When you seek to become the best version of yourself, the tendency is to always push the boundaries further and further.

If you can do 10 pushups easily, make it 20.

If you can do that, go to 50.

You keep pushing the envelope further and further.

But there is a problem with this method...

When you keep pushing, eventually you reach an unsustainable point.

There is an easy way to avoid this - keep Minimums.

When you have a Minimum, you know that you can always do "more" if you want, but "just" in case the Minimum still exists because of... Life.

Life always will happen, eventually.

For me, I write and publish articles every single day, and I have over 400 articles straight now.

Most days, it's not a problem to write, and I can easily write 750 - 1,000 words with no problem.

I might struggle at the start, but usually, I find my Flow State and keep going with it until I hit more than I thought I would.

I usually have more than enough time to do that as well with little Stress.

However, today has not been one of those days.

I had multiple meetings today, had to run around for some errands today, had to troubleshoot some problems that were occurring in a group I lead, my car fob was decimated and I have been unable to locate my backup anywhere including the storage unit I had to move through like a gymnast (but figured out a backup system for my vehicle luckily!), and I have also had a challenging call to make as a Leader of a group I oversee.

All of this has happened in under 12 hours - so you could say it's been a bit Stressful of a day.

Thankfully, I train for this, work on keeping my overall Stress low so that I can handle days like this, and have a Recovery routine that will help me fix today's Oxidative Stress Damage.

However, it doesn't mean that the day has been easy, and the day isn't quite over yet either.

I am just now getting to my article, and I have a few more things (including dinner) that I must do tonight.

It could be VERY easy for me to say, "Hey, you've had a rough day, just rest until tomorrow, you deserve it."

Most people would do that...

But I won't.

I have Goals I am striving for, and I am not willing to sacrifice those Goals for Comfort.

But how do I know that I can still hit my Goals?

I have my minimums, and if that's all I can manage then I still consider it a win.

I mentioned that I "can" write 750 - 1,000 words in an article with no problem most days - but today isn't most days.

Which is why I have my minimum.

What is my minimum?

250 words for an article, published.

That may seem extraordinarily low if I can easily write 3X - 4X that most days, and you'd be right.

It is an extraordinarily low Goal for me, and that is Purposeful.

See, on a day like today, I already have high Dis-Stress.

If my Goal of Writing ALSO felt extremely difficult, it would cause friction that would push me further and further away from the Flow Zone.

However, by keeping the Minimum low, I remove the Friction completely.

I started this Article feeling that I would likely "barely" hit my 250-word Minimum.

However, because there was no Friction, I found my Flow State very quickly, and I have been writing without problem.

As I get to this point, I am already at over 600 words.

Will I raise my minimum?

No.

Absolutely not - my minimum will stay 250 words.

I can ALWAYS do more than 250 words, just as I'm doing now.

The most important thing isn't to hit a lofty word count, but to get to my Flow State and to keep Writing Consistently.

My goal is to get to 1,000 Days Straight, 1,000 Articles in a row, and that only happens with Consistency, with Flow, and with Intentionality.

That is why I KNOW I will get there.

Even on days like today, when almost everything feels like it is working against me, I know I will still get to the Goal.

This is why you maintain the Minimum - to keep the Consistency, to reduce the Friction, to get to the Flow State easier, and to ensure you stay on the path to your Goals.

The Reason For Having Minimums

Today Is THE Reason Why

What will you write today?