Show Up For The Champion In You: Discipline

Show Up For The Champion In You: Discipline Over Mood (Living Lucky® Podcast)

Battling the snooze button and starting behind? This self-help episode is your blueprint for unstoppable momentum. The secret: I am greater than my feelings.

Discipline is a radical act of self-trust. Learn the micro decisions and habit stacking that stop the doom loop and build an upward success cycle, even when motivation is zero. Discover how to act before motivation and why every tiny action proves the champion in you shows up, rain or shine.

Actionable Nuggets & Takeaways:

• The Discipline Bridge: Discipline is the bridge to action—an act of self-trust. Show up for yourself so your future self is stronger.
• Greater Than Feelings: Treat moods as weather and identity as climate. Choose to be greater than your feelings to protect your goals.
• The Micro-Decision Flip: When overwhelmed, ask: "What's the next best thing I can do?" Tiny, friction-light actions (sit up, make the bed) break the spiral.
• Action Leads Motivation: Stop waiting. Act as if the champion is awake. Behavior leads, and motivation follows (the "little engine that could" model).
• Habit Stacking Pays Off: Morning routine and habit stacking reduce decision fatigue on tough days. Stack tiny wins until momentum takes over.
• Priming for Mastery: Use rituals (priming) to signal I am the master of this domain.
• The Champion Identity: Choosing discipline over mood reinforces the identity: "I am the kind of person who makes this happen." This builds resilience.

Claim ownership of your day! Steal these tools and live like the champion within.

• How to choose discipline over mood. How to start acting before motivation. Micro decisions for building momentum. Habit stacking for morning wins. Priming rituals to start the day strong. Building self-trust through discipline. How to stop procrastinating when tired. "What is the most effective way to choose discipline over mood?" "How does habit stacking help on days when I have no motivation?" "What is the concept of acting before motivation?" "How do I use micro decisions to break a negative cycle?" "Why is showing up for yourself a form of self-trust?"

Transcript

Turning Negativity Into Momentum

Jana Shelfer 0:00

Are you ready to create a life you crave? Let's spin that doom loop of negativity into an upward success cycle and start Living Lucky®.

Jason Shelfer 0:14

Good morning!

Jana Shelfer 0:16

I'm Jana. I'm Jason. And we are Living Lucky®. You are too.

A Rough Morning, Real Talk

Jana Shelfer 0:20

It is Friday morning, 6 o'clock. I am exhausted. I have a headache. My board didn't get finished. You know, the whole debacle of my board breaking and all that. So my board is not 100% ready to go. So I have to take a backup board. We're leaving for ski camp in less than an hour. I I am not dressed. I don't have anything ready. Jason luckily has the car packed.

Jason Shelfer 0:50

It's been one of those weeks where we've been a little bit like running around with chickens with our heads cut off, trying to keep up.

Jana Shelfer 0:58

And I'm gonna be real with you. My feelings and my thoughts this morning were I really am, I would rather just stay in bed right now. I would really just rather stay in bed.

Discipline Over Feelings

Jana Shelfer 1:12

And here is the point I want to make. There's a time where you have to say, I am greater than my feelings.

Jason Shelfer 1:21

Yeah.

Jana Shelfer 1:22

And my goal and my dream is more important to me. I will be at that camp. I will be in the car at seven o'clock, ready to go. And I'm gonna show up with the best attitude that I possibly can.

Jason Shelfer 1:35

Yeah.

Jana Shelfer 1:36

Sometimes you have to discipline.

Jason Shelfer 1:38

It is. I love that you brought in that it's discipline because sometimes you have to show up for yourself for yourself to show up.

Jana Shelfer 1:46

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Boom, boom, boom. Rewind, listen to that again.

Jason Shelfer 1:51

Yeah, it's it's like sometimes you have to wake up the giant within. And it's like, I think that's one of those things like Tony Robbins has unleashed the giant within. Or I don't, I forget some of those things.

Jana Shelfer 2:01

Poke the bear.

Jason Shelfer 2:02

We've gone to so many of those events, but it's sometimes you have to prove to yourself that I'm gonna be there for me. And it doesn't matter, like I'm those those feelings are gonna show up, those thoughts are gonna show up. I'm gonna be tired. I'm gonna, I'm gonna not quote unquote feel like it sometimes. Yeah because I feel like I've been through the ringer already. Like I'm gonna feel like I've already shown up enough.

Jana Shelfer 2:26

Yeah.

Jason Shelfer 2:26

And then it's like now I've got this one more thing on my calendar, on my schedule, and I need to show up to prove I'm I'm gonna make this happen.

Jana Shelfer 2:36

Yes.

Jason Shelfer 2:37

Like I the champion in me is gonna show up because I'm showing up for the champion.

Micro Decisions To Move Forward

Jana Shelfer 2:42

So I just want to dive into the micro decisions that have gone into how I felt this morning. I literally, this uh when I woke up, I did not want to get out of bed. I did not want to get out of bed, and I had to level up my emotions and my thoughts before I even sat up, if that makes sense. It was that that micro. I'm like, okay, I really need to get myself in check. And then there comes a point when you sit there and you go, you know what? I am greater than this. I am greater than having a bad day or a bad week.

Jason Shelfer 3:26

And sometimes it is just that next step. It's okay, what's the next best thing I can do? Like, how do I just put the next foot in front of the my my one foot in front of the next?

Jana Shelfer 3:36

Get in my chair, make the bet. You know, let's go wash our face, brush our teeth.

Jason Shelfer 3:41

And I've come this far to not go one more step. Right. You know, it's and that's sometimes that's the only mindset you need. Like just get get out of that one negative thought, replace it with one positive thought, and say, you know what? I am the champion. I am climbing this mountain, I am going up this pathway, and I can do it.

Jana Shelfer 4:01

Another thing that really helps me is to get out of my thoughts and feelings, is to just start acting. Just take that action step, act as the the champion I know that lives within me that may be sleeping asleep and tired today, but still is inside me, right? Yeah. So let's just take action and and stop allowing your and then the the champion

Action First, Motivation Follows

Jana Shelfer 4:30

takes over to dictate who you are. Yes.

Jason Shelfer 4:33

It's like it's almost like the smile takes over takes over the happiness.

Jana Shelfer 4:36

Yes.

Jason Shelfer 4:37

It starts creating the new thought pattern, and then you start going, yes, I can't. It's the little engine that could. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. It's not the I think I can or I can't. It's just it's then you start recognizing the pattern of achievement and the pattern of championship.

Jana Shelfer 4:51

And lastly, I want to say is this is when Jason and I have talked about morning routines, we have talked about schedules, uh, writing things down. I mean, we've talked about all the little tiny tools that when you're having days like this, those are extremely important. Mama said, Go ahead.

Jason Shelfer 5:14

I was gonna say, Mama said there'd be days like this. My mama said.

Jana Shelfer 5:19

Yeah, whoever wrote that was brilliant. Even though that seems so easy to write. Right. Because my mom did say that. But it it was crazy how the minute that I did finally sit up and transfer into my chair, all of a sudden I went into okay, I gotta make the bed.

Jason Shelfer 5:39

Yeah.

Jana Shelfer 5:40

And now I now I gotta go into the bathroom, take care of my bathroom stuff. Now I gotta go get my coffee.

Jason Shelfer 5:45

That habit stacking pack paid off.

Jana Shelfer 5:47

Yes.

Jason Shelfer 5:48

Because your body said, This is what comes next. I know what to do. I'm stacking these wins. I am the champion of

Habit Stacking And Small Wins

Jason Shelfer 5:55

my day, and I will continue winning.

Jana Shelfer 5:57

You know, you brought up Tony Robbins' name earlier, who's been a huge mentor, inspiration to both Jason and I. He says that he wakes up and he jumps into a cold plunge pool every single day. And the reason he does that is to let his thoughts and emotions know that I am the master of this domain.

Jason Shelfer 6:23

I'm in charge.

Jana Shelfer 6:24

And there's gonna be days that you feel like what I'm feeling right now, and you just have to know, you know what? There's a there's a better version of Jana that is gonna take over today, and we're gonna be fine.

Jason Shelfer 6:38

Yep. And that's his version of kind of starting his priming routine.

Jana Shelfer 6:42

Yeah.

Jason Shelfer 6:43

Right? And so we're priming ourselves to get into that disciplinarian and say, we are the champions of our day, we are the champions of our lives, and nothing's gonna get in the way.

Jana Shelfer 6:53

Okay. I hope this helped someone out there because they,

Priming, Cold Plunge, Owning Your Day

Jana Shelfer 6:57

I mean, we are human. We all have days where we just think not today, comes on, take me away. Back to the 80s. And so I just want to. Thanks for joining us.

Jason Shelfer 7:16

Keep Living Lucky®.

Jana Shelfer 7:16

Bye-bye. If the idea of Living Lucky® appeals to you, visit us at LivingLucky.com.