Yes, another month has gone by without a blog post. Maybe even longer? Not sure if anyone has even noticed. I often think I’m just writing to entertain myself. There’s a lot of unexpected and chaotic shit going on in life right now (more on that later), and I was incredibly sick for several weeks (again), so writing has kind of fallen to the bottom of my priority list. But in an odd way, that’s kind of appropriate because this blog post has to do with priorities…

If you’ve followed my blog or the podcast for any length of time, you’ll know that one of my biggest inspirations in terms of leveling up my life has been Andy Frisella. As much as I enjoy the relatively even-keeled and often Zen-like approach of Tony Robbins, Mary Morrisey, and Dean Grazioso (along with many others), there is something about Andy’s straightforward, angrily passionate demeanor and consistent use of the word “fuck” that really resonates with my soul. Plus, he’s a boldly patriotic American who cares about what happens to this country, and he refuses to be silenced, even though he’s rich as fuck and doesn’t need to put himself out there every day. Basically, he’s my role model for standing strong in my values and beliefs and focusing on kicking ass at life.

Last year, I wrote a blog post about my experience with “75 Hard” and how it truly changed my world. Yes, it was definitely fucking hard, but living from the perspective of repeatedly committing to personal excellence every day kept me in a growth mindset and helped me realize that the only thing holding me back from my goals was me and my own excuses and justifications for why I believed I couldn’t do something. It was a truly powerful experience that reinforced my self-esteem, determination, grit, belief in myself, and my discipline to continue moving forward, even when I hit stumbling blocks.

After completing “75 Hard,” I decided to commit to taking on what Andy calls “The Power List.” Stephanie and I covered this in a podcast episode last month, but if you haven’t heard of it, “The Power List” is a really effective way of establishing positive habits and accountability in your life by taking five actionable steps every day that move you forward towards your goals. Andy refers to these five action steps as “critical tasks.” If you complete all five critical tasks you set for yourself that day, you “win” the day. If you don’t, you “lose” the day. Sounds simple, right? Well, “simple” doesn’t always equate to “easy.”

If you want the full run down on “The Power List,” I highly suggest you go listen to Episode 16 of the “Real AF Podcast,” where Andy breaks it all down in detail. But the one thing he makes very clear is that the five critical tasks you commit to each day aren’t easily attainable goals – they are small action steps that create the momentum that enables you to reach your big goals over time. It’s about being consistent and committing to taking action every day on the things that are important to you. This is how you start to develop confidence and a mindset of winning, doing the things that you once thought were impossible for you to do or achieve. This is how you accomplish the big shit in your life. 

One of the things Andy says is, “Big goals inspire big actions. Big actions produce big results.” 

Every time you “win” the day, you move the needle forward in taking more ownership over the direction of your life. The way Andy explains it, when you win enough weeks, you win the month. When you win enough months, you win the year. And when you win enough years, you win your life.

Well fuck yeah, I want to win my life. So, I embraced the concept of “The Power List” with gusto, ordering a fancy hardcover journal from Andy’s website, even though I could have just tracked my days in a basic $2 notebook. But no, I wanted it to feel “official,” like Andy had eyes on me and was personally holding me accountable with every turn of the page. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous. And probably a little weird.

But I also know myself… When I feel the pressure of someone else holding me accountable, even if it’s only made up accountability in my own head, it drives me to want to succeed. Silly? Sure, but it works. It was the same way with the “75 Hard” app. Nobody was actually monitoring my progress or looking over my shoulder, but I felt the pressure of needing to be consistent and follow through on my commitment to the program in order to check off every task in the app by the end of the day. So, if a book that nobody else was even going to see was going to give me the same feeling, then I was all about it.

I started “The Power List” on December 26th, 2022, and eight months later, I can say it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. As much as I am organized and disciplined most of the time, I also tend to procrastinate on the shit I don’t want to do, even when it’s something as simple as making a phone call or sending an email. Sometimes I drag shit out for weeks and end up waiting until the last minute, or I put something off altogether, and then I feel guilty or get down on myself for not doing the things that I know I should be doing. And when I start falling into that cycle, it’s a downward spiral where my sense of self-worth declines, and I start to doubt myself and my abilities. And that is not a good fucking place to be.

One of the things that I know is critical to achieving my goals is the power of visualization and shifting my subconscious beliefs. Even just spending five minutes a day visualizing achieving my goals has a massive impact on my mindset, my self-belief, and my discipline. Is five minutes a lot of time for committing to something that I know will help me level up my life and accomplish my dreams? Fuck no. And yet I find it so easy to make excuses for why I’m too busy or don’t have time, and I tell myself I’ll do it later, and then the next thing I know, the day is over and I didn’t do it at all.

But when I commit to writing down five things every morning that I know I need to focus on getting done for the day in support of my overall goals, and I see these five critical tasks in black and white glaring at me every time I look at the notebook that I carry with me throughout the day, the vibe is totally different. My energy is different. My level of discipline is different. My determination is different. My sense of accountability is different. And my attitude is different. I don’t procrastinate. I don’t make excuses. I just get shit done, even when it’s shit I don’t want to do.

Maybe it’s the Type A nerd in me, but there is just something so incredibly satisfying about putting a checkmark next to each critical task that I complete throughout the day. Even more so when I see all five tasks checked off by the end of the day. I go to bed feeling that sense of “fuck yeah” satisfaction, knowing that I stayed accountable to what I said I was going to do, and I “won” the day.

Are there days where I fail to complete my five critical tasks and I don’t win the day? Yep. Sometimes life gets in the way, shit happens, and my plans for the day fall by the wayside. And then I have to circle the “L” for “Lose” at the bottom of the page. And you know what? I’m okay with that. I know I’m going to occasionally (or sometimes even frequently) have setbacks, and I’m not going to “win” every day.

Being sick for the past three weeks was a major setback, and I didn’t even crack open “The Power List” because I was barely able to get out of bed. And honestly, with all of the shit going on in my life right now, it would be easy to just leave the book sitting on my desk untouched and slide back into old patterns. But instilling the habit of giving myself five critical tasks to accomplish every day for the past eight months has resulted in me making “The Power List” a priority in my life, because I know it’s an incredible tool for accomplishing my long-term goals. So despite the setbacks of illness and some huge changes coming up in my life that have my head spinning, I’m back on track and re-committed to my daily five critical tasks. I may not be winning 100% of the time, but I average winning the day 90-98% of the time. And for someone who used to procrastinate and put shit off, I’d say those are pretty good odds, wouldn’t you?

Unapologetically Outspoken,

Tara