Metamorphosis- On monk mode and 75 Hard.

There's moments in life when we find ourselves in a plateau. After working on something for long, we feel we're not making progress towards our goals, and we've fallen into complacency. The obstacles we face might not feel challenging anymore, or we feel we aren't working on the right things. Whatever calls you to it, we all face moments when we want to make big changes in our lives.

But sometimes, life moves too fast and it seems we can't get a hold of anything. The world throws everything at us, and it's hard to focus on our goals. The pressures of social obligations and work can become too much to handle. People can feel stuck in their daily routines, always busy, but never satisfied. In these moments, it's natural to want to step back, take a break from everything, and focus on personal growth. This pause from the outside world is often the first step toward real transformation.

As a caterpillar that retreats into its cocoon to transform, sometimes we need to step away from the world and focus on ourselves. This time alone isn’t about running away from life, but about creating space for change. Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar breaks down and rebuilds itself into something new—a butterfly. Similarly, we can take a break from our daily responsibilities, and work on our personal challenges. This helps us grow in new ways.

After this period of self-reflection, we can emerge changed, like a butterfly spreading its wings for the first time. The time spent away allows us to reconnect with who we really are. It's a great time to leave behind the things that once held us back. This process of transformation shows how taking time to focus on oneself can lead to significant, positive changes in life.

Today I'll give you two frameworks for reaching such transformation. Each one has it's own benefits, but they can work best combined together.

First, let's talk about Monk Mode:

The word ‘monk’ is derived from the Latin word “monachus,” which means being alone. A monk is a person who voluntarily decides to isolate himself from society and embrace a solitary life. This life is characterized by severe self-discipline and abstinence from all forms of indulgence.

This framework is nothing new. Illimitable Man wrote about it over a decade ago. Many of us have gone through it in some form or another; specially during the pandemic, when we were all isolated and suddenly found ourselves with extra time. The premise is simple: Avoid any and all social obligations and mundane activities. Use all the extra time and attention to focus on self-development and personal growth.

All this growth comes from sacrifice. You have to sacrifice social obligations and junk activities. These are the kinds of activities that consume time and attention, yet do nothing to increase your social market value. That is, the value you can bring to the people around you, and society at large.

The first sacrifice involves social obligations. We spend so much of our daily lives entertaining other people. Attending social gatherings, birthdays, or any other social events that don't get us any closer to our goals. Most conversations are about mundane subjects that don't bring us any value. When people start telling you about their problems and gossip, you divest attention away from the things that matter. We get so wrapped up in social gossip that, before we know it, time has slipped away. Days, weeks and months pass, and we're still far from becoming the person we want to be.

The second is "junk activities":

• Playing video games.

• Going out for coffee.

• Binging TV series.

• Watching porn.

• Doomscrolling social media.

• Being too hungover to function.

These kind of activities offer no benefit in the long run; only short-term pleasure. Entertainment is essential for unwinding after hard work, but seeking quick pleasures all the time only leads to regret and failure. If you focus only on junk activities, you'll be too distracted to do what really matters—things that help you grow as a person.

This is what Monk Mode is all about; minimizing distractions. Whether it's junk activities or social obligations that lead nowhere, avoid them like the plague. Instead, use this time to focus on yourself and your growth. Develop new skills, get in better shape, make more money, start a a new project, etc.

When you go into Monk Mode, your goal is to focus on climbing through Maslow’s pyramid of needs. You work on satisfying each need from the bottom up, only climbing through each as you fulfill the previous one. If you begin from the bottom, this will most likely be about focusing on your finances, as most of these needs are solved with financial resources. As you progress through them, the goal is to develop soft skills such as charisma and social awareness, to enrich your relationships with others. As you get closer to the top, it turns into pursuing something bigger than yourself, and reaching your creative potential.

Whatever stage you find yourself in, in order you climb to the next one you will need extended periods of focus and hard work.

Monk mode is based on 3 pillars: Introspection, isolation, and improvement. Get away from the world while you fine-tune your focus, calibrate your direction, and confront yourself. Acknowledge your weaknesses and make a plan of action to deal with them. Make sure you're working on the right things, and are walking towards the right goals.

1) Introspection:

Looking inward to recognize and accept your weaknesses. Instead of ignoring or denying them, acknowledging your flaws empowers you to overcome them. Ignoring weaknesses might seem easier, but it leads to a false, narcissistic confidence. Being honest with yourself is crucial for growth, as it allows you to work on your weaknesses and turn them into strengths. This allows you to spend less energy hiding your weaknesses, thus giving you a real edge in life.

2) Isolation:

Solitude helps you focus and strengthen your personal direction. Social obligations, like relationships and other people's needs, can distract you from working on your goals. To achieve success, you need space and freedom to focus on yourself without outside influences. You gain clarity, set clear goals, and avoid the confusion.

In isolation, you're free to shape yourself into who you truly want to be. Nobody else dictates your path. While others can offer help, the responsibility for your happiness and success lies with you. It's essential to make your goals and decisions align with your true desires. Isolation gives you the peace and space to do this effectively.

These practices empower you to become a person of action, focused on making your goals a reality rather than just dreaming about them.

3) Improvement:

Refer to Maslow's hierarchy of needs for an illustration of what you should be working on. Start with physiological needs and move up. Your goal with Monk Mode should be filling up these needs in order of importance.

Self-Improvement activities are things like:

• Exercise. Get in better health or shape.

• Tidy up your space. Having an organized space does wonders for your mental state.

• Learn a new language. It increases your skill base and opens up foreign social circles, as well as your access to informaiton.

• Read non-fiction. These books share ideas that help your personal growth.

• Study hard. Build up your skills and expertise. Becoming a top-performer leads to making more money.

• Learn a martial art or instrument. New skills make you a more rounded individual.

• Practice your charisma. This will help you build a better network and relationships. You can do so while in isolation by going out once in a while to avoid rusty social skills. You can also keep your wits sharp watching stand up comedy.

• Learn to cook. It will help with health and nutrition.

• Write. It'll help you develop clear ideas and build expertise.

• Post content. If your goal is to grow an audience, posting consistently is the only way to get there.

Monk mode is a serious commitment that is not to be half-assed.

You’re either doing it, or you’re not.

It’ll be a struggle in the beginning, but once you’re fully engaged it becomes a beneficial, productive and even addictive lifestyle.

But there lies a problem. Chris Williamson put it best:

"Monk Mode justifies a retreat from life, risk taking, and adventure self development. It makes it feel as your pursuit of solitude is something noble. It makes it hard to bring yourself back out.

The allure of perpetually working on yourself is high.

Improvement is rewarding.

But if you’re not careful, you can spend the rest of your life focussed on the 3 I’s at the expense of the actual reason you did Monk Mode in the first place – to be able to show up in the world in a better way.

With Monk Mode, you practice in private so you can perform in public.

But private practice in the extreme results in no public performance."

The solution is to have set times and deadlines for it. 3 to 6 months seems to be a sweet spot. It is more effective if you pair it up with intensity.

That's where the next framework comes in.

75 Hard Days:

You may have seen it around social media. This challenge was created by Andy Frisella, a podcaster and entrepreneur. It is not a fitness challenge, but rather a "transformative mental toughness program", according to its website.

The challenge is as follows: for 75 consecutive days, participants must do the following:

• Follow a diet. Any diet of your choosing. The diet must be a structured eating plan with the goal of physical improvement. No alcohol, added sugars, or cheat meals allowed.

• Complete two 45-minute workouts. One of them must be outdoors, no matter the weather. It doesn't have to be two lifting sessions. Any proper physical activity counts.

• Take a progress picture. This way you can zoom out and view your progress over time.

• Drink 1 gallon of water.

• Read 10 pages of a self-development book. Audiobooks not included.

• No alterations of the program allowed. If you miss any daily goal, your progress resets to day one. It's supposed to be hard.

If you complete the program, you'll have many accolades under your belt. You'll have read at least 750 pages. You'll find yourself following a diet. You'll have proper hydration habits. You'll also be able to see physical results from a catalog of daily progress photos.

It will improve your confidence, self-esteem, perseverance fortitude, self-worth, and grittiness. It will also teach you the power of consistency, which is key to seeing results in any venture.

This will also supercharge any Monk Mode periods of your life, by giving good habits to work on. It also gives you an excuse to avoid social distractions. Once you announce you're not drinking alcohol, people are less likely to invite you to social gatherings. They'll also be more understanding when you decide to skip such things.

The 75 Hard Challenge has it's downsides, though. The all-or-nothing rigidity of the program makes it difficult to stick to in the long run, so it's not for everyone. It also doesn't teach you any skills to help deal with slip-ups, or teach sustainable behaviors. It doesn't allow for giving yourself any grace. Since it doesn't offer clear guidelines on the kind of exercise or dieting plan you should follow, it's not great for beginners.

Sticking to it has great benefits though. It teaches you the benefits of habit formation. There's a huge confidence boost of completing the challenge. It shows you that little things add up. And above all, tackling on this challenge might be the excuse you need to kickstart a transformation in your life.

Getting started on this journey isn’t easy. Life’s pace changes with the seasons, and it took me hearing about the challenge several times before I felt ready to dive in. But when the timing was right, it aligned wonderfully with my desire for deep transformation. This challenge is ideal for those already committed to self-improvement. It offers them the perfect excuse to push harder and take things to the next level.

Who knows, maybe this is the right time for you.