“Dad, let’s do the 75 Hard,” said my 16-year-old daughter.

“Sure,” I said. “What is it?” In hindsight, I should have asked “What is it?” first!

I had vaguely heard of it before but not in much detail. After a bit of research, it turns out that the 75 Hard is a physical and mental challenge that requires solid commitment for 75 consecutive days—no breaks! And, if you miss even one item on the list on any given day, you have to start again. Challenge accepted! So, what does it consist of?

Here are the core rules of the 75 Hard Challenge:

• Follow a strict diet: You choose your diet, but you must adhere to it without any “cheat meals” or alcohol for the entire 75 days. If you break this rule, you restart from Day 1.
• Two 45-minute workouts per day: One of these workouts must be outdoors, regardless of the weather. No rest days are allowed.
• Drink one gallon (approximately 3.8 litres) of water daily.
• Read 10 pages of a non-fiction, self-improvement, or educational book each day: Audiobooks do not count.
• Take a daily progress picture.
• No compromises or substitutions: If you miss any of these tasks on any given day, you must restart the entire challenge from Day 1.
• Meditate for 10 minutes (this is an additional rule I added for myself).

When I looked at the rules, I thought I’d modify them slightly. Firstly, a gallon of water isn’t feasible for me because I’d be running in and out of training and coaching sessions every five minutes; however, I have increased my water intake. Next, as much as I love taking pictures of myself, taking a daily progress photo isn’t something I’m keen to do either. Other than that, I’ve been following the rules for the last eight days. So far, so good—well, kind of.

I started the challenge on a Friday, so the first couple of days over the weekend were easy enough to fit in. As the week continued, I noticed I needed to push myself a little more just to fit everything in. I was fairly sure the two 45-minute workouts wouldn’t be an issue because I normally fit in five or six workouts a week, so it was just a matter of figuring out what I’d do and when. The diet isn’t a problem because I eat pretty clean anyway; as a rule, I don’t eat sugar or processed foods. Reading non-fiction is something I do regularly anyway, but I must admit that before the challenge, I wasn’t reading every day—so this has been a great prompt. Lastly, I introduced ‘meditate for 10 minutes’ because I’ve wanted to be consistent at it for a long time but have never managed it beyond a few days.

So, what makes the challenge so hard?

For me, it’s about managing my time. The workouts, reading, and meditating might not seem too time-consuming, but I’ve found myself rushing to meetings because I needed to fit in a workout beforehand. Or, as was the case when the adjoining picture was taken, working out late on a Friday night because I hadn’t managed to fit in my second session earlier in the day. It doesn’t take much to derail a day!

But what have I learned about myself so far?

Surprisingly, I realised that I’m not as disciplined as I liked to think I was. I realised I procrastinate a little too much for my liking and can spend far too long reading the news or mindlessly scrolling on my phone. The great thing about the challenge is that it has forced me to be much more organised and plan my day in greater detail than I’ve ever needed to before, which I’m finding very useful. I’ve also stopped procrastinating before a task simply because I need to complete the above non-negotiables within my waking window. Not only am I avoiding procrastination with these specific tasks, but also with other things I need to get done—could this challenge be the antidote to procrastination? 🤔

What surprised me the most?

I seem to be changing how I prefer to relax. Historically, much to the annoyance of my wife, I’ve been a “relaxer-relaxer,” but now I’m more proactive in getting small tasks done. It’s like I’m aware that I have less time in my day, which has made me more focused. It actually feels pretty good.

I’m also mindful of my sleep and how it affects my energy and motivation. For example, over the weekend, I was part of a voluntary clean-up crew at the stadium after the Hurricanes’ match, raising money for Tawa Swimming Club. It started at about 9:30 pm, and we didn’t finish until just before midnight. I really noticed my energy levels plummet over the following two days, and my sleep that night was quite disrupted. Needless to say, I’ve had to double down on ensuring I followed through on my commitments.

The results so far

I’ve dropped over a percentage of body fat and increased my muscle mass percentage (not that you’d be able to notice!). I’m smashing through more books (I often read more than the mandatory 10 pages), and I’m generally calmer and more relaxed throughout my day.

Do I recommend giving it a go?

Absolutely! I’ve no doubt I’ll continue to discover little things about myself whilst benefiting from being healthier in mind and body. What will you discover about yourself?

Are you interested in tools for building a high performing team? Then check out my new book ‘Now, Lead Others’.

If you’re interested in hearing more tips about how you can Unleash Your Potential or that of your team, please feel free to drop me a note. I’m always happy to share ideas and help where I can.

Many years ago, when my daughters were much younger, I was explaining the importance of delayed gratification (can you imagine how intolerable it would be having a father as a coach? Very… apparently). To demonstrate my point, I described the famous experiment conducted by Walter Mischel and his colleagues at Stanford University in the 1960s. To this, my daughter responded with overwhelming confidence, “I’d be really good at that!”

If you’re unfamiliar with the experiment, the marshmallow test aimed to study delayed gratification and self-control in children. In the experiment, a child was presented with a marshmallow and given a choice: they could eat the treat immediately, or they could wait for a short period (typically 15 minutes) and receive an additional treat as a reward. The results revealed that children who resisted the immediate temptation and waited for the reward tended to have better outcomes later in life, such as higher academic achievement, better social skills, and improved emotional regulation. This simple yet impactful experiment has been influential in psychology, sparking discussions on self-control, decision-making, and the nature of human behaviour.

Taken aback by such confidence, I asked, “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t like marshmallows,” she said smugly. Can you imagine how intolerable it would be to have such a smug child? I’d better not answer that!

Why this recollection came to mind after all these years is because I was debating in my mind whether it is always better to delay gratification for a future (but sometimes uncertain) reward, or to live in the moment—have your reward now and damn the consequences! After all, mindfulness practitioners often tell us that it is healthier to live in the moment, do they not?

For example, although I’ve got a few years to go, my wife and I are saving for retirement. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to have a few options when I get there. To achieve that, we have to make some sacrifices now. BUT, how many people do you know who have been whisked away from us in their prime? If they could pass on their wisdom, what would they tell us to do?

The other thing I’m doing is upping my exercise. I’m not training for anything in particular, but because I’m so funny, when asked, I often quip, “I’m training for middle age.” Although said in jest, I’m being very serious. Why? Because as we get older, especially over the age of 50, things start to go south very quickly. Therefore, the importance of staying in shape (increasing muscle mass and reducing fat) becomes crucial from a quality-of-life point of view. If, for example, you want to be able to tramp the same distance carrying a 10 kg weighted backpack in ten years that you do now, you need to be carrying a 20 kg weighted backpack because of the amount of strength (muscle mass) we lose over that time. If you’re in your 30s, you don’t need to worry so much about this now; however, make sure you pack this sage advice from Uncle Cillín away somewhere in your mental backpack because you’ll be thankful in 20 years.

So, what’s the answer? For me, the answer lies in our value system and our identity as a person. You see, for my daughter, not eating the marshmallow isn’t a sacrifice at all because she doesn’t like marshmallows; however, it also wouldn’t be a sacrifice for a person who simply didn’t eat sugar because of their value system. “Hi, Cillín, would you like a cigarette?” “No thank you, kind stranger, I don’t smoke.” Smoking isn’t part of my identity and therefore it’s not a sacrifice for me—no willpower is needed. So here’s my question for you: What beliefs do you have around your impulse control? Are you the type of person who gives in too quickly or, even if you used to, have you developed strategies to postpone gratification for a larger reward later down the track? Are you even tempted by life’s marshmallows because of your value system? Are you a saver rather than a spendthrift (identity statements)?

Are you interested in tools for building a high performing team? Then check out my new book ‘Now, Lead Others’.

If you’re interested in hearing more tips about how you can Unleash Your Potential or that of your team, please feel free to drop me a note. I’m always happy to share ideas and help where I can.

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