fell off, well, my accountability partner didn't text me.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

Or so you're saying like setting the standard over kind of like a kid, instead of being like a child with it, where you're like, okay, yeah, I promise I'll do it, but then when you're not watching, I'm gonna kind of fall off. It's like, no, like we need to lead, and I think the more we get around people who are doing that, it is about raising the standard together, it is about holding each other accountable, not be wanting to be better. Yeah. That was just something that popped into my head because then I was thinking about environments. Like, one of my biggest problems is I work at home a lot, and if I sit in a chair, it's like, oh, I'll turn the TV on in this chair. Or like, this is where I sit to be on my computer.

Home Productivity And Space With Purpose

SPEAKER_00 25:10

And I and what I'm trying to do right now is change to create new purposes for where I'm at in my house. So there's a chair where it's like this is where I this is where I do my testimonial. And then this is where I'm this like this is where I sit and I'm you know not on a device. This is where I sit and I'm and I think that that's when you're changing your environment, it might be having to move a chair out that like this is where I usually do the stuff I wish I didn't do. Because I think when you're trying to become better and change your environment to raise your standard, you have to have a you have to have the reason for the change before you make it, if that makes sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

Yeah, I think one one of the things that just kind of popped in my head that I you know the one of the things that I struggle with the most is I battle, like I say I want to do this thing, whatever it may be, and but I feel like the action steps I'm taking to achieve that are not I'm not reaping, you know, the rewards of it. So then I pivot. And then I'm like, should I have pivoted or was that I just not give it enough time? You know, that's that's one thing that I go, you know, when it comes to like I've come a long way on my weight loss journey, right? And going from 330 pounds to I was 230, I hit 238 this week. And it's like, you know, I've done a million different things along the way to to you know continue to progress. And there's but I often will like question myself, like, am I doing the right things? So like there's times where I will not at be I will not ask someone to hold me accountable because I don't know if I'm if it's something that I want to really commit to because I'm like I like to commit to things that I know work. And if I don't know that this specific thing is gonna work, I don't want to be held accountable to because I'm gonna pivot and do something else.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

So wouldn't that mean like so what is the I guess what would be the underlying goal? So example, like I think you want to get to 100 pounds lost.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

That's like your goal. Yeah. So you're my guess is you're saying, all right, I don't want to commit to doing something that gets me to that goal because I might not continue down that path and I might pivot. So what you're saying is like you want to be held to getting to 330. 230. 230. Sorry. What are you saying 330?

SPEAKER_01 27:47

I don't want to go back. I'm not going back. No, so like let's put it this way, uh like, you know, I've been searching for what's gonna be my Masogi for the year. I haven't I haven't written that in stone yet. So one of them was like the idea of doing a hundred mile ultra marathon. And it and then I start thinking, like, is that going to help me achieve my actual goal? Right, which is to me, like, my ultimate goal is I want to be, you know, between 225 and 230, and I want to look a certain way. And it's like then I start thinking, okay, if I commit to that, that's gonna take away from you know, probably the amount of lifting that I want to do to look that to have the physique I want. So should I really sign up for something like that to then be held accountable to it? Because it may not be what I really want. Those are the kind of things that I will go back and forth on in my head of like I want to do something really hard and challenging, but does it ultimately get me to the goal that I want? That's what makes it hard for me to commit to some things like that.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

Got it. Because I think that's where we're probably different. I don't have um have a weight loss number. Yeah, you've never been 330 pounds. Mine is just I so I actually just learned what a Masogie is. I didn't know uh that it was like w where it came from, and then that the idea is that it's actually like a 50-50 shot of completing it. And it's something that sh ideally it shouldn't be easily replic replicable because you don't want somebody to be like, oh, I was better than you at this, or oh I beat you, or oh so for me when I'm thinking about something like that, it's it's about getting myself out of who I am over a goal. So, like example for me, for like you, I'd be like, well then don't make it physical. Like it doesn't have to be the Masogi or something. Yeah, like it doesn't have to be a physical type of a thing. It can be just whatever is a challenge for you that like would be just as easy not to do as it would be to do it. Especially if that goal of 230 pounds is so big, like it's like such a like that because that my guess would be that once you hit 230, you'd probably be okay with doing a hundred-mile race or something. So then it might be like, well, then you just say like okay, maybe it's 230. Is that it's been something you've been trying to do for years, and then once you do that, you're like, then there are then I create these things that I no longer have to be held to and a number that stops me, right? Because you're essentially saying like I'm stopped by this goal of getting to 230 from doing things that might actually help me, even though they don't help the goal. Does that make sense? Right.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

So that's where like for me, I think I'm in that place where it's like we were just talking today and asked you two and you did not commit about biking from the border of Michigan to the border of Kentucky, so the whole state of Indiana. And we like actually I think we talked about doing it in like a month and a half to two months. Uh, but that's something like I could care less what that does for me because I'm like that will make me better. Though I know like it's gonna affect my mileage and my verpees.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

Yeah. And my thought was I don't know if they make bikes big enough for me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Well, get to 230 and you're fine. Right. You're not as big as you used to be.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

Is there anything like in your environment today that you feel like makes your life harder?

SPEAKER_00 31:51

I I think that how I live inside of my house has made my b because when I go, I travel around, um, I go through phases where it I'd say right now not as much, but I'll travel around the coffee shops, do a lot of different things. And when I get in there, I'm highly productive. I've very little um distractions. Uh I'm not you know getting up to grab a snack or turn on a TV or I don't scroll much on my phone, but I'll open my phone up way more, like just that habitual like pick it up, look at it, and be like, there's nothing here, close it. And when I'm at home right now, I've got maybe three or four spots that I sit that my mind doesn't allow me to focus on one task. So I've been thinking since we've been like before this talk, but honestly the Brand Lake concert, really, how can I change myself and how I view my home and how I live in my home so that I'm better because I spend most of my time there, and I really struggle with being productive inside of that environment.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

Yeah, I think that's I think that's kind of for all of us. And you know, Natalie and I have been going through piece by piece of our house of you know, trying to make every you know, we have home gym, home office, you know, these different areas of our house, like how do we create the most productive environment with that we can in each of those? And it's hard. It's really hard, especially like at the stage of life that we're in with you know young kids, like you won you want to have a home, right? Like, we're not at a place where like our house looks staged all the time, and you know, there's toys everywhere, and it's just kind of where we're at in life. So, you know, being able to create these environments is something that we have to be very intentional about and still be mindful that we're in a stage of life where like there's gonna be toys laying around the the gym slash podcast, or you know, the dog's gonna take his bone into the home office, you know. So th they sound like silly things, but when you're trying to be productive in these environments, like a lot of times they're not conducive to that because of certain things going on.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

Yeah. Yeah, and I think changing like for anybody doing it, like you had said, you and Natalie, like do it with somebody, have the conversations with somebody. If you're single, find a friend that you're like, hey, this is how I want to be. I think we need to do it in community with other people when we truly want to change. Uh because it's it's easy to fall back into who we are. Like our habits are strong. I know my habits are strong. And the more that I tell my wife, the more she's the one that can hit me, you know, with the accountability. I thought you said you didn't want to, you know, be on your phone when you're sitting here. Gosh dang it.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

Our wives are good at that.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

I know. And that's where for me it is truly being like, you know what, you're right. And then the question is, like you had brought back up, is like, well, is it really who I want? Do I really not want to be on my phone right here? Or do I really want to like and being honest with ourselves. I think sometimes we just say what others want to hear, or we say what we think is right, but truly inside we don't really care. And that's that's okay. But I know that I care about my productivity, I know that I can be better, I know that I can I know I can change, say like, I can change the world in some way, and I know that I'm not doing everything I can for that to happen.

SPEAKER_01 35:49

So people are probably wondering, like, what's what's something practical that I could do to change my environment?

Practical Steps To Audit Your Life

SPEAKER_01 35:57

Like, what's what's an action step that I could take? And I can think of I I think what people have to understand is yes, like you could sell your house and move, right? Like that's on the extreme end of changing environment. But I think if you look at you know some practical small steps, because I think small shifts create huge life shifts over time, is like do an audit of your life in your current environment. Like maybe you need to remove one negative influence that's in your life or add one positive influence to your life. Um, you know, change change your office setup, you know, move your couch. Like you I you mentioned that before, like move furniture.

SPEAKER_00 36:42

Yeah, change the spot that you sit in, but before you sit in it, say what you're gonna do there. I think you need to also, as much as it's changed the environment, you'll just change it and you're the same person in a different spot. It's saying once you make that change, what is the purpose of it? Who am I now when I walk in here? And I think when you said like audit, I think a great thing to do is where do I complain about when I'm home? What are the things I wish were different? Or or that maybe you have a friend that you see how they are and you're like, oh, I wish I was more like that. Ask them how they are, what they do. Because I think a lot of times it's right in front of our face what we should be doing in asking the people around us, our you know, your spouse, where where do you see me doing things that maybe you're like, that's probably not benefiting. It probably hurts because they're gonna tell you stuff that you're like, yeah, I know that, but like you didn't have to say it like that.

SPEAKER_01 37:34

Right. Yeah, I think, and then the the last thing I would add is like change doesn't just happen by accident. And so creating the intentional time, whether you you know time block on your calendar a couple hours or an hour, whatever time you can you can manage, to truly like sit down and evaluate and go through the process because it's not just gonna happen. And if you want like true change, lasting change, like you're gonna have to spend intentional time stepping through it, otherwise, you know, you're just like you said, it's a hamster wheel. You're gonna end up in the same spot, no different than if you, you know, sell your house and move across the country, like the problems that you have or whatever that is, is it it's gonna go with you, so you've got to handle and figure out what that is. I would say that's it.

SPEAKER_00 38:25

I mean there's so many things that we can be doing and it's not gonna be easy, and you're not sure if it's gonna work, but as long as you know why you're doing it, like why am I trying to do this, what am I trying to get out of this? Keep going.

Raise The Standard And Closing

SPEAKER_00 38:41

That's it. Yep. So I got you got this. Find one thing if you can share with us what's something that you are doing or trying to level up. Um I always say raise the standard from the bottom, make your worst days non-existent, and your old best days your new normal days. Keep keep improving.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

Get around people who want to see you improve. That's right. Awesome. Thank you, guys. See you next time. Bye.