Good morning and welcome
to your morning cereal.
Okay, good morning
and welcome to Thursday.
It is Friday Eve and this week
it just feels like it's
flying by, doesn't it?
All right, all right,
don't panic, don't panic.
Today is actually Wednesday.
You probably knew
that, but I just got you.
It is April Fool's Day.
The one day a year
where your trust issues
are not only valid, they're
actually encouraged today.
It's also a day
dedicated to harmless pranks
and pretending you did not
fall for any of it, right?
Was it really Thursday in
your head for just a moment?
Well, welcome to April everyone.
It's 2Q of 26.
Now the answer to
yesterday's trivia question, bamboo.
The fastest growing
outdoor plant is bamboo.
And now it is time for
the essential vitamins
in your morning cereal.
It's today's quote and
it is from birthday girl
turning 53 today, Rachel
Maddow, who said, quote,
"Courage is like a muscle.
We strengthen it by use."
End quote.
All right, here is your morning decode.
Just as you aren't born
with peak physical strength,
you aren't necessarily
born courageous either.
You build it by
repeatedly taking small actions
despite feeling afraid at times.
All right, well, let's go
ahead and hear from the experts.
Now it is time to pour
in some atomic habits
by James Clear.
And today we are diving
into the intro of chapter five,
which is entitled, "The
Best Way to Start a New Habit."
And here's the truth.
Most people don't fail
because they lack discipline.
Surprisingly, they fail because they
never clearly decide
when and where
something will actually happen.
Here, Clear introduces the concept
of an implementation intention,
which is just a
structured plan for your habit.
It follows a simple formula.
I will behavior at
time in location, okay?
That specifically matters
more than people realizing,
saying, "I'll work out more."
Well, that sounds productive, but it's
very vague actually.
And it's actually
vague enough to disappear
the moment life just gets busy.
But instead, try saying something like,
"I'll walk for 20 minutes at
7 a.m. in my neighborhood."
That removes the ambiguity,
and ambiguity is where habits go to die.
Clear puts it plainly, quote,
"Many people think they lack motivation
when they really just
lack clarity," end quote.
Now that line hits
because it reframes the problem.
You're not unmotivated,
you're just undecided.
He also explains that
habits are triggered by cues.
And when you define a
clear time and a clear place,
you're essentially
creating a built-in cue.
Instead of relying on memory or mood,
the environment and the clock do the
reminding for you, okay?
Another key idea here is that
starting is the most important part.
Clear emphasizes that once habit begins,
momentum often carries it forward.
The hardest part isn't the workout,
it's actually putting on your shoes.
It's not writing the whole report,
it's opening the document.
He says this quote, "Goals are good for
setting a direction,
but systems are best for making
progress," end quote.
And this chapter shows that systems begin
with clarity and repetition, not
intensity or motivation.
Ultimately, this isn't about doing more,
it's about deciding better.
When you remove uncertainty,
you make action inevitable.
And when action becomes
consistent, results follow.
All right, your hump day takeaway is
if you want a habit to stick,
give it a clear time and place
because clarity beats
motivation every single time.
All right, friends,
stay sharp out there today.
Trust no one.
Now, the prize from
the bottom of the box,
the morning serial
trivia question of the day,
here it is, in what year did the original
Star Wars movie premiere?
All right, hey, thanks for listening to
morning serial today.
We will see you back here tomorrow
for the answer to the trivia question
and more sugar for the soul.
And until then, have a fantastic day.
Don't forget to follow and subscribe
to the morning serial podcast
on the One Life Live It channel.
You can find more episodes and videos
by visiting our YouTube channel
and the website at
seaningless and at seaningless.com,
where you can also
follow our other podcast,
the Mr. and Mrs. English podcast
and the Life Happens podcast.
And these other podcasts will dive deeper
into everyday issues,
self-improvement and well-being,
business and finance, and we
welcome special guests too.
So join us, it'll be a
good time, I promise.
Thanks again for listening.
Have a fantastic day and
we'll see you tomorrow.