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The Health Habit: Discover Dedication, Tiny Changes & Peak Performance
Join Nick Trenton as he discusses the health habits that lead to peak
performance. Discover the power of dedication and making small changes
for big results!
00:00:00 Hello Listeners
00:02:25 Why Dedication Matters
00:03:44 How to be More Dedicated
00:05:15 Tip 6: Tiny Changes Add Up
00:09:22 Tip 7: Identify Your Weak Spots-Then Fortify Them
00:13:06 Tip 8: Making Work Work for You
The Health Habit: 27 Small Daily Changes for Physical Energy, Mental
Peace, and Peak Performance (Mental and Emotional Abundance Book 9) By:
Nick Trenton
Hear it Here - https://bit.ly/3mxADHG
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09C4VQSL4
Unlock the secrets to achieving peak performance and work-life balance
with "The Health Habit"! Join Nick Trenton as he shares his expert tips
on how to identify and overcome your weak spots, and create tiny changes
that lead to massive results. Discover how energy management, peak
habits, and balance strategies can help you optimize your wellness
practices and performance hacks. Learn how to focus on your weaknesses
and turn them into strengths, and find synergy between your lifestyle
and wellness goals. By applying these simple yet powerful techniques,
you'll be able to enhance your health, energy, and overall performance,
and live a life of peak energy and vitality. Tune in to find out how to
make the tiny tweaks that will lead to a lifetime of wellness and
success!
Transcript
Hello Listeners, its Monday, February 10, 2025.
Speaker:Today on The Path to Calm podcast, we're stopping overthinking and becoming present to find peace as we dive into a new episode based on the book "The Health Habit" by Nick Trenton.
Speaker:This book is available on Amazon, with an audiobook version also available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible.
Speaker:Learn more at bit.ly/NickTrenton.
Speaker:In this episode, we'll explore Dedication, focusing on what it means to be dedicated and why it matters in our journey towards physical energy, mental peace, peak performance, and mental and emotional abundance.
Speaker:We'll also discuss tips like tiny changes adding up, identifying your weak spots then fortifying them, and making work work for you.
Speaker:Join us as we continue our path to calm and embrace these small daily changes that can lead to a more fulfilling life.
Speaker:Remember, change your habits, change your life.
Speaker:The book "The Health Habit" is your guide to making it painless and sustainable, ensuring these changes will follow you for the rest of your life.
Speaker:When it comes down to it, dedication is about commitment.
Speaker:It is when we purposefully and intentionally devote our time, energy, and attention to the things we most care about and value.
Speaker:When we have consciously made the decision for ourselves that we want to be better, or to make a change, it is a moment when we summon energy within ourselves to power that change.
Speaker:Many of us can summon energy for a little while and make grand plans for the goals we’d like to achieve.
Speaker:But the trick is also to sustain that energy over time, long after the initial enthusiasm for the goal has fizzled off and the hard work begins.
Speaker:Dedication is the promise you make to yourself that you will continue despite difficulties and obstacles.
Speaker:This promise keeps you going from the moment you begin, through the difficult slog, and out the other side, when you achieve your goal.
Speaker:It’s a commitment.
Speaker:Why Dedication Matters
Speaker:20 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:34,960 When it comes to leading a healthier lifestyle, being dedicated is actually non-negotiable.
Speaker:You simply cannot make and maintain any real lifestyle change if you don’t have the dedication required.
Speaker:I’d like to say that there are tips and tricks to make the process easier (in fact, you’re holding a book of tips and tricks in your hands right now), but the truth is, none of it matters unless you make that decision to actually do them, not just once, but over and over again.
Speaker:Being dedicated doesn’t just help you achieve your goals, uproot bad behaviors, and replace them with better ones.
Speaker:It boosts your confidence, too.
Speaker:When you hold firm in your principles and stick to your word, you feel strengthened and proud about your ability to follow through.
Speaker:You feel more capable and empowered—what else could you achieve if you put your mind to it?
Speaker:Feeling this way, you have the self-respect and pride needed to set goals and standards for yourself, knowing you have what it takes to get there.
Speaker:This is a priceless feeling, and in a way, it’s much more valuable than simply losing a few pounds!
Speaker:How to be More Dedicated
Speaker:31 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,120 Being dedicated is about what you do.
Speaker:It’s about action.
Speaker:But it starts inside you, with a rock-solid commitment.
Speaker:You need your inner commitment and your conscious action to work together.
Speaker:Action without any thought or planning is meaningless, and good intentions that are never realized through action are useless.
Speaker:Learning to bring more dedication into your life means processing each of your thoughts, hopes, plans, and dreams through one criterion: it has to be actionable.
Speaker:Whether you are trying to eat better and get more fit, whether you want more discipline at work, or whether you’re trying to live a healthier, more balanced life in general, sooner or later you will need to make your intention a reality and act.
Speaker:In the last chapter, we spoke about starting the day on the right foot by designing the perfect morning routine.
Speaker:But when you are dedicated, you need to continually renew your commitment to being better all throughout the day.
Speaker:Your day will be a string of decisions, i.e.
Speaker:a constant conveyor belt of choices giving you the opportunity to move toward your goal or further away from it.
Speaker:Your dedication will help you make the best of those choices.
Speaker:How can you be more dedicated?
Speaker:Keep translating your thoughts into action.
:Tiny Changes Add Up
:47 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:26,800 I know you want to overhaul your life completely.
:I know how tempting it is to make a big, flashy change and do a drastic life makeover that solves all your problems once and for all.
:But resist this tendency—it’s a trap!
:The less glamorous truth is that change, real change, happens in tiny increments.
:There is no overnight transformation, but rather a long, long stream of steady improvements, some so small you won’t even be sure you’re making progress at all some days.
:What keeps you going?
:Dedication!
:Take a look at your daily routine.
:Ask yourself, “What’s the smallest sustainable change I can make right now?” Note that it’s not the biggest, most impressive, or most exciting change.
:It’s the smallest sustainable one.
:It’s the one you can easily do for the next days, weeks, months, forever.
:For example, you could switch out your full fat milk for skim milk in your morning coffee.
:A tiny, almost imperceptible change.
:But over the course of a year, or a lifetime, you save an impressive number of calories and hence spare yourself that weight gain.
:That’s the trick: the most impressive results often come about with the changes that seem kind of unremarkable in the moment.
:The secret is that you persist with these small changes, and they add up.
:• Get a standing desk so you’re more active during the workday and being less sedentary
:• Make substitutions to your diet rather than eliminations: wholewheat pasta instead of plain, fresh fruit instead of candy, water instead of sweetened drinks, salad instead of fries
:• Remember NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis)?
:Keep moving.
:Instead of taking the car for a quick drive, walk or cycle instead.
:Do your own housework.
:Place dumbbells around the house for a quick set here and there during gaps in other tasks
:• Put a water bottle on your desk so you’re always reminded to drink throughout the day
:72 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:43,960 Now, it would be a mistake to jump in and try one of the above without really thinking about it.
:Remember that the goal is to bring our commitments and intentions to life with action.
:Just taking any old action because it seems like a good idea is likely to fizzle out.
:You need to build into your life those actions that genuinely align with your values and the goals you have for yourself.
:This means that it’s impossible to say what you personally should be doing in your life right now.
:Only you know that!
:But here’s a quick way to determine what small actions you can commit to taking each day to build healthful habits:
:80 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:16,600 1.
:First, identify your desired end point or goal.
:Let’s imagine it’s to join a friend on a massive mountain hike in a few months’ time.
:2.
:Now, translate that goal into three concrete action steps that you can do every day.
:You might decide that you will take a daily walk after dinner each evening, you’ll stop having desserts or seconds after dinner each evening, and you’ll do five minutes of stretching before bed.
:Simple, right?
:Will these actions alone suddenly make it possible to complete the big hike?
:No.
:But they pave the way.
:In two weeks’ time, once you’ve consistently sustained these tasks, you can dial it up: go for longer walks (or make them jogs), tidy up your diet further and do longer exercise sessions.
:It’s okay to start small if it means you keep going—if you had started out by jumping into a two-hour exercise session on Monday morning, you would have only burnt yourself out and given up by Wednesday.
:Identify Your Weak Spots—Then Fortify Them
:94 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:36,000 You need to build a new, healthier life on top of the life you already have.
:And to do that, it works best to identify the places that could most use some attention right now and target them first.
:What could you be doing better?
:With enough presence of mind, you might start to look at your daily routine and see opportunities for improvement.
:Become curious about how small tweaks can make big changes.
:For example, many people have successfully cut down their sugar and junk food consumption by realizing that “if it’s in the house, I’ll eat it .
:.
:.
:so I just won’t have it in the house!” They became mindful of their behavior and stepped in to change it.
:But the first step is to be mindful.
:Maybe you notice you always spend Saturdays at the mall.
:Could you walk instead of drive to the mall?
:If not, could you park far away in the parking lot so you have to walk closer?
:Could you spend more time standing and walking in the mall?
:You may be struggling to find ways to squeeze in a daily walk in the park when really, you already have the opportunity to do more walking right there—you just need to notice it and capitalize on it.
:You already know so many of the healthy habit tips out there—do your shopping on a full stomach so you’re not tempted to buy junk food, use a basket and not a trolley, deliberately stick to the outer edges of the shop where the fresh produce is, and so on .
:.
:.
:But these are all generic.
:They may apply to you, and they may not.
:It’s far better to look at your unique and individual life and see what needs to be addressed.
:You may find that your efforts are better rewarded when they are tailored to your life as it stands right now.
:For example:
:118 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:24,840 • You notice that you never, ever stick to a gym schedule and usually let your membership lapse.
:So, you drop the idea of going to the gym and instead sign up for dance classes three times a week, and other times just work out at home .
:.
:.
:which you love more and end up actually doing
:• You notice that you usually end up making bad food decisions when you’ve had a few drinks.
:So, you dedicate yourself to having non-alcoholic drinks only
:• You notice that you procrastinate most when you’re tired and it’s late in the afternoon.
:So, you schedule all your work (or most of it) for the mornings, knowing that you’re more likely to get it done then
:128 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:11,120 Dedication comes from knowing what your goals are and committing to taking the actions necessary to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
:Zoom in on a problem in your own daily life (for example, always being late in the morning or overeating) and get curious about it.
:What is your ultimate goal?
:What concrete actions can you take right now to reach that goal slowly?
:And finally, what is standing in the way of you taking those actions?
:You can fortify your weak spots by making it as easy as possible to do the right thing.
:Remove everything that makes it hard for you to follow through on your commitment.
:If you notice time and time again that you can’t trust yourself to prepare healthy meals, then arrange for a food delivery service.
:If you notice that you always eat too much at family gatherings, limit your time there, bring your own food, or make sure you’re sufficiently distracted with other things that you’re not constantly tempted.
:Making Work Work for You
:139 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:29,920 In reading the previous section, maybe you thought, “That’s great and all, but I don’t always have control over these things, like at work.” Maybe you’re desperately trying to clean up your diet but work in an office where birthday cake is passed around twice a week with heavy pressure to eat some.
:Maybe your commute takes up big blocks of your time that you could be exercising or relaxing, or maybe you can’t turn down the endless after-work drinks that are starting to cost you sleep—not to mention money!
:Then what?
:Rest assured, it’s always possible to make healthy changes to your lifestyle and take charge of your wellbeing no matter what your work situation is.
:But again, it takes awareness, dedication, and the commitment to being consistent day after day.
:• Pack a lunch instead of buying one.
:It’s healthier, cheaper, and will save you time, plus it gives you complete control over what you eat.
:Prepare it the night before.
:You can batch-prepare them or simply make extra food for dinner and pack the leftovers
:• Get up and move during your lunch break—don’t sit at your desk.
:Take a walk, even if it’s just to get some fresh air outside or stroll around the building
:• Avoid caffeine after lunch, or switch to decaf either completely or partially.
:Caffeine can be great for work performance, but it’s not for everyone and can exacerbate anxiety
:• Prepare a healthy snack stash so you’re not tempted to nibble on unhealthy things.
:Include fruit, nuts, or protein bars—but check their calorie count first!
:• Have an hourly routine—for every hour of work, get up to stretch your legs, drink some water, rest your eyes, mindfully check in with yourself, or do some desk stretches
:• Have boundaries.
:It may be hard at first to turn down invitations or offers, but firmly and politely say no and keep saying no.
:If you assert a boundary and really mean it, people will eventually respect that—you may even inspire them to make healthier changes too!
:• Boundaries extend to time and resources, too.
:Be firm about not taking work home with you or checking messages after work hours.
:Same thing goes with expensive fundraisers and the like.
:While this may feel incredibly difficult, a huge part of your health is your mental wellbeing—consider an act of self-care to put your needs as a priority!
:• In extreme cases, you might need to seriously reconsider your job or work environment if you consistently feel that it undermines your health and wellbeing.
:See what can be done to restructure your workday, or look for another position
:• If there’s an entrenched unhealthy culture at work, see if you can inspire change—suggest a group healthy eating challenge, a fun run, or argue for better snacks in the cafeteria
:166 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,360 Summary
:168 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:41,600 • Dedication is about making a promise to yourself to systematically rework old habits and thought patterns and replace them with better, healthier ones.
:Dedication means committing to following through with your goals, regardless of the obstacles in the way.
:• Dedication matters because change is uncomfortable, and it takes energy and focus to shift us out of our status quo.
:Dedication helps us feel confident in our ability to do better, and fortifies our willpower.
:• Being more dedicated is about taking your goals and bringing them to life by taking concrete action.
:Break goals down into small steps and act toward them every day.
:• Remember that baby steps are more effective than quantum leaps.
:Make the smallest sustainable change possible, not the biggest change, since this is what adds up to big rewards in the long run.
:• To start making progress and gaining momentum, begin with the “lowest hanging fruit.” Identify your weak spots first and take action to replace those bad habits.
:This will give you the highest return on your efforts and motivate you to keep going.
:• It can be especially tough to develop healthy habits in the workplace, so make sure you have a plan in place for how to keep your dedication going at work.
:If something’s not working, ask, “How can I make this work?”
:181 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:06,040
:183 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:10,480 Thank you for joining us today on our podcast.
:We've explored some fascinating insights;
:186 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:19,000 Firstly, we learned how to make the process of changing habits painless and sustainable.
:This empowering knowledge will help you create lasting changes in your life.
:Next, we discussed how changing small habits can lead to significant transformations.
:You now have a clear understanding that even minor adjustments can yield big results over time.
:Lastly, we discovered how to make your body work for you instead of against you.
:This profound realization will guide you in aligning your physical well-being with your overall life goals.
:Remember, "The Health Habit" by Nick Trenton is available on Amazon, along with its captivating audiobook version on platforms like iTunes and Audible.
:To dive deeper into this transformative journey, visit bitly/NickTrenton today.
:Take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and resources provided by Nick Trenton, and start your path towards a better, more fulfilling life right now.
:Thank you once again for tuning in.
:Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and most importantly, keep changing your habits for the better.
