At some point in time this week, you are likely going to find yourself at the grocery store, there to stock up on your food and household necessities for the week. While this is something you do without ever thinking much about, there is a litmus test involved that tells a lot about who you are and what you value.

This week I present you the Shopping Cart Theory. What does it say about you?

Brain - Do You Have an Effort Floor?

When you go about setting a goal, taking on a new challenge, or attempting to improve an area of your life, the common first step is to design what the perfect day to accomplish that goal looks like (IE - the CEILING of our effort)

It makes sense right? I want to lose 20 pounds, I want to read 20 books this year, I want to learn about “X” subject - I need to eat exactly like this, lift weights for this long, read this many pages a day, etc.

It’s a great mindset for your best days, especially early on, when that motivation is sky-high. What happens as time goes on though and that motivation starts to wane, or life gets in the way of that perfect day?

This idea in the video above is one I knew I would have to share here, and that idea centers around setting a “floor” for your effort.

You know what your best day in the gym looks like - 20 minutes of cardio, an hour of weights, 6 days a week, increasing the weight from the previous week.

When we have an off-day though, what we often find is that we have not clearly defined what the “floor” is for the effort we are committed to giving. And without a floor clearly defined, what happens is when we have a non-perfect day, we put ourselves in an all-or-nothing mentality. If we don’t have that hour and a half carved out for the gym, the first instinct is simply not to go.

Take that same day though where the hour and a half doesn’t seem to be available - what if you committed to your floor for your exercise during the week being 15 minutes? Or running one mile? Or walking 10,000 steps?

Now instead of throwing down a complete zero, we have freed up a little mental bandwidth to know that on those off-days, we still can commit to simply doing something. And you know what you’ll find? Those days where you feel off, unmotivated, or pressed for time? When we simply get started, we will rarely stop at that floor effort.

When things don’t go as planned, it’s easy for us to give ourselves an out. Think about what goals you have for yourself currently, and evaluate if that floor is clearly defined or not. I think it could be the key for many in finally getting the job done -

Body - The 20-Pound Checklist

Frequenters of The Superset will more than likely be familiar with Dan Go’s content, but if you are not, his account on Instagram is one of the better places I have found for simplified, actionable tips for improving your health and body.

Dan is in his 40’s, and has committed to helping people lose weight and improve their health without completely revamping their lives. He does so by focusing on the fundamentals. The things that are often not sexy, but if stacked together for long enough periods of time, are guaranteed to work.

I have been the victim before of having this idea that to get in my best shape, I have to lay down intense effort in the gym and in the kitchen in these short blitzes of time. Every year that I continue in my fitness journey though, I lean more and more into the idea that it really is the smaller things, done well, over a long period of time, that have the most powerful effect.

This checklist below is from Dan’s account. There isn’t one person reading this right now who would not see results from simply just following this outline. If you do this from today through the end of the year, I guarantee you will have the type of results that will set you up with momentum heading into 2025 and your new year goals:

A Simple Formula to Lose 20 Pounds:

• Avoid Alcohol

• Walk 10K Steps a Day

• Lift Weights 4x Per Week

• Get 7 - 8 Hours of Sleep

• Replace Snacking with Water

• Focus on Single Ingredient Foods (80% of your diet)

Almost sounds too simple right? That’s because it is. You’ll shed some quick pounds from the keto. You’ll feel the effects of a week of really intense training. But if you expand the time frame for getting into shape and only do these few things, you are guaranteed to see progress.

Book - 7 Quotes from “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

Would you believe me if I told you the quotes below were from a book written in 1936? To say Dale Carnegie was ahead of his time would be a gigantic understatement. If you have ever taken to Google to look for a “best motivational books to read” - “best business books of all-time” - “best books on sales” (you get the point here) then I can confidently say you’ve seen this one come up.

I have read through this at least 5 - 7 times, and it is on my short list of books that I make at least an annual habit of taking a pass through to revisit my highlights. I did so again this week and laughed about how simple but good this one is. The power to communicate effectively with people is the most valuable skill on the planet, period. Master it, and there isn’t anything you can’t accomplish. If you have been looking for a reason to finally read this one, I hope this is enough to push you over the edge:

• “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

• “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.”

• “You can't win an argument. You can't because if you lose it, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it.”

• “Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.’ That is why dogs make such a hit. They are so glad to see us that they almost jump out of their skins. So, naturally, we are glad to see them.”

• “Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness. “To know all is to forgive all.”

• “If some people are so hungry for a feeling of importance that they actually go insane to get it, imagine what miracle you and I can achieve by giving people honest appreciation this side of insanity.”

• “The world is full of people who are grabbing and self-seeking. So the rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve others has an enormous advantage.”

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie