I started the 75 Hard Challenge this week.
For 75 consecutive days, I must:
Follow a structured diet with no cheat meals or alcohol. For my diet, I am also removing processed food and sugar.
Drink 3.8 litres of water.
Read 10 pages of a nonfiction book.
Complete two 45-minute workouts, with one taking place outside regardless of the weather.
Take a daily progress photo.
If I miss one requirement, I restart from Day 1.
The challenge is commonly associated with fitness, but I started it for two deeper reasons.
First, I was always the smallest and the weakest, and I hated how that made me feel.
I want to become stronger and build a body I am proud of.
Second, I have not been as disciplined as I want to be.
I have many things I know I need to do. Perform for my clients. Run my acquisition campaigns. Attend interviews. Post on LinkedIn. Keep learning as technology changes.
But knowing what needs to be done is not the same as doing it consistently.
Too often, I find an excuse to chillax instead. “I already do so much I can reward myself and just take a break”. But in reality if I did more I could achieve everything I wanted.
Looking back, the most fruitful periods of my life were rarely the easiest ones. They were the periods when I struggled, faced hardship, and had to demand more from myself.
If you know how to alchemise suffering, then transformation will always follow
It forced me to adapt, execute, and become more capable.
75 Hard is a way to create that pressure deliberately.
I am choosing a controlled difficulty that can strengthen my body, sharpen my discipline, and rebuild trust in my own word.
Discipline is not a personality trait that some people naturally possess. It is a skill.
Every time you act despite not feeling like it, you practise that skill. Every time you keep a promise to yourself, you strengthen it.
For the next 75 days, that is what I am training.
I will share the progress honestly, including the difficult days and any restart if I fail.
You can follow the journey on my social media @akawashi3 to see first hand how these days look like.
What important commitment do you keep renegotiating with yourself?